Pecan season picks up in Central Texas

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (KXAN) - Just in time for the holidays, it’s pecan season.

Pecan Grove Farms in Cedar Creek is teeming with activity. This is the third time they’ve shaken pecans from their trees this year. Lavaughn Thompson says the crop looks great and it’s all because of our spring and summer rains.

"When you have a pecan you want more meat than you do shell and the rain helped that," said Lavaughn Thompson with Pecan Grove Farms.

• View photos of the harvest.
   

There are 25,000 trees in the orchard and they’re producing around 18-hundred pounds of pecans an acre. Last year wasn't as bountiful. The drought in 2010 left 2011 without good pecans to harvest.

"It's farming just like with anything else, tomatoes, potatoes, oranges, the same thing,” said Thompson. “You have that drought; they're not going to produce. You have to have a balance of everything."

While the drought isn't over, things are definitely looking up.

"We're hoping next year, our sales will be even more and if we have the rain that we need we'll produce even better pecans than we did this year," said Thompson.

Just two miles away, the Berdoll Pecan, Candy and Gift Company buys all their pecans from Pecan Grove Farm.

Last year, they were only able to carry two of their pecan varieties. This year all five stock the shelves.

"We're really excited,” said Lauren Lefrance. “This is the first year in the past two years that we'll have all our varieties of pecans."

That means you can find everything from Pawnee to Wichita and Cheyenne pecans. If you make the trip, look for the best sellers: in-shell and cracked pecans and the honey glazed pecans.