We have some land with about a dozen good sized pecan trees on it, all 30" and bigger.  I've been looking into getting seedlings from the state forestry dept they are labeled as a Native pecan is all it says.  I've looked at a few reports on pecan production and know Oklahoma is one of the top 10 pecan producing states.  I know it will take some time to get everything started and going from the ground up.  Below is a list of things in my favor that has got me interested in starting a small orchard.  I'm thinking eventually 100-150 trees at maturity.

30-40 acres that have no trees only native grass or improved pasture.
Available water source, have a creek that runs through property always has running water at a constant 6"-1 ft water depth even in the summer without rain
30+ years until my planned retirement age if everything goes right
Don't mind working outside or busting my ass to accomplish something

Cons
No equipment as of yet for major land upkeep, but working on getting a tractor in the future

Any suggestions?

Forget natives. Paper shells are larger and worth more money. My mother in law has 25 trees in her yard. Commercial trees are shorter then native trees. Get a good mower and mow around the trees before harvest to make recovery easier. The places north of Shreveport use a shaker to get the nuts all at the same time, then they vacuum the nuts off the ground. We use a hand picker to get them off the ground at her moms. I don't recommend that method for very many trees but 25 isn't enough to justify the expense of the machinery necessary to do it the other way. You'll also want to start a nursery area that gets replanted yearly so you'll always have new seedlings (8-10 ft) ready to replace older trees on a cycle. If the wind or storms crack or break a tree you'll want to get it out before pests have a chance to weaken it more, they spread if they get a foothold. Plus BBQ places are always looking for pecan wood so you have a way to sell trees that you cull.

commercial growers planted trees pretty close together, maybe 15ft apart, machinery includes tree shakers, trimmers, harvesting
takes 15 years for first primary production season though they drop smaller crops sooner.


look at black walnuts, almonds. 7 to 10 years for full production crops..

we have 3 nut buyers in my town, the highest price I have seen in 8 years has been 1.75 a pound, averages is about .fiddy cents




Chef

yep, find out if you have a market for the variety you plan on selling or sell them on the good ol' internet, probably more profit there anyway.

and for sure find out which types will grow in your area and can survive the climate so they don't die after a few years due to some strange local disease

if you sell to the shipper/packers they get most of the money, especially if you are just a little guy, they kinda have you by the short hairs as they may be the only game in the area and take advantage of it