Tree Harvest

Elliot Ellis began crawling through the branches of pecan trees when he was less than ten years old. His father began farming pecans on 35 acres in Central Georgia way back in 1944. Today, the Ellis family farm has grown to some 12 hundred acres and Elliott along with his sons Brad and Keith will harvest pecans from more than 14 thousand trees. Georgia grows and processes some 60 million pounds of pecans every year making it the number one pecan producer in the nation.

Elliot Ellis says, “We try to have the best quality at the best price. We don’t sell cheap pecans, but for the quality, we try to sell under everybody else. “After the pecans are shaken from the trees, the Ellis Brothers will shell the nuts then cool them down to protect their oils. Research has shown pecans to be high in unsaturated fats and rich in vitamins and minerals.

Keith Ellis says one way to enjoy the health benefits is to sample your pecans in pecan brittle. Keith’s grandmother, Irene was one of the first to create the sweet treat. “She might have been one of the first to make pecan brittle,” he says, “Peanut brittle had been around for a long time, but she was making pecan brittle way back, I mean in the 30’s and 40’s.”

Today, Keith’s wife Traci can be found in the kitchen creating one of the farm’s signature pecan pies. But pies are only a small portion of the treats that the family sells at their roadside stand, right alongside the pecan trees. Keith says, “We make more than 60 different products from relishes to preserves all the way to pecan pies, fruitcakes, pecan brittles, coated, glazed, spiced, yogurt, orange, praline and I could go on and on.”

The United States produces 75 to 80% of the world’s pecan crop. That generates more than 260 million dollars a year for American Farmers. Elliot Ellis says that bodes well for keeping his family farm going for future generations.   

Fun Fact
The first explorers to the new world called pecans, “Wonder Walnuts”. Native Americans used pecans extensively as a food source and taught early pilgrims about the nut, leading to the first pecan pies. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted pecan trees on their plantations. And early colonists even enjoyed an intoxicating beverage made by fermenting the sweet meat of the pecan.