Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 19

Right, from top: The Byrd family uses a pecan shaker to knock the
pecans out of the tree at harvest. " A shaker is pretty self-explanatory,
it grips the tree and just vibrates the snot out of it, " Jennifer says. " It's
almost like God knew we were going to have to shake these trees,
because they have a ridiculous root system, so the shaking doesn't hurt
them. " A picker machine works like a large street sweeper, sucking up
the pecans. Once picked, the pecans run across a conveyor belt to be
inspected. Then they are divided into five size categories.
Jennifer, a member of Osage Valley Electric Cooperative.
" So, I can remember being 5 and 6 years old and being
given a bucket to go help Grandpa. "
Early in the pecan farm's history, everything was manual.
" His first pecan harvest was him shimmying up into
the tree with a mallet and hitting the tree limbs, " Jennifer
says. " Then my mom and aunt, who were just little kids at
the time, were down below with my grandma picking up
the pecans. "
Today process at Byrd's Pecans is high-tech:
1. Before harvest, they trim any broken limbs from the
pecan trees.
2. They circle the tree with a stick rake to clean up any
debris under the canopy.
3. A shaker, which resembles a backward tractor, clamps
around the base of the tree and vigorously shakes the ripe
pecans from the tree.
4. A picker machine, which has rubber fingers that run
along the ground at a high speed in reverse, gathers
and throws the pecans into the machine. When full, the
machine empties into a hopper wagon.
5. The pecans are dumped into an auger that routes the
pecans into a cleaner and over a belt to be inspected.
6. The pecans are measured and divided into five size categories
that are placed in 1,800-pound super bags.
7. The bags are transported about 3 miles to their processing
facility in Virginia, Missouri.
8. The pecans are sanitized and dried, and then loaded
into a machine to be cracked.
9. By elevator, the cracked pecans go into another shelling
machine that separates the shells from the meats.
10. The final step is the tedious job of hand inspecting the
pecans three times over an inspection table to make sure
the pecans are clean and ready to package.
Byrd's Pecans products are sold at their store in Virginia
in a range from 1- to 10-pound bags. Customers can
find whole nuts in the shell, cracked nuts or pecan halves
or pieces that are ready to eat. The store is open to customers
from Oct. 15 until Jan. 1, and the Bryds even offer
custom pecan cracking. Pecan halves and pieces are available
year-round online and at Jennifer's bakery and café
in Adrian, Byrd's Pecan Delights.
" I was raised with an entrepreneurial spirit, " Jennifer
says. " I have the pecan farm on my mom's side, and my
JANUARY 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 18

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Rural Missouri - January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2024

Contents
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Contents
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 4
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 5
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 6
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 7
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 8
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 9
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 30
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 40
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 46
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover4
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