PALESTINE, Texas (KETK) – Jim and Suzy Livergood started Palestine Texas Pecans seven years ago and in their first year they harvested 2,500 pounds.

This year, Jim said their output will be lower.

“This particular season is kind of weird,” Jim said.

Unfortunately, things aren’t looking that good this season.

“So, the crop is going to be light, it’s not going to be a good heavy crop, the quality is going to hurt, this quality’s not as quite as good as we would like,” Jim said.

Pecans are harvested by shaking trees to loosen the ones ready to fall. This year, the falling pecans aren’t in great shape, making for a subpar pecan season.

“This year, we’ll probably harvest only about 400,” Jim said.

The Livergoods say the extreme heat and drought the last two summers have continued to put stress on the trees, leaving their business in a tough spot once again.

“We will have to buy pecans from someplace else, hopefully someplace in Texas, and we will buy enough to keep the store going through the year,” Suzy said.

With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, they are trying to keep up with the demand.

“This is our biggest sale of the year, is this time of year, everybody’s looking for Christmas gifts, and pecans make a wonderful Christmas gift,” Suzy said.

They said they aren’t letting these challenges slow them down.

“We’ve got to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good,” Jim said.

The Livergoods say they are already hoping for a better season next year.