NASS forecasts record yields for Arkansas corn, soybeans
Sept. 14, 2026
By Mary Hightower
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Rice yields ‘good, but erratic’
- Early planted soy yields mostly average; hopes that later-planted bean yield will be better
- Corn helped by early planting, dry weather at planting
- Cotton, peanut harvests to start soon
DOWNLOAD related charts, harvest images
(676 words)
JONESBORO, Ark. — The September Crop Production Report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service is forecasting record corn and soybean yields for Arkansas.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The report also increased the expected rice yield just over one bushel per acre and lowered expected cotton and peanut yields,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, adding that the report also found “no changes to any of the commodity acres from August.”
Soybeans
NASS forecast the soybean yield at 57 bushels per acre, unchanged from last month’s report and up two bushels per acre from 2025.
Arkansas' prolonged heat and drought made a dent in the early planted crop yields, however, the later planted crop may be more forthcoming.
“I was expecting a record soybean yield two months ago, but the extreme high temperatures have really reduced the maximum yields,” said Jeremy Ross, extension soybean agronomist for UADA. “There have been some good yields, but most are average at best.
“We have to remember that this is the early planted crop, and I’m hoping that the later planted fares better. However, we will have to wait a few more weeks,” he said.
Corn
Corn was projected to yield a record 188 bushels per acre in Friday’s report. That was up from last month’s forecast of 185 bushels and well ahead of the 182 bushels per acre yield from 2025.
Jason Kelley, extension wheat and feed grains agronomist for UADA said that early planting played a role in achieving record state-average yields this year.
“The combination of early planting and a dry March-April, which allowed the crop to establish and get off to a good start, laid the foundation for high yields,” he said.
“We didn't have the heavy, soaking rains in the spring that often do more damage than good this year,” he said. “Timely rains later in the season, for the most part, helped reduce irrigation needs and maintain yield potential.”
Kelley said this