Episode 9 - Checking in with American Pecan Council and American Pecan Promotion Board

Bailey Segars from the American Pecan Council joins the podcast to talk about the APC, its history, operation of American Pecan Promotion Board, current marketing ventures, and food safety. The podcast concludes with an update on American Pecan Council services to pecan growers and the upcoming referendum.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Whether it's Pecan or Pecan, we cover it all. Orchard management, growth and development, test management, economics, from extension specialists, scientists, county agents, industry representatives, and growers. Brought to you by University of Georgia Pecan team. In a nutshell, the Pecan Podcast. In a nutshell, the Pecan Podcast, this is episode nine. My name is Andrew Sawyer. I'm the area agent in Southeast Georgia.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

And I'm Lenny Wells, Extension Specialist for Pecans at the University of Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

We are your host. So we're going to jump right in, Lenny. We've been blessed to have some guests come on. And this will be another episode with a very special guest. Lenny, I'm going to let you introduce.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Yeah. Today we've got with us Bailey Seegers, who uh was actually a graduate student of mine for a few years back. Did a great job, and now she is working with the American Pecan Council. So yeah, Bailey, I will turn it over to you. Just kind of let you introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about yourself, and then we'll kind of get going.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Okay. Like Dr. Rolls said, I work for APC and APPB as the senior manager of industry relations. So I'm fortunate enough to get to work for growers every single day in the work that we do. A lot of my work focuses on industry readiness through service, which is part of our unified pecan promotion plan that we have in place. I get to work with growers, researchers, and industry stakeholders and just work on collaboration throughout those different sectors to make our industry stronger. I did get my master's degree in horticulture in pecan production under the one and only Dr. Lenny Wells, the legend at UGA. So I'm fortunate to have a really strong background in pecan production. And I've been in this position for going on two years now. So a lot of growth and we hope to keep growing.

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Well, I think uh having somebody like you in that position, we've needed somebody that could relate to growers and kind of understand what they're they're going through and what's all involved in in producing the crop and and that kind of thing and understand things from that perspective. Uh so I think you bring a a lot to the table for that and we we appreciate your work. I want to kind of cover a little bit of the history of the American Pecan Council before we dive into what all's going on at the moment. I remember I guess it was like two thousand so it's been about ten years, I guess, since the American Pecan Council was formed. So I remember the initial push for it uh that was taking place you know for several years prior to 2016. Um and Mike Adams out in Texas, of course, was heading up a lot of that effort. And it took a long time, and this wasn't and and basically the American Pecan Council I guess was the initial uh organization that was formed from this, and this is basically the federal marketing order for pecans, and the American Pecan Council runs that. So just just to kind of give general information on that, but this isn't the you know, in 2016 when the American Pecan Council was formed, that was not the first time an attempt was made to to get a federal marketing order for pecans, and uh there was another push, I think, sometime in the maybe eighties or something. And you know, it didn't go through at that time. It was hard to get the growers unified around it. But uh this one in 2016 growers were unified around it. And one key point to this is not is it's not just growers, being a federal marketing order, kind of uh g done basically under USDA and USDA requires uh that the whole industry buy into this effort. And so that that means that both shellers and growers are involved. And historically, shellers and growers have been at odds with each other since the beginning of the pecan industry, and so that's why it never went through the first time. But uh there was a lot of work done by a lot of people to kind of bring the industry together, both sides of the industry, growers and shellers. And I think there's been a lot of good that has come out of that, um, not just for the American Pecan Council, but just for the industry in general. Uh Bailey, can you kind of give us some just a little background on some of that? Uh if you it's any more you could add to that, and then just kind of tell us what the mission of the American Pecan Council, and then also how the American Pecan Promotion Board uh came about and how that fits in.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

So, like uh Dr. Will said, APC was established in 2016, and it's the marketing order that's focused on international marketing in the US industry. So it's you know, a lot of questions we get asked for what are the differences in APC and APPB. Um after the marketing order was established, they you know saw some other needs arise. And so APPB came along in 2021, and that is mainly to create it to serve like research and promotion that is focused on domestic marketing and the nutrition research that has been done. There was a large gap in nutrition research when in Serena came along. And even after APC was created, um our predecessors were there. We continue to see the gap that we needed more nutrition research in order to make health claims because we are a federal marketing order. Um, USDA does oversee that, and we have to have new or research back science before we can go and make claims. So that was the main reason that APVB came along and it's done very, very well. Um, and it's really helped domestic marketing efforts as well as we've seen several beneficial articles come out of the nutrition research, um, and one of those being the Penn State study that talked about snacking on pecans lowering cholesterol, um, which was huge. It made national news headlines all across the United States and abroad, um, and it really has helped us push our efforts from going beyond the pie, as we like to say, out of just the holiday season. We want people eating pecans all year round. So that nutrition research has been very, very valuable in that, as well as the marketing focuses on domestic and international with APC and APPB.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, and um trying to remember back before APPB, it seems like when it was first formed, I mean, the biggest issue we were facing was there was basically the domestic market had just been stagnant for years. And um, you know, at least in 2016 when the uh federal marketing orders went into place, you know, we had a good international market. China was booming and there was a lot of effort moving nuts over there, it was very successful, and that that worked for a lot of years. But still our domestic you know, consumption had just stayed the same for decades. And that was the big push was to improve the domestic market. And um there's been a lot of work in that effort. So can you tell us based on that need for increasing that domestic market, uh, what are some of the things that the marketing order has done for us to help improve that market? Or what's the what's the current state of the domestic market? How has it changed since APC went into place?

SPEAKER_02 8:06

So I would say that the domestic and international markets have continued um to gain strength. You know, we have lost some international markets, um, but in response to that, we've built new ones and ones that I feel are gonna be more sustainable and strengthen our industry in the long run. I mean, we continue to work towards those. So there's been, you know, numerous trade missions over to India. Um, I feel as though when India opens up that market, we're gonna um pecans are gonna move. And I think, you know, we've done a lot of, you know, in-store promotions, sampling, e-commerce work, all that work has been, you know, your normal ROI is about, you know, a dollar or so more. But we've had four to five dollars in ROI, and a large percentage of that is due, I mean, sampling has really been beneficial, in-store sampling. Um, when people taste the product, they really, really like it, and then they buy it. Um, and then some of the e-commerce work, you know, the ads that we put on e-commerce, they're seeing those, and it's not just being a one-time purchase. We're seeing that those pecans are making it into their shopping cart time and time again once they buy them the first time, which is really, really promising. Um, and that always hasn't happened. Um, domestic consumption has, you know, continued to rise and strengthen. I think we're gonna continue to see that. And the international markets that we're building, they're really seeing a rise in that. And um, we also have worked to focus marketing efforts in Mexico through APPB, keeping Mexican pecans in Mexico, and they are consuming a lot more there domestically as well. Um, so we've really seen those efforts work in the past. And I also think a new and up-and-coming growing area to continue to drive demand is food service. Um, and we've really tried to build strong partnerships with different companies. Um, and we've done work with several, whether it's been pecans in an ice cream, pecan encrusted proteins, pecans incorporated into a side dish. The value there and the the broadness of that category is really, really intriguing for our industry. Um, and we've also began to work with some universities, you know, putting pecans in dining halls and things like that as as students go back to school. And so I really feel as though, you know, we're trying to capitalize in all areas, but overall, we've seen strengthening um in all of our markets.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

