Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
MDAC Hosts Freshly Picked Podcast Featuring Special Guests from Clay County
JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) will release its latest episode of the popular Freshly Picked podcast series today. The episode, titled “Nuts About Pecans: Celebrating Mississippi’s Legacy,” features special guests Bill Duke, vice president of Duke Pecan Company in West Point, and Art Sanders, owner of Lindy’s Pecans in West Point.
Within this episode, Duke and Sanders hold conversations with Host Claude Nash about the Mississippi native tree nut and specialty crop, pecans. Duke talks about continuing his family tradition through the Duke Pecan Company, which has been in operation for 86 years. He shares the company’s storied history in selling pecans, as well as the generational successes and failures they have experienced over the years. Today, Duke’s company buys, sells and processes local pecans before shipping to multiple businesses for final sell to customers. He goes on to discuss the importance of having good working relationships with local producers within the pecan industry.
Sanders shares his personal journey of moving from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, Illinois, before returning to fulfill a childhood dream of starting a pecan operation in 2016. Following a 31-year-long career as a firefighter, Sanders describes “coming home” to Mississippi where he and his wife turned an overgrown and neglected pecan orchard into a thriving farm. Today, Lindy’s Pecans boasts of approximately 800 producing pecan trees. Both guests also discuss the challenges of running their respective businesses and the innovations that are currently shaping the pecan industry.
Listen to their relatable experiences, unique business insight and more in today’s episode by visiting www.msfreshlypicked.com or any major podcast platform.
The Freshly Picked podcast series, developed by MDAC, will feature 24 episodes and include specialty crop farmers, experts, entrepreneurs and/or chefs as they tell the stories behind their farms, businesses and the unique products they offer. Listeners can find new episodes every Thursday through February 2025 at www.msfreshlypicked.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or other major platforms.
MageeNews.com is the online news source for Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi
