By Mary Hightower
While drought has sped Arkansas’ harvests this fall, it could slow grain exports through the lower Mississippi River.
“Fortunately for us, our harvest is about done,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, referring to the Oct. 19 U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Progress Report. “Corn and rice have finished up. Soybeans are 87 percent done and cotton is 63 percent finished.”
Soybeans were well ahead of the five-year average of 69 percent. Cotton’s five-year average is 53 percent.
“Cotton harvest progress took a near 20 percent jump from last week's report,” said Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for UADA. “The dry weather has allowed pickers to roll from early in the mornings to late at night.
“It has been a very kind harvest season,” he said. “I expect another large jump in next week's report. Reports are trending positive for both yield and quality from this year's cotton crop. Barring some unforeseen hiccup, I foresee cotton harvest wrapping up before Halloween.”
The weather also helped move peanuts to 34 percent harvested, but still behind the five-year average of 38 percent.
“Peanut harvest is moving along briskly as well,” Treadway said. “Yields have been down some this year, as was to be expected after the summer we had.”
The slower pace in harvest may have been due to uncertainty about whether a peanut processing facility in Jonesboro would continue to operate, Treadway said. Delta Peanut received a $5 million loan from the state to get through the 2026 season.
“There would be no need to dig the crop just to disc it under,” Treadway said. “I think if we would have had certainty going into harvest, we would be further along.
Source : uada.edu