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.”