Peanut acres across the country decreased by 22% in 2026, falling to about 1.53 million acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest acreage report. That same report put Arkansas peanut acreage at 31,000 acres, a decline of more than 35% from 2025.
Zachary Treadway, extension peanut and cotton agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said that despite this year’s decline in acreage, peanuts are on the rise over the long term.
“Peanuts are becoming more common in the state of Arkansas,” Treadway said. “This year’s acreage decline is not the norm, as acreage has been increasing every year until now. A decrease was to be expected, as national acreage also dropped off, but with two shelling plants in the state, it is a crop I expect to be around for a long time.”…