You mentioned something I want to go back to there for a second, but Mexico. Mexico is a huge factor in the pecan market. Could you explain a little bit about that and why it's so important for the American Pecan Council to put funds toward marketing in Mexico and kind of explain kind of in a little more detail how that why that was necessary and how that helps American pecan farmers.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Um, but the value of putting, you know, funds into Mexico to promote consumption of pecans there is to ensure that, you know, their consumers down in Mexico know about the product, are consuming their product, and it also helps make sure that our markets are remain strong here so that we don't have an excess supply coming over from Mexico, that way we're able to maintain quality of our pecans here and also, you know, strengthen the value back to um the grower. It helps, you know, make sure that farm gate price can continue to be sustainable. And that's what our goal is. We want our growers profitable. And I think that whenever we've done the promotions in Mexico, they've really, really done well. They've taken it um to the next level with in-store promotions, they have signage, they have the the floor talkers there, um, and they have really, really seen a huge increase in consumption in their own country, which is huge for them and their growers.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yeah, big for us too. So, because Mexico, I know it, they were they're basically the second largest producer in the world, and and at one time they were right there with us as the number one producer, and may even have edged us out a year or so. Of course, this was the big issue, especially back when the China market kind of got tanked. That when American growers were selling pecans at at high prices to China, American shellers, you know, couldn't compete with those prices and had to look elsewhere to get the nuts they needed. And uh of course Mexico was readily available. And so they started buying a lot from Mexico and and uh so then when our China market went away, you know, the domestic market was all there was left. And so all the nuts coming in from Mexico at that time sort of really depressed prices for US growers. And now they've had some some production issues related to water and things like that. So kind of, you know, every everyone I hear from from Mexico and and who's familiar with that situation there seems to feel that production in Mexico has probably peaked because of the water situation. I know it's come down a little bit in the last couple of years. Uh they're still a huge producer, which is it's great. And uh, you know, the fact that we can increase their uh consumption there, keeping those nuts in Mexico certainly uh helps our market. And uh do you you said do you have do y'all is there any way to track the consumption in Mexico? Are you are y'all have y'all been uh able to do that or Lenny?

SPEAKER_02 13:42

I think I think we've been tracking it. I can't give you that number, I don't have it. Um Serena probably would, um, but I don't have that number. Well we have tracked progress and the consumption has drastically increased.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Yeah. Well that's that's great. I know one of the issues we hear from, you know, a lot of our growers, you know, I would put myself in this category, are not really a part of the world of of marketing. Certainly not modern marketing with how things are done today through social media and and all that. But yeah, I think when the APC first started, what growers had been used to seeing was you know billboards on on the interstates and the big goal everybody was hoping to see was like television commercials. Because you know, certainly people my age and older, let's say fifty and up, we still consume most of our entertainment through the television as opposed to you know, online. And so a lot of growers sort of in in my age bracket and above were really hoping to see a television commercial. But I think some of the research on how this stuff needed to be marketed kind of showed that you know you can get a lot more bang for your buck doing it other ways. Could you explain what some of those other ways are and and and how that word is getting out?

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yeah, um, and for sure, I'm I'm not the marketing expert on our staff. Um, and I'll have to give a lot of credit to to Ann, our CEO, and and Serena, our C MO, and her team. But, you know, they they we have and we've continued to diversify um the marketing efforts and and how that gets done, you know, in-store promotions, e-commerce promotions, um, different ads. Um, some of the ones that I are becoming my favorites are like the 15 to 30 second video ads that we're doing. There's one like that pecans are like the dad tax. Um, we had that one during tax season of like the kids snacking and then the dad was stealing the snack and it was the dad tax. Um, there's one where the pecans are going through the airport and the security is like, are those pecans? Is the bag empty? And then they start eating the pecans, the security does. Um, and a lot of that's been around the surprisingly snackable campaign, which has been really, really um a big push of ours to, like I said earlier, make sure that pecans are not just consumed around the holidays. We want them to become people's snack food. And there's health benefits to that. Like I said, we've done some nutrition research to back that up. Um, and so the surprisingly snackable campaign's been huge. Um, going beyond the pie. We've also had like in-store um banners, like side banners. So, like in the yogurt section, you might see like a thin um display there that's like um the ultimate sprinkle, and it's pecans that you put on top of your yogurt, such as like granola or things like that. Um, and then we've also um had the sampling, like I've talked about, that's been huge for marketing. And we've also um done different like end cap displays in grocery stores, which has been really, really successful, where the pecans are in like those cardboard um displays at the end of an aisle. Um and those have done very, very well. Um, I think and as we continue um to do it, we're gonna continue working on marketing towards like the food service industry um to meet those needs. And then we've also um seen and are addressing the need for marketing around pecan pieces, which is what we've heard um is feedback to move those pieces. And a lot of times, you know, some people may buy halves and then chop them up, so why not buy pieces? So we've done some work around that. We're gonna continue to do work around that in the future, um, as long as that's what um the industry um decides and and continues to push forward with.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

