2023 Arkansas Peanut Yield Could Top 2017 Record

SARA CATO 

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

Despite a battle with early southern blight, Arkansas peanut growers are on track for the highest yield the state has seen in the past 10 years.

While June and late August brought hot, dry weather, May provided perfect conditions for peanuts, said Travis Faske, extension plant pathologist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

“Probably 80 percent of our peanuts were planted within the first couple weeks of May,” he said “We had great temperatures, and after planting we had good, frequent rain. That rain allowed our herbicides to get activated, leading to relatively clean fields.”

But luck turned in July when rains caused an earlier-than-usual debut for southern blight, the most common disease in Arkansas peanuts.

“Northeast Arkansas had some good rains in July, which prevented farmers from being able to apply fungicides to protect the crop,” Faske said. “So, in early August southern blight was more of an issue than previous years. But this did not limit the good yields that we saw.”

And yields were certainly good. Faske expects this year’s peanut crop to surpass the 2017 record of 5,288 pounds per acre.

“For the past three years we’ve hovered around 4,800 to 5,000 pounds per acre. This year we are likely to be well over 5,300 pounds per acre, making it the best yield on record for the past 10 years,” Faske said. “I think we will surpass the last leading statewide average set back in 2017.”

Higher than average yield wasn’t the only good news for Arkansas peanut growers. Dry conditions allowed for a quick harvest, similar to 2022.

“As far as getting the peanuts out, from start to finish this was one of the fastest harvests we’ve seen in a long time, aside from last year.” Faske said. “In 2022 and 2023, almost all fields were done by Halloween, whereas typically harvest can extend to mid-November.”

With high yield and high demand, Faske believes there will be a push to add peanut acres in Arkansas in 2024.

Last year, Arkansas growers produced 166.4 million pounds of peanuts on 32,000 acres. The value of Arkansas’ peanut crop is more than $42 million. Runner peanuts – the type used in peanut butter – account for almost 100 percent of the state’s peanut crop. These varieties consistently have high yields and remain in high demand. Learn more about Arkansas peanut production at uaex.uada.edu. ∆

SARA CATO: University of Arkansas