The groves along Nogales Highway will look the same this November as they did last year. The trees are staying in production, and the shakers should still come through after the husks split. The visible change is smaller and easier to overlook. For 17 years, one regular event let anyone with running shoes go inside the orchards. That event won't happen this year, and nobody has said whether it will come back.
On September 17, 2026, Farmers Investment Co., the company most people here just call FICO, announced an agreement to sell its assets to a consortium of pecan growers. The sale includes its pecan orchards in Sahuarita, Continental and San Simon. The same day, the company's race page posted a notice tied to that announcement. The Pecan Classic 5K and 10K, scheduled for November 7, is canceled because of the transition, and early registrants are getting refunds.
Read separately, those are a business story and an event cancellation. Read together, they finish a change that started five years ago, as the orchards became something people here drive past rather than visit.
What the Sale Settles, and What It Leaves Open
FICO's media release is short. It says the transaction "ensures the FICO orchards will remain in pecan production for the foreseeable future." Brian Driscoll, FICO's president and CEO, said he expects the buyers to "continue to be outstanding stewards of the land resources and will continue to grow high-quality pecans." A spokesperson for the buying group called FICO "a pillar of Sahuarita, Green Valley, and San Simon for decades" and said the group is "proud to be joining these communities as growers, neighbors, and caretakers of this land."
KVOA reported that the deal covers more than 7,000 acres of orchard. Most of the other details are still unannounced.
| Question | Where it stands as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Will the orchards stay pecan orchards? | FICO says yes, for the foreseeable future |
| Who is buying? | Not named; FICO says it will share that at closing |
| When does it close? | "In the coming months" |
| Sale price | Not reported |
| Reason for selling | Not stated in the announcement |
| Orchard workers | Formal FICO employment ends at closing; FICO says the buyer expects to keep a majority of the workforce |
| The Pecan Classic | Canceled for November 7, 2026 |
FICO structured the sale as a transfer of assets rather than of the company. That is why employees' formal employment with FICO ends at closing. FICO has offered severance to those who stay through the transition. The Green Valley News reported that the announcement didn't name the consortium and that details would come at closing.
As far as anyone can see from the road, the farm stays a farm. The open question was never the trees. It's how much of the orchard the public still gets to see from the inside.
How the Gate Narrowed
The run series ended up as the main public way into the orchards because the other ways had already closed one by one. Laid out in order, the sequence is clear.
- 1948. R. Keith Walden acquires the land in the Santa Cruz Valley that becomes the farm.
- 2021. FICO closes its processing plant, citing market pressures, tariffs, competition from Mexico and COVID-19. In October, Farm Progress reports that the adjacent Green Valley Pecan nut store will stop operating in early 2022.
- Today. FICO's website no longer links to a store. Its tours page says regular public tours aren't offered, though groups can ask about one. The contact page lists office hours of Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and says public access is by appointment.
- September 2026. The sale is announced, and the November race is canceled.
By this fall, a store visit and a walk-in tour were already off the table. The Pecan Orchard Run Series was the one thing still on the public calendar every year. FICO's 2026 schedule had three races: the Nut Run on March 28, Breeze in the Trees on August 8 and the Pecan Classic on November 7. The first two happened. The third would have been the only one that fell during harvest season.
A note for anyone still giving visiting family directions to "the pecan store": that storefront has been closed for nearly four years.
What the Races Were Actually Carrying
The cancellation notice gives a sense of what the series had become. FICO says the Pecan Orchard Run Series gave "more than $100,000 back to local nonprofits and community organizations" over 17 years. The thank-you that follows is specific. It mentions the Green Valley firefighters "who cooked those post-race pancakes," the 4-H kids "and their little petting zoo," timing partners, sponsors, and the FICO employees who worked behind the scenes.
The August race shows where the money went. Proceeds from this year's Breeze in the Trees were donated to Walden Grove X-Country, the Sahuarita 4-H Club, the Greater Green Valley Community Foundation and the Green Valley Firefighters Association. FICO's description of that race also explains why people ran it in August. "When it's hot out there runners find a piece of heaven in the orchard," it reads, because the canopy is at its fullest.
So the canceled November race affects more than runners. It was a fundraiser for named local groups and a pancake breakfast, and it was the one weekend a year when families could go under the trees right at harvest time. KVOA reported that the future of the series beyond the Pecan Classic is unknown. That makes the new owners' plans for the series the main thing to watch once the buyer is named.
What You Can Still See From the Road
The harvest itself happens in the open. FICO describes the process this way. Once the nuts mature in fall and the husks dry and split, mechanical shakers knock them to the ground. Then machines blow them into rows for pickup, cleaning and storage. An Arizona Daily Star account describes the same order: shakers first, then sweepers that form long rows, then collection trucks.
Timing is less certain. Earlier Daily Star reporting put the Sahuarita harvest from the end of November to about the end of January. Frost can move that window. In one season the Star covered, the first freeze didn't come until December 22, which pushed the start of harvest back nearly a month. No 2026 harvest date has been announced, and an ownership change in the middle of a season could affect scheduling in ways nobody has described yet. Late November through January is a typical window, not a promise.
The groves along Nogales Highway south of Sahuarita Road are the stretch the Green Valley News used to illustrate its story about the sale. None of the sale coverage reports any change to the roads or to roadside views. For now, the drive is the most dependable way to see the orchards, and harvest is the season when there's the most to see from it.
Where Fall Evenings Outside Are Landing Instead
Without a November orchard race, the outdoor events on this fall's calendar are mostly at town parks and community centers. These dates come from the published calendars. They can change, so check the live listing before you go.
- Sahuarita Sunset Market, October 9 and November 13, 5 to 8 p.m., at Sahuarita Lake Park, 15466 S. Rancho Sahuarita Blvd. It's free, with local music, food vendors and homegrown vendors. The November 13 market falls six days after the canceled race.
- Program & Vendor Showcase, October 17, 5 to 8 p.m., at La Villita Community Center.
- Carve N' Sip, October 23, 7 to 9 p.m., and Carve N' Family, October 24, 6 to 9 p.m., both at La Villita Community Center.
- Club Del Toro opening celebration, October 13, at 16790 S. Rancho Sahuarita Blvd., with face painting, a jumping castle and food trucks. Rancho Sahuarita calls Club Del Toro its newest addition.
- Rancho Sahuarita's October calendar also lists the Food Truck Roundup at Club Rancho on October 6, held the first Tuesday of each month. It also has a Boo Bash Carnival & Trunk-or-Treat on October 17 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. and an Autumn Movie Night at Club Del Toro on October 30 from 6 to 10 p.m.
None of these replaces a 10K under a pecan canopy. Together they show that this year's fall calendar is built around Sahuarita Lake Park, La Villita and the Rancho Sahuarita clubhouses, without an orchard event.
What to Watch Before Next Spring
According to FICO, the next real news comes at closing, when the buyer and more details will be announced. This year's Nut Run was on March 28, so a spring 2027 race date, or the lack of one, will be the first sign of the new owners' plans for the series. FICO's race page remains the place to check for any announcement about the run series.
If you've been wondering what the orchard sale might mean for your home's value, your commute or the view from your back patio, Laurie is glad to talk it through with you, neighbor to neighbor. Holiday Homes Family follows changes like this one so local families have someone to call. Contact Laurie to Get Started.
