Farm Progress

Cool, damp weather has put harvest of Mississippi’s 2013 peanut crop behind normal — not more than one-third complete by mid-October, according to Malcolm Broome, executive director of the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association. Mississippi farmers planted about 32,500 acres of peanuts in 2013, well below the 52,000 acres planted in 2012. Yields, too, are down.

October 15, 2013

1 Min Read
<p> Greg Norton uses an inverter to dig peanuts out of the ground Oct. 11, 2013, at his farm in Monroe County, Miss. Cool, wet mornings are slowing peanut harvests across the state. (Photo by MSU Ag Communications/Scott Corey)</p>

Cool, damp weather has put harvest of Mississippi’s 2013 peanut crop behind normal — not more than one-third complete by mid-October, according to Malcolm Broome, executive director of the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association.

Mississippi farmers planted about 32,500 acres of peanuts in 2013, well below the 52,000 acres planted in 2012.

Yields, too, are down, too. Broome expects yields for 3,600 to 3,800 pounds per acre in 2013, compared to the 4,000-pound average typical for Mississippi.

He said growers planted 32,455 acres of peanuts, which is less than the 52,000 acres planted in 2012 but more than originally anticipated. Broome said he expects yields to be about 3,600 to 3,800 pounds per acre, less than the 2-ton average typical in Mississippi.

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Lower prices are responsible for the smaller acreage. After receiving $750 per ton in 2012, Mississippi producers are getting an estimated $350 to $400 per ton this year.

For more on the 2013 Mississippi peanut crop, see Peanut acreage is down as harvest is underway.

  Also of interest:

Peanut acres help to boost Mississippi's economy

Early results of peanut flower termination research promising

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