Lee Allen
An Orchard Rite 9400 shaker does a second shake at a Green Valley Pecan Company orchard.
Freeze in late 2019, summer heat and lack of monsoon rains made for a lighter crop.
With pruners having done their work and sweepers standing by, a fleet of Orchard Rite 9400 shakers worked their way down seemingly endless tree rows for a second shake at Arizona’s Green Valley Pecan Company.
“This is an off-year for us because we had no monsoon rains last year,” said Brian Driscoll, vice president and COO of Farmers Investment Company. “It was really hot in June, July, August — blowtorch level heat -- all the way into October, the driest year in Arizona in umpteen years. Pecans need a break with some cooling off at night and these trees didn’t get any relief.”