**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** GEORGIA PRODUCES AN AVERAGE OF 100 MILLION LB PF PECANS ANNUALLY, ACCOUNTING FOR 1/3 OF ALL U.S. PEAN PRODUCTION. IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, SOUTHERN GEORGIA WAS DEVASTATED BY TWO MAJOR HURRICANES. IN LATE AUGUST OF 2023, HURRICANE IDALIA MADE LANDFALL IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AS A CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE AND CONTINUED NORTHEAST, AFFECTING PECAN ORCHARDS IN VALDOSTA AND SURROUNDING AREAS. ONLY FIVE YEARS EARLIER IN OCTOBER 2018, HURRICANE MICHAEL MADE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 5 STORM IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE AND CONTINUED TOWARD ALBANY, GA CAUSING AN ESTIMATED $560 MILLION IN LOST PECAN PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF THE STATE.PECAN ORCHARDS ARE A MAJOR CATEGORY OF LAND USE IN RURAL GEORGIA ANDINFLUENCE THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT OF THE REGION.EXISTING GUIDELINES TO HELP PECAN GROWERS WITH HURRICANE MITIGATION ARE FAIRLY SPARSE, PROVIDING ADVICE ON WHICH VARIETIES AND SOIL TYPES MAY BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO HURRICANES, BUT THESE GUIDELINES RELY ON ANECDOTAL OBSERVATIONS. THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ESTIMATE HOW WIND RISK VARIES WITH TREE SIZE AND ORCHARD PLACEMENT.THE STUDY WILL DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TREE SIZE AND WIND RISK, ENABLING GROWERS TO IMPLEMENT PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.WE WILL ALSO EMPLOY STATE-OF-THE-ART SATELLITE AND COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY TO ASSESS HOW LANDSCAPE FACTORS SUCH AS SOIL TYPE, TOPOGRAPHY, AND EVEN ORIENTATION OF ORCHARD ROWS LEAD TO DIFFERENT INTERACTIONS WITH HURRICANE WINDS. WE WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH PECAN GROWERS IN THE STATE AND ENSURE THE STUDY'S FINDINGS ARE DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO LOCAL PRACTICES.THIS COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH WILL RESULT IN MORE PRECISE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HURRICANE MITIGATION STRATEGIES.