Pecans and Cattle: Are They Mutually Beneficial?

Pecan trees can be found across much of the southern United States, and further, the pecan is the only major cultivated nut native to the United States. Pecans also provide promising profit potential for producers with the right conditions. Cattle and pecan trees often coexist across the southern United States, and silvopastoralism (agroforestry) has been shown to be mutually beneficial in some cases. Yet, the value that cattle add to a pecan production system is still unknown. The objective of this paper is to determine the value (cost savings or ancillary benefits) of this silvopastoral system and under what conditions cattle may not be complementary to the pecan production system. An income model will be used for this analysis. It provides a 10-year analysis for production and input and output prices; the firm’s annual income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet are calculated, as well as annual debt servicing costs on capital expenses and replacement and financing of machinery over time. Further, it estimates annual federal income taxes, along with costs from cash flow deficit financing. Results will indicate under what conditions this silvopastoral system is mutually beneficial and identify what factors influence whether these two enterprises can coexist.