COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It’s the time of year for a family get-together with a traditional feast including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, a helping of cranberries and perhaps some yams. And, of course, the usual dinner topper, pumpkin pie.

Perhaps it’s time to shake things up a bit and surprise guests at the Thanksgiving dinner table with a pecan pie instead. Why not dazzle their taste buds with a dessert made of a tasty, healthy nut rather than some bland, winter squash? OK, pumpkins are plentiful, but so too are pecans, and they can be grown throughout the Farm World readership area.

This year, bumper crops of the pecan are projected in states like Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina. Georgia, New Mexico and Texas are the top pecan producers in the country. Georgia accounts for one-third of pecan harvest in the United States, which is nearly 88 million pounds of pecans. There are more than 6,000 pecan trees in all of the pecan orchards and farms in Georgia.

Pecans are grown commercially in 15 states in the southern United States. And a shock to many is that pecans can be grown in states like Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), pecan trees and the South go hand in hand. However, the ODNR says that most pecan trees are hardy to USDA climate Zone 6, which much of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky are located. There are some northern varieties of pecan trees (for example, Northern James) that are hardy also in Zone 5, which the rest of Ohio and Indiana are located.

Growing pecans is feasible and can be profitable. Just ask Bill Johnson in Jennings County in Indiana. He has 125 pecan trees, admitting that it takes hard work. “You should learn about what you want to do before you try to do it,” he said.

Johnson began his quest to grow pecan trees more than 35 years ago, but it took 20 years of hard labor before he harvested his first crop of pecans. He harvested roughly 100 pounds of pecans each year.

Johnson grew up on a farm north of Muncie in Delaware County. He knew little about pecans until his family took a trip to Georgia. That’s where he laid eyes on a nut that he wanted to attempt to grow. He realized the Indiana winter climate would be difficult, but wasn’t aware of the other challenges.

For Johnson and others throughout the Farm World readership area who pursue pecans above the Mason-Dixon Line, it requires the planting of a domestic pecan tree that is native to the state, oftentimes trees that were grafted by a variety of other pecan trees that can survive in a cold climate.

Orville Stamp, of Preble County, Ohio, tends to 200 walnut trees, but also has hazelnuts, hickory nuts and (yes) pecans on his property. He also has a few hicans, which is a cross between a hickory and a pecan.

At Joe Hietter’s Nut and Horse Farm in Pataskala, Ohio you’ll find a multitude of pecan and hican trees, as well as black walnut, heartnut, chestnut, hazelnut and hickory trees. Hietter planted trees every year since 2004 and they now range in size from small seedlings to mature trees, some more than 30 feet tall.

And there are other challenges with such a nut tree that doesn’t prefer a climate like Indiana or Ohio, such as controlling tree disease, pest control, irrigation, soil grooming, landscaping and more.

A pecan, like the fruit of all other members of the hickory genus, is not truly a nut, but is technically a drupe, a fruit with a single stone or pit, surrounded by a husk. Pecans are among the top-tier nuts in the world. They have a rich, buttery and nutty flavor.

It takes seven-10 years before a pecan tree begins to produce a full supply of nuts. But once the process starts, the tree can produce for a very long time, sometimes more than 100 years.

And there are monetary reasons for growing nuts like pecans. According to a report released by Freedonia Focus Group of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. demand for nuts and seeds is forecast to reach $7.1 billion by 2022. The reasons? A rising population, higher disposable personal incomes and an ongoing consumer trend toward healthier snacks.

Assisting nut growers like Johnson, Stamp and Hietter are the Ohio Nut Growers Association (ONGA) and Indiana Nut & Fruit Growers Association (INFGA). In the Bluegrass State one will find the Kentucky Nut Growers Association (KNGA). The ONGA has been around since 1941. The KNGA has been around for 52 years. The INFGA began in 1952 with just 53 members.

“While many think of Georgia when it comes to pecans, Kentucky’s climate is good for Northern pecans, a smaller and oilier nut than its bigger cousin grown in places such as Georgia,” said Danny Ganno, KNGA president.