IN A NUTSHELL
National Geographic Traveller (UK)|Summer 2022
In the state of Georgia, Alex Willson is continuing the family tradition of growing, shelling and making sweets from a local speciality - pecans
Ellen Himelfarb
IN A NUTSHELL

Sunnyland's pecans and nut-studded chocolate

MEET THE MAKER

Pecan-growing runs in the Willson family. Alex Willson's grandparents began planting trees on their 1,760-acre plot, Sunnyland Farms, in the 1940s; his father installed a pioneering irrigation system here in the 1970s and today Alex heads up the business.

Although better known for its peanuts, Georgia is the US's pecan powerhouse, producing a third of the American yield: about 40 million kilos. When Hurricane Michael swept through the state in 2018, it wiped out many smaller producers and destroyed 4,200 trees at Sunnyland, which sits just outside the city of Albany. "It hit us hard, because a pecan tree can take a decade to grow back," says Alex, "but we have a lot of longevity."

Alex Willson at the farm

This story is from the Summer 2022 edition of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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This story is from the Summer 2022 edition of National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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