You know, the American Pecan Council doesn't grow any pecans or they don't have any pecans to sell. So when you do this marketing work either here or other places, other countries, it's really important that the people who have the product to sell are involved in these efforts. Can you talk some about you know how important that is and what kind of things y'all do to involve growers in this?

SPEAKER_02 18:11

Yeah, I think that's a really, really good point to bring out. Um, and that's really the purpose of having a board and council and working for growers and including the whole industry on our board and council. And so, you know, we have different committees, marketing committees, research committees, and things like that under APC and APBB. And they get to bring, we bring, you know, forefront ideas and project ideas on way to spend um grower dollars and um as well as we're getting, you know, federal grants, and we've continued to match, if not exceed, what the Guru dollars were putting in in federal grants, which has been huge and allow us to get a lot more work done efficiently. But, you know, they go through our ideas and different projects, um, and then they collectively decide and have discussion over that. And you know, I think it's important that you said, you know, we used to do billboards, you know, we thought that was like the primary way we're still doing billboards. Um, there's billboards throughout different states. Um, and I think that they're useful. Oddly enough, there's two in Cook County where I live in Georgia from that are that we funded and put up. But I think, you know, those are still important. But then you also we've looked at to diversify to meet, you know, consumer demands and meet how people are shopping today. Um, a lot of people are online grocery shopping. And so having those ads on Amazon or Instacart and those different platforms have really proven to be useful and made people buy opcons over and over again. And, you know, I think as we continue to move forward, um, our growers will steer our ship. That's that's the goal of our organizations in the federal marketing order, is is to best serve our growers and however they see fit. So, you know, our export markets and things like that, we continue to build those and then we get the results, and then we reconvene um how we continue to open new markets and the direction um that we go. So our growers and and and shellers and people in our board and council and our industry, you know, we're always open, even we we love feedback, and that can come if you're on our board and council, if you're just in the industry and you're not on our board and council. Um, we definitely take your feedback and and and work through that.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Yeah, and that's you mentioned billboards in Cook County, Georgia, and and the anybody listening to this who's not familiar with the state of Georgia's geography may think, well, why in the world would you put billboards in Cook County, Georgia? But I think it's important to point out that Cook County is basically Adale, Georgia, which is right on uh Interstate 75, which is runs right through the center of Georgia and everybody a lot of people going to Disney World are passing right through there and see those billboards. So there's a lot of traffic that that that sees those billboards. So tell us who makes up the the boards of the AP American Pecan Council and the American American Pecan Promotion Board? Is it growers, is it shellers? I mean, who who's who's sitting on these boards to make these decisions for the engineering?

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Yeah, so APC is comprised of growers, shellers, accumulators, and then a public uh member at large. Um and then APC, AP, I mean APPB is comprised of producers and importers. Um, and so those two organizations work separately, and you know, some people are on the board and council, some people are just on the board, and some people are on the council, um, and then they serve their terms. And they also it's broken down by regions. So there's eastern, central, and western region, and so they have growers and shellers um that represent those different regions. Um, and then they also have alternate seats to those regions.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

So, yeah, and that's and that's one of the things that I think for a A federal marketing order for something like pecans is gonna be it's a lot more complicated than a marketing order for something you know, another crop, say like almonds or something, that is all grown pretty much in one state. Pecans are grown in like fifteen states. So you gotta make sure that the growers in each part of the producing region are represented. And uh so I think they've done a good job in in assuring that. So may they tell us a little bit about your specifically like your role and and what are some of the the things you've been working on recently for the industry.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Yeah, so um I'm I'm the senior manager of industry relations, so I get to work on a on a diverse group of projects and some of the things that we've rolled out in the last year and some of the things that are up and coming. Um the grower toolkit just released earlier this summer, and it's kind of a a basis on our website where we have divided it into eastern and western growing regions, and then you know you can also select um both if you have areas of production, and then there's going to be some resources that are the same for both regions, but you can go there and find the most up-to-date research on different topics, but it's mainly horticultural research there for growers. So if it's a beginner grower, there's a you know, you can click that filter and it'll give you like the basics of pecan growing. Um, and we've pulled those resources resources from UGA, New Mexico State, Texas AM, um, and the different university um research that's been done um in pecan. So I really think that that's a good place for people to go if they're struggling with, you know, scab or things like that, and they're come to our website. We wanted them to have resources there. Um, and so as we you know talk about continuing to unify the industry, that's just one of those efforts where you know we're bringing everybody's work and putting it in one place. Another thing that we've done in the last year and that will continue is the MRL and contaminant reports. So we saw a need for keeping up with global MRLs and contaminants. Um, as we continue to build these export markets, we have to make sure that we stay in compliance. And how do we do that? Um, and it's tracking the MRL and contaminants.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Um Let me stop you there for just a second. Can you explain what MRLs are? Yes, the average person may not know.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

Yeah, okay, let me show earlier. So another thing that we've done is um release maximum residue limits or MRLs um in a contaminants report. And so those have to do with, you know, pesticide and contaminant levels on a product. So in our case, pecans. Um, so as we continue to build those export markets, different countries have different um limits. And so we have to make sure we're in compliance because if not, we can get rejections um and loads rejected, and they won't take them. So we've um continued to build our report for our, you know, and we do our top export countries and things like that. Um, you know, sometimes there's a big change. It kind of depends when policy development's going on in different countries and different organizations and things like that. Um, but we release those quarterly and we also welcome feedback if growers see, you know, a specific product on there that they may think is gonna affect them really, really bad, let's say that they're spraying for scab or a different pest like that. We need to know that kind of thing so that we can be ahead of it. Um, because a lot of time there is a window of time there before it goes into effect. And so if we can be a proactive rather than reactive to that, it'll ensure that you know our pecans are still in compliance and they're meeting those markets. Um, another thing in one of uh a service that's been you know very well received is the digital consulting offering that we've started in the last year. Um, our digital guru on staff, um, Carlton Sanders, he is meeting with growers and retailers, whoever that wants help to build a website, Facebook page, Instagram page, whatever they need to help, you know, market their own product, make what they have better. And that service is free to you. He sets up a series of calls and kind of works through um progress checks as you know, the website or Facebook or whatever um you decide to work on is progressing. He sets up calls to make sure the tasks are accomplished and things are improved, and it's really we've had really, really good feedback on that. That kind of work is very expensive if you go to hire it out. Um, and he has been great to work with, and he's really an expert in that field. Another thing that we've done is the product photo shoot. So you could send in your products. So if you have you know pecans packaged up that you sell on e-commerce and you wanted some pictures, professional photography taken of that product, you could send it in. We had a photo shoot with that so that you get those photos back and you can use them on your website. Um, that is also um free of charge, so it's been the very beneficial for people. Um, like I say, those types of like digital services they can get very costly. Um, and so we saw the need there for that. Another thing that is um up and coming that we've been working on in response to a little bit of food safety issues, we saw the committee and council saw the need in creating some food safety resources. Um and so we've really worked on creating those resources that'll be a value to a grower, a sheller, and a processor, um, and and dividing those into those categories moving forward to make sure that you know we're staying in compliance, that the food supply chain is safe, um, and the cons continue to have a very good rep reputation moving forward um as being a safe food product that's ready to eat.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

Um and then let me mention real quick. I mean, that's our food safety issue is a big one. Like we just saw last week with the the spinach or lettuce recall or whatever that was, and all the the outbreak that was going on from that. That's one and that's devastating for those industries, for those growers of of of those crops. But um we're fortunate in pecans that we really haven't had to deal with an issue like that, but that you know, I think we're somewhat protected from some of that because pecans, you know, the edible part of that is in the in the shell, and so you know, we've got some protection there. Uh but you know it doesn't mean it can't happen. And uh we can certainly see issues like that. So we don't want to see that in the pecan industry. It's hard enough to to grow pecans and make a profit uh growing pecans anyway without having to deal with some sort of an issue like that. And you know, it's not something that that growers really want to hear a lot is is having to deal with these food safety issues and but it's important to to be ahead of those things and and kind of show as an industry that voluntarily we are making strides and doing things to assure that our product is safe. And if we do that on our own, of course that makes it um that's a lot better than you know having FDA or somebody come down on the industry and say, You've got to do this stuff. If we can show that we're doing we're making an effort, you know, that goes a long way. And I think it's the right thing to do as the industry. But you know, certainly without those efforts by the APC and APPB, it would hard be hard to organize across 15 states to get get to get that done. So so that's pretty important.

SPEAKER_02 30:05

Right. And and Dr. Rose, you hit on I think every single like one of our goals that when we were, you know, starting to talk and discuss about this project and when the the council and the and the committee was discussing this was we want to be proactive rather than reactive and we want to continue to tell our own story. If we're gonna go ahead, we're gonna go ahead and start creating resources, none of it's mandatory, it's just meant as like a small sheller has a question or a grower that also shells their own crop and and then sells direct to consumer has a question about, you know, pest control in a facility, or you know, how what do I need to be on the lookout for? There's gonna be resources there available to those people so that they know what to do. And they, if they're going ahead and can adopt those practices, then if, you know, a few years down the line things start becoming mandatory with food safety and things like that, we're ahead of the ball game. Um and I think that that's really, really important. You know, we're very fortunate not to have had any major issues arise from food safety, but you can see what those recalls do to an industry. And it's not just the place that it happens, it's not just the state that it happens in, it's nationwide, worldwide. Those recalls have implications on those different commodity industries when they occur. And we don't want that. You know, we work really, really hard. Our growers work really, really hard to produce their crop. Um, and we want to make sure that crop makes it to market and continues to return value to the farm gate. And I think that this is just one of the ways that we're gonna continue to do that. And so I'm really, really excited. We hope to release the first round of resources within the next month or so. Um, and we've already um gotten approval on our good agricultural practices sheet, and it incorporates, you know, um from the grower level all the way to the processor level. Um, and so we're gonna take that sheet and create pecan-specific food safety resources. So the initial launch will just be like generalized food safety resources, um, and then we'll continue to develop pecan-specific ones, and you'll get emails and all that on how to log into the LMS platform that we're using. It's essentially kind of like if you've ever done a cybersecurity training and things like that, that's the kind of resource platform that we'll be using. Um, and so we're really, really excited to get that started. And probably one of the last things that we continue to do is create, you know, and there's a lot more that I didn't touch on, but the informational and nutritional fact sheets, um, people really, really like those. They find them really useful when they, you know, are selling direct to consumer at a farmer's market. People are asking, well, what is valuable about a pecan? Here's your nutrition 101 fact sheet or your pecan 101 fact sheet tells you anything from shelf life, gives you a recipe and things like that. Um, so we've continued to develop new ones of those as well. And those are just a few things we have going on.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

That's a that's a good point to make, too. So uh if you could tell us why should somebody eat pecans? What's so great about pecan?

SPEAKER_02 33:16

Yeah, well, I guess that might be a bias answer there. Um, because we all work with pecan growers, but the the health benefits behind the pecan are really, really huge. You know, they're full of antioxidants, they have protein, um, they they have the the good fats in them. Um, and so, you know, the studies have proven they lower cholesterol um by snacking on pecans. Um, and I think, you know, as the younger generation enters into the consumption market in the grocery shopping area, and you know, they're moving out, going to college, um, and then and starting their lives, they're the ones that are that are coming into the consumption chain and they're really, really health focused. Um, and so I think, you know, we're targeting not only we're targeting everybody to eat pecans, but you know, we're really trying to capture um the health benefits that pecans offer. But also, you know, pecans and a sweet treat. There's you know, everybody loves pecan pie. Um, a red velvet cake with pecans in the ice and is is a classic. And so, you know, there's just a diverse way to eat them. Um, and then, you know, we've done some work and recipe work on pecan encrusted proteins, which have been really, really good. Um, and so I think, you know, just the diversity of the nut itself and the way that you can use it in the kitchen and the way that you can consume it is an incredible value that we have. Um, and so I, you know, I don't think there's much argument on why people shouldn't eat pecans.

SPEAKER_00 34:47

Yeah. Yeah. And the taste speaks for itself. So can you think of anything else, Andrew? I guess well, I guess we need to also mention so the we've got the referendum vote for the continuation of the American Pecan Council coming up. It's coming up pretty quick this week. So that's one reason we wanted to have you on now. Um and I think it's important that growers, you know, you're always gonna have when you got when you're dealing with an industry this large and this many people involved, you're not gonna please everybody all the time. And so, you know, of course there may be folks out there who are not so much in favor of it. Uh there's a lot of people that are. But if you're not, I would encourage you just to think about, you know, think about issues like these this MRL thing and the food safety issues and and things that are really bigger than than any one grower or even any one state industry can really handle or state organization can handle. I mean there there's a lot of things, a lot of benefit that's that we get as growers out of uh these efforts that we would not have otherwise. So just just keep in mind as you're voting on this referendum, you know, if if we lost this, where would we be and and what would we have at that point to to help move this industry forward? So that's my thoughts on that. So just want to get your your thoughts on it and why it's important that growers do go and vote right now for it's important for growers to go and vote their conscience on this referendum.

SPEAKER_02 36:32

Yeah, Lenny, um, we just encourage everybody to participate in the vote. We want your feedback, um, and we work for growers, and so your vote is is your feedback. So, you know, moving forward, whether you know it gets passed or not, we want to make sure that we're doing the right thing by the grower. And so, you know, we just ask for the industry to participate. If if you have questions, if you haven't received your ballots, please um contact us at APC or um and we can get you the contact information at USDA to make sure you get that ballot. There is a mail-in option or an online option. Um, and so we can connect you with USDA to make sure um that you get your ballot and that your voice is heard. Um, at the end of the day, we're a grower-run organization and we take pride in that. So, you know, I think that you know, our project work speaks for itself. You know, we go to the conferences and we present on our progress and our updates. And so it's it's your decision and we respect that, but we just encourage you to participate in the vote and let your voice be heard in the industry as we move forward.

SPEAKER_00 37:37

Yeah. And I know it's uh by the time this podcast is out, it's gonna be a pretty short window that growers have to get their vote in, to have their voice heard, and and um, you know, you mentioned there's a mail-in option, but also an online option. And at this point, the online option may be the the safest way to go to make sure your voice is heard, right?

SPEAKER_02 38:00

Yeah, for sure. And we can, like I said, you know, can get connected with with our staff, and then we can get you connected with USDA to get that get that ball rolling to make sure you get your ballots.

SPEAKER_00 38:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:13

Andrew, you got anything else? Well, I agree, and and uh I was glad to, you know, hopefully, you know, covered this today. We got an excellent guest, Bailey. So thank you for coming on and sharing the the story. You know, we can get this out to everyone.

SPEAKER_02 38:30

Yeah, well, thank you guys for having me. Um, thank you for what you do for the pecan industry. Um, it really does take everybody from the growers to the researchers to the industry stakeholders. Um, and we're just glad to be a small part of it and continue to work in for the betterment of the industry.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

Thanks, Ben.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Thank y'all.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

Thank y'all. Thank you. And uh we look forward to our next episode, Lenny, and take care. Yeah, me too. Thank you all for listening. Stay tuned for the next episode. You can get more information on the University of Georgia Pecan blog in a nutshell, the PCN podcast.