By Clint Thompson
Peanut acres increased substantially across the Southeast. Kris Balkcom, assistant Extension professor at Auburn University, discussed the region’s acreage at last week’s Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Savannah, Georgia.
Alabama increased from 172,500 acres in 2023 to at least 185,000 this year. Florida increased from 155,000 to 165,000, while Georgia increased from 770,000 to 850,000. Balkcom attributes the rise in peanut acres to row crop growers attempting to stay afloat amid floundering cotton prices.
“I think we increased peanut acres due to the cheaper cotton. Everybody’s just trying to lean on and get through these tough times, not use as much fertilizer and get by with peanuts. They might have went a little bit heavier with the peanut acreage this year,” Balkcom said. “It’s looking like between Alabama, Georgia and Florida, we’ve probably got 1.2 million acres, between the three of us.”
Oversupply
The increased acres could lead to an overabundance of supply. Along with Mississippi, the four states comprise the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation. They produced 2.095 million tons at 1.111 million tons per acre in 2023. This year’s prediction is 2.439 million tons at 1.220 million tons per acre.
“Obviously, we want to survive on the farm, and we think peanuts are our best option this year. That’s going to put us in oversupply, obviously, probably, if we do produce a big crop. There will be some cheap peanuts next year. But right now, it’s been so tough the last couple of years, we’re trying to get through this year first,” Balkcom said.