The land on which Green Valley Pecan Company began boasts a history as deep and rich as the soil that produces some of the finest pecans in the world. This expanse of fertile land in the Santa Cruz Valley, just south of Tucson, Arizona, belonged to captains of industry and crowned heads of state before being acquired by R. Keith Walden in 1948. The farm remains in the Walden family to this day. FICO founder Keith Walden began as a cotton farmer in California. In 1948, Keith purchased the Continental Farm south of Sahuarita and began farming cotton. In the 1950s, Keith grew concerned that competition from synthetic fibers would threaten the cotton market and he transitioned his farming operation to pecans as an alternative crop. Keith chose pecans because of their compatibility with the climate of the Sonoran Desert.