Acreage report shows Arkansas rice acres sinking to lowest level in half-century
JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas rice acres shifted to other crops, leaving the nation’s No. 1 grower with the fewest rice acres in 50 years, according to the Acreage Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
June 30, 2026
By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts
- Arkansas rice acreage drops below 1 million acres for first time since 1983
- Earliest-ever planted soybean acres ticked up slightly from 2025
- Cotton acres on par with March forecast
- Corn acres increase over 2025
(1,054 words)
DOWNLOAD related Acreage report table, rice acreage chart
JONESBORO, Ark. — Arkansas rice acres shifted to other crops, leaving the nation’s No. 1 grower with the fewest rice acres in 50 years, according to the Acreage Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tuesday’s report differs from the Prospective Plantings report issued by USDA at the end of March. The March report describes farmers’ planting intentions. The June Acreage report reflects acreage estimates based on survey responses between May 28 and June 19, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Since March, the question of acreage allocations lingered amid a background of a war-fueled diesel and fertilizer price rollercoaster, commodity price volatility and Arkansas’ persistent drought.
“We had an unusually warm and dry April this year,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “Corn, rice and soybeans went in early. It was the earliest planted soybean crop ever in Arkansas. Other than being too dry, weather had little influence on which crop to plant. This year, it was input costs that played a key role.”
RICE
“Total rice acres in the state came up short of the 1 million acres in the March intentions,” Stiles said. “The total dipped to 851,000 acres, the lowest acreage since the age of disco. We had 840,000 to 850,000 acres in '76 and '77.
“For those who didn't book inputs earlier this year, we wondered if the price spikes in fertilizer and fuel would have some impact on corn and rice acres,” Stiles said.
“Based on the Acreage report, that had no influence on corn acres,” he said. “Rice? Possibly.
“We've seen some improvement in rice prices this spring, but the better part of the rally occurred in May and beyond. This year, essentially 90 percent of the rice acres were planted by May 1. From the outset this year, rice margins were nil and the spike in fuel and fertilizer this spring only compounded that situation,” Stiles said.
Jarrod Hardke, rice extension agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said “Total rice acres moved in the expected direction — lower.
“I think it’s possible there are even fewer long-grain acres, but medium-grain acres came in close to expectation,” he said.
Hardke said there were two drivers this year for Arkansas farmers debating their crop mix. The first was dry early conditions, which helped speed planting. “Some of those acres ended up as rice,” he said.
Another influence was “the May price rally that saw some rice acres planted later that may not have been otherwise,” Hardke said.
“Regardless of some shift from here in the final acres, the report confirms that we'll plant less than 1 million rice acres for the first time since 1983,” Hardke said.
CORN
While Arkansas’ rice acres weren’t a big surprise, corn turned out to be something of a head-scratcher, Stiles said.
“In March, NASS had our corn acres at 590,000 — which we thought was too low,” he said. “In fact, today's number was 830,000 acres and slightly above last year. That is hard to explain.”
Extension wheat and feed grains agronomist Jason Kelley said, “We had an exceptionally dry March and April, which allowed corn to be planted on time without rain delays, giving us one of our best planting windows in several years,” he said.
“There was concern that high nitrogen prices may have reduced corn acres, which they may have to some degree, but I think many planting decisions were already made when nitrogen prices started increasing,” Kelley said. “This year's 830,000 acres is approximately 100,000 acres above the 10-year average planting.”
SOYBEANS
Arkansas soybeans clocked in at 3.2 million acres, up from the 3.1 million acres forecast in the Prospective Plantings report.
“Soybean prices rallied throughout the spring months and peaked in May just above $12,” Stiles said. “That was a price level we hadn't seen in two years. There have been decent marketing opportunities, as well as better margins and lower production costs that favored soybeans heavily this year.”
Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for the Division of Agriculture, said the Acreage report “is much closer to the actual acreage than the previous estimate.”
“Soybean growers have soybean planted in just about every corner where they can plant row crops,” he said. “With more soybean acres in the state, my calls on production problems have been more than over the past few years. Now soybean growers are hoping for the rest of the summer to have mild temperatures and some rainfall to help maximize yields.”
COTTON
The Acreage report numbers put a smile on the face of Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for the Division of Agriculture.
“The report has us at 470,000 acres, and that number is a pleasant surprise,” he said. “The National Cotton Council predicted 325,000, and USDA predicted 470,000 in late winter/early spring.
“After a market uptick in May, among several other factors that boded well for cotton, I did believe we would see more than the 325,000 acres, but I did not predict we would actually achieve that 470,000-acre mark,” Treadway said. “The 470,000-acre mark is a decrease of 50,000 acres from 2025, but with all things considered, that is a very respectable mark and kudos to our Arkansas cotton producers.”
Stiles said “a surprising price rally above 80 cents per pound in cotton kept acres more stable than expected.
“With the later planting and much of the crop going in the ground in May, the recent pullback in urea prices was well-timed,” Stiles said.
“As we begin to see Farm Service Agency certified acres in August, we may even see cotton acres tick a little higher,” he said.
PEANUTS
Arkansas’ peanut acreage took a dive, falling to 31,000 acres, down 17,000 acres from 2025.
“This decline is in line with a nationwide decrease in peanut acres and is Arkansas' lowest acreage since it planted 26,000 acres in 2018,” Treadway said. “While I knew a decrease in acreage was inevitable, I was a little surprised by the magnitude. I will be interested to see if there is any adjustment to that number in future reports.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land-grant education system.
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