U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency has released the new acreage estimate along with the new yield estimate for the present 2026 crop.
Checking first, peanut forecast now has dropped again down four percent from the previous forecast and now we’re at 2,462,000 tons. That’s down 31 percent from last year. Area harvested is expected to total around 1.36 million acres.
That’s unchanged from the previous forecast as most farmers reported their acreage, but it’s also down 28 percent from last year. So, farmers cut back 28 percent on their acreage and now the yields are down and they’re going to be 31 percent less than last year. Based on conditions right now, the average yield for the U.S. peanut farmer is 3,627 pounds per acre and that is down 139 pounds per acre from the previous forecast and that’s down 119 pounds per acre from 2025.
So, the acreage going acreage is yielding less and the crop is smaller this year. We’ll see what happens to the market as they learn more about it.
Audio Reporting by Tyron Spearman for Southeast AgNet.