We are #TeamPecan

Mississippi Valley Pecans supports farmers and landowners who want to grow a delicious, sustainable, native, flood-tolerant crop. We (will) offer cracking and shelling services so growers of all sizes can get their crop to market with the highest quality and lowest costs.

Traffic signs indicating routes in Illinois, including highways 3 and 146, with directions straight and right. Signs include a green route marker for the Great River Road, a Lincoln Heritage Trail sign, and additional directional arrows.

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Pecans are native to the rich bottomland soils of the Mississippi River valley. Like many people in Wolf Lake and other floodplain communities, Jenny grew up with a pecan tree in the backyard and a view of corn and soybean fields stretching for miles to the levee on the horizon.

The mighty Mississippi provides rich soil, plentiful water, unique wildlife habitat and a flyway for migratory birds and waterfowl. It can also blast through a levee and destroy thousands of acres of farmland (Alexander County, Illinois) or wipe out a whole town (Valmeyer, Illinois). The wisdom of the local farmers who have —so far— successfully maintained Wolf Lake's aging levee system is that the river always wins.

how much longer can we keep fighting the river?

A flooded field with tall green grasses, trees, and a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.

Floodplain farmers in Southern Illinois have found ways to make the most of the river's gifts and challenges through a combination of commodity row crop farming on the best ground, strategic use of federal wetland restoration programs on large tracts of low ground, waterfowl hunting clubs for off-season income, and a willingness to experiment with specialty crops (rice, cotton, pond-raised fish, and more).

The next step toward a sustainable, diversified, profitable use of floodplain land is to grow pecans on the pieces of land that are a little too wet a little too often for reliable row crop production. And if the day ever comes that the river breaks through the old levee we'll have a head start on growing a crop that doesn't mind at all when the river spreads out wide across the floodplain.

Close-up of a person's hand holding a handful of acorns, with a blurry fall background.

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Jenny grew up in Wolf Lake, Illinois. Her interests in plants and soils, geospatial analysis, equitable infrastructure investments, and community service drive her to find innovative ways to help rural communities thrive.

Matt grew up near Murphysboro, Illinois, as part of the 4th generation on the Reiman family's 162-acre farm. His practical experience on the farm set him up for success as a groundskeeper at large institutions in Kentucky and Illinois.

Illustration of a whole almond with four separated almond kernels.
Close-up of elderly person's hands peeling a carrot over a wooden surface, with a metal clamp and wood shavings nearby.

Matt and Jenny planted a pecan orchard on the Reiman family farm in 2025, including a plot set aside for variety selection trials, orchard floor experiments, and testing low-input management techniques. They also collect and germinate local “family heirloom” pecans from friends and neighbors in the Mississippi River bottoms to preserve a diverse pool of locally adapted seedling genetics.

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Southern Illinois is pecan country!

Design featuring text and a graphic of a pecan with the words "Mississippi Valley Pecan". It indicates ESTD 2025, Wolf Lake, IL, and includes the phrase "Trust us to handle your nuts!" with a yellow and blue color scheme.

Pecans are perfectly adapted to conditions in the floodplains of the Mississippi River valleys – it’s their original habitat! The tasty nuts we know as pecans today were known as “Illinois nuts” when George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted them on their Virginia farms around 1780. Scientists call pecans by the name Carya illinoensis. The state champion pecan tree is in Union County, Illinois.

Like Jenny’s friends and neighbors in Wolf Lake, lots of people in the Mississippi River Valley already grow pecan trees for their own personal use. Many folks in the pecan trees’ native growing area find their trees produce quality nuts without any fertilizing, irrigating, or spraying at all. The piece that’s been missing in Southern Illinois is the professional processing and marketing services that Mississippi Valley Pecans is proud to offer (soon!).

Close-up of striped seeds on a yellow leaf background.

Plant it once, enjoy the harvest, and rest easy knowing that your kids and grandkids can continue the harvest for decades to come.

Putting the right plant in the right place cuts down on input costs. Placing a small number of trees in the ideal location instead of planting a massive monoculture prevents problems with widespread pests and diseases. A few pecan trees in a low area of your yard or farm field, or next to a creek, can turn a problem area or marginal farmland into an asset.

When you’re ready to turn your pecans into a cash crop, our custom shelling services will take the hassle out of preparing your harvest for wholesale marketing or retail sales.

trust us to handle your nuts!