Farmers Investment Co., which operates the lush pecan orchards that line the Santa Cruz River, is planting its next generation of trees on newly acquired land in eastern Cochise County.
The company, which operates the Green Valley Pecan Co., has planted some 26,000 pecan trees on about 500 acres in Cochise County near the New Mexico state line, said Nan Stockholm Walden, FICO's vice president and general counsel.
The company will continue planting over the next five years on the remainder of 2,736 acres it owns near the tiny community of San Simon, Walden said.
Dale Leiendecker, Cochise County assessor, said FICO bought the land over the past two years in 31 parcels around San Simon for just over $6.3 million.
Walden said the trees — which now resemble 2- to 3-foot sticks, painted white to protect against the elements — will take seven years to begin producing any significant amount of pecans.
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"San Simon is conveniently close, so we can truck our pecans to Sahuarita to process," she said.
The towns are about 120 miles apart.
Walden said FICO bought the land partly with proceeds from selling land it owned near the town of Maricopa. The land was being "closed in" by development.
FICO has a history of investing in land throughout Arizona and elsewhere, Walden said.
Over the years, it has operated farming or ranching operations in the state, she said. It also owns a warehouse in Las Cruces, N.M., and about 1,000 acres near Albany, Ga.
Growing more of its own
The acquisition of the land near San Simon is part of the company's strategy to process more of its own pecans and less from other sources, she said.
"The more we can grow on our own land, and process, the more competitive we are," Walden said.
About 60 percent of the pecans processed at the company's plant in Sahuarita are grown on FICO land, she said in an e-mail last week.
"The rest we buy mainly from New Mexico, Texas and Mexico," she said.
About 8 million pounds of pecans are processed annually at the Sahuarita plant, which is operated by Green Valley Pecan Co., FICO's processing and marketing arm.
"We have a huge capital investment in our plant and want to keep it operating at maximum efficiency," Walden said.
The company, which employs about 240 people, is one of the area's biggest employers.
Kathy Ward, Sahuarita's economic-development director, said FICO's investment in new land "shows that the home office is vibrant and in growth mode."
Ward said much of her job involves finding new employers to diversify the area's economy, but long-time employers like FICO provide a solid foundation for economic growth.
"It's great to have the (processing) plant here — it's great to have those jobs here," she said.
Committed to the area
Acquisition of the land in San Simon, and FICO's ongoing investment in its processing plant, shows the company is a committed — and permanent — member of the Sahuarita-Green Valley community, Walden said.
"Sahuarita is our corporate headquarters, our plant and machinery headquarters, and the place where our work force is located and living, and where the majority of our mature trees are," she wrote.
She was referring to the 100,000 pecan trees growing on 6,000 acres along the Santa Cruz River in Sahuarita and Green Valley. The land is the largest irrigated pecan orchard in the world.
The trees were planted mainly during the 1960s, but the company was established in 1948 by Keith Walden and is now operated by his son, Richard, who is married to Nan.
"We are agriculturalists," she said, "and the third generation of our family and our workers are involved now in our operations."
For more information
• To find out more about the Green Valley Pecan Co., go online to: www.greenvalleypecan.com.
