Texas Peanut Growers Adjust To Market And Weather In 2026
KAY LEDBETTER
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
Texas peanut producers made careful planting choices in 2026, responding to both market signals and a dry outlook, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency peanut acreage report released Sept. 11 shows about 145,000 acres of peanuts planted this year in Texas, down from 2025.
Several factors drove the shift, said Emi Kimura Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Vernon and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. The biggest factor was an exceptional 2025 crop, which left a larger-than-normal supply of peanuts and put downward pressure on prices.
Two other considerations were more favorable prices on other commodities at planting time and the weather outlook, Kimura said. Peanuts require good moisture, and the state was entering a very dry period, so many producers chose to plant more drought-tolerant crops as a result.
Bob Whitney, Regents Fellow and AgriLife Extension organic specialist with the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville in the Department of Agricultural Economics, reported organic peanut acreage followed the same trend, falling 25% from 2025, as prices for organic peanuts dropped 25%.
A long stretch of heat
Growers who planted peanuts had to manage a demanding summer, because peanuts slow their activity when daytime highs rise above 95 degrees. Temperatures stayed above that mark from July 21 through Sept. 18 in much of the peanut-growing regions, Kimura said, so they experienced about 60 days of continuous stress.
A few days dipped into the 80s, but not enough to break the stress. And nighttime temperatures stayed high as well.
“The peanuts just didn’t get a rest,” Whitney said.
Low disease pressure so far
The hot, dry weather brought one clear benefit. High temperatures and low humidity kept disease pressure low this season.
Kimura said the only disease issues were minor leaf spot damage and pod rot in an early planted trial in Wilbarger County and some spider mite pressure in drought-stress trials at Stephenville. This could mean producers with drought-stressed fields faced similar challenges.
Recent rainfall and cooler nights offered relief from the heat; however, she warned these conditions can also create a favorable climate for disease.
If harvest is still several weeks away, producers may need to treat fields. Growers who have noted diseases in a field during previous seasons should be extra cautious. Kimura advised growers to check chemical labels before applying.
Harvest outlook
Some producers in the Rolling Plains and West Texas have begun digging, depending on crop maturity. South Texas growers will likely wait until the end of October or November.
With rain in this week’s forecast, Kimura said the majority of peanut digging will begin once fields dry out. At the same time, producers are keeping an eye on the approaching colder weather and possible frost to time their harvest.
She said the overall quality will become clearer after harvest. Yields should be good where growers had irrigation water and managed it well. The crop needed more water this year than in past seasons, she said, but most growers did not have enough to keep up.
That challenge is exactly why Texas A&M AgriLife Research breeders like Johnny Cason, Ph.D., at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville, are developing drought-stress tolerant peanut lines. His work aims to give Texas producers more options in dry years ahead. ∆
KAY KEDBETTER
TEXAS AGRILIFE