For the 225 acres of pecan trees in Adrian, Missouri, water is life. Unless, there's too much of it.
"We had a lot of rain in May," said farmer Mark Byrd with Byrd's Pecans. "The trees are really sensitive during that time period. If we get a lot of moisture and the humidity's not right, then the trees won't pollinate correctly."
WATCH: KC Live - Inside Byrd's Pecans
Two years ago Byrd picked up about 55,000 pounds of pecans. Last year, that number dropped to just over 12,000 pounds. This year -- on that same plot of land -- it's zero.
"At our grove in Nevada, we have 240 acres there and we didn't even pick up a nut. A lot of that has to go back to the wet May we had," he said.
Jennifer Cassaday runs Byrd's Pecan Delights.
In a normal year, she'll go through 2,000 pounds of pecans.
"The week of Thanksgiving, I'll make anywhere from 100-200 pies, depending on how many people come in and get them," she said.
So while most of us may pay an extra buck or two for a bag of the nuts, this year's harvest could be hard hitting for people - like Cassaday - in the pecan business.
"The holidays are definitely a big deal for us. Thanksgiving, everyone wants their pecans. Then closer to Christmas, everyone wants their candied pecans for their get togethers," said Cassaday.
Most of those come from pecan powerhouses like Georgia, Texas and Oklahoma, where heavy rain also impacted some harvests.
The good news is that the prices won't likely affect you until next year. So for this year, you can have your pie and eat it too.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
