Our Estate Grown Pecans are grown & shelled here on the premises.
Stahmanns produces an average of 8,000,000 pounds of pecans a year! Over its 75 years of pecan production, Stahmanns has developed a niche in the pecan market as producers of pecans of the finest quality – both in taste and color. We grow predominantly Western Schley and Bradley varieties, specializing in the production of Junior Mammoth Halves.
Although the big harvest generally begins after Thanksgiving, Stahmanns performs a “Green Harvest” in early November. This smaller harvest, so called because the green leaves are still on the trees, allows our retail customers to have “new crop” pecans for baking and gift giving for the Holidays.
High quality pecans need two critical components: an abundance of sunshine and a consistent water supply. Here in the Mesilla Valley in Southern New Mexico, our 128,000 trees are irrigated, thus providing water only at specific times in their growing cycle. The arid, sunny climate produces pecans of superior color and taste, with far less pesticides needed than in the more humid parts of the country. In fact, Stahmanns is able to use lady bugs to control most of the harmful insects.
To harvest pecans, tree shaking machines move quickly from tree to tree, grabbing each trunk and literally shaking the pecans to the ground. You can actually feel the earth quake from the vibrating force of the shakers. Next, a sweeper forms the pecans and leaves into rows that the Harvester drives over, forcing the pecans onto a conveying system and into trailers. Next, we clean, sort and store pecans in freezing conditions to await their turn in our shelling plant. Pecans freeze beautifully – up to 2 years, either in the shell or out.
After shelling, some of our pecans make their way to our Candy Plant to be turned into delectable confections packed into Tins, Baskets, Boxes and Bags. The rest are sold into the commodity market and find their way onto tables all over the world. Stahmanns is unusual in that our pecans are grown, shelled and stored right here on the premises. Because we control all facets of the growth and shelling processes, we are able to guarantee the quality of our pecans year round. Like a fine wine, we are Estate Grown and Processed.
It is both our business and pleasure to consistently produce pecans of the highest quality available.