Pecans are usually found in deep soil. If your land is in a valley with topsoil, pecans may work. My soil is thin and rocky. I have lots of black walnut trees and they are everywhere in the valleys. Someone here may have more experience with pecans.

Here is a link that might be useful: extension office

I have 3 large Pecans and each year, the Pecans get bigger. My late Sis had several huge trees.My trees are over 20 years old, thats the thing with Pecans, it takes so long to bear.
Nice to see another 75 year old on here--I'm about 60 miles from Ar. border

Thanks for the info about soil preference. I think the soil on MO land is pretty deep ... will have to take a better look on this trip. The Rogers soil seems mostly thin and rocky ... trees thrive, including a large Black Cherry....in reality, I'll never live on the 8 acres ... investing for my children's inheritance. Really want to lure my kids away from CA, where the lifestyle our family values is getting harder to achieve and into the Ozarks, where unspoiled nature and sweet people abound. Have 2 settled in Ark and 2 more to go.

But in the meantime, I will get many imaginary miles from "planning" for improvement on those acres... I've already built a log cabin, planted orchards and great garden [imaginary gardens don't need tending, so can be reeeelly large]and have full complement of livestock [oh, if I were 40 again, I'd really do these things]...all fun aside, can't describe the pleasure those acres give me. And if I plant some pecans that my children will harvest, all the more pleasure to contemplate!

If you do plant the pecans investigate the varieties suited to McDonald county and get ones that pollinate each other. The Extension people have a publication on that. Dreaming is a big part of the fun of gardening. I love my place and home is my favorite place to be. I think there is also a hickory that has bigger nuts. It wouldn't be as nice as a pecan but may work for the less than ideal locations. Many places in McDonald County do have more topsoil - like near Elk River.

We have two pecan trees in our yard that we planted as seedlings about 20 years ago. They weren't any special variety, just the ones that you get cheap in bundles from the Missouri Department of Conservation. One of the trees has been producing nuts for five or six years but the other has grown slower has been producing nuts for only a couple years and not very many.
Named cultivars will start producing earlier than unnamed seedlings like we planted but you still may have to wait 10 years.
Something's wrong with mine. The nuts don't fill out. I confess I haven't bothered to try to fix the problem, maybe Pecan Scab Fungus.
Here's an old thread where some cultivar names are mentioned.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waiting on Pecans

Good thread Christie! That scottokla that knows so much about pecans is often found on the Oklahoma forum. He suffered in the drought and was really wanting it to rain. I think the comment "the best time to plant them was yesterday" is good. Just get them in the ground. Small trees are pretty even if they don't produce nuts.

Megga thanks for links ...they will prove helpful!! Re: length of time before pecans bear ... gives me pleasure to think that someone - family or not - will reap the benefit of my planting.

On our May trip to Ark, I passed that nursery you said was so good ... but no chance to stop and browse ... my kids were painting their house and doing other necessay things [stove,washer,refrig], and I don't drive anymore .... but this trip will be more relaxed [?] and time for such pleasures as roaming through a really good nursery. As hot and dry as it is here, I can hardly wait for some good solid rain on my face and in my hair!! aaaah yesss!!

Barb - That's a good attitude to plant for future generations.
If you don't already have a lot of trees on your Missouri property, be sure to visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website around mid November when they come out with their seedling list. There are dozens of native varieties of trees and shrubs available in bare root bundles. They aren't mailed until late winter/early spring so maybe you could plan a tree planting trip back to Missouri with your family or just something to look forward to when you do move back here.
Missouri is so lucky to have that program. Other states do too but I think ours is one of the lowest cost in the nation. It works out to be about 25 cents a tree.
This is last year's list. You can't order from it but I thought you might want to look.

Here is a link that might be useful: MDC Seedling Order Form