Last week Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black joined U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to survey the damage to pecan and row crops from Hurricane Irma. Pecans were one of the hardest hit commodities with an expected thirty percent loss statewide. The main concern for the industry long term is tree loss, with many farmers reporting a loss of over 5,000 mature trees. While farmers will feel an immediate impact to their bottom line, the greater concern is the generational impact. Pecan trees can’t be replanted and harvested in a year. It takes at least seven years from input to output according to Black.