LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — The pecan harvest in Dona Ana County is gaining steam after experiencing earlier difficulties.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that experts consider 2015 to be a heavy production year for the crop in the Mesilla Valley. Pecan trees tend to produce a heavy crop one year and a light crop the next.
Some farmers had delayed the start of harvesting because of the timing of freezing temperatures, which prep pecan trees for harvesting, or because of rainfall, which muddies fields and keeps heavy harvesting machinery from moving through.
Dona Ana County horticulture extension agent Jeff Anderson says the crop seems to be decent overall, though some farms did get hit with hail.
But precipitation from El Nino could pose problems for farmers as they harvest.