The US Department of Agriculture's November crop estimates for Arkansas lowered expected yields of corn, soybeans and peanuts and raised rice slightly, with harvest across the state nearly finished. Corn and soybean yields are still expected to be among the highest on record.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service cut its corn yield estimate by three bushels an acre from October and its soybean yield by three bushels an acre, after field surveys found fewer pods. Peanut yields were lowered by 100 pounds an acre, which specialists put down to drought and difficult conditions in parts of the season. Cotton was left unchanged.
"Many of the soybean farmers I have talked to have 'average at best' soybean yields for 2026," said Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture (UADA). He pointed to the NASS pod count for Arkansas: 1,552 pods with beans per 18 square feet in November, 323 fewer than the 1,875 counted in 2025.
Rice was the only major crop raised. "Rice yields were expected to climb over the previous estimate given that they were noticeably improved over 2025 crop yields," said Jarrod Hardke, UADA's extension rice agronomist. "Some growers rivaled 2024 record yields, but there was enough variability to keep many around-average yields."
Harvest was ahead of the historical pace: soybeans nearly done, cotton close to finished and peanuts ahead of normal. Winter wheat planting was near average, but dry weather slowed emergence. Some growers planted more wheat after prices hit multi-year highs earlier in the season, but prices have since fallen. "Australia and Argentina both ended up having decent wheat crops this year, and Canada as well," said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
The November report is the last monthly yield update before USDA's annual crop production summary in January.
Photo: Ark. Agricultural Experiment Station / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Farms.com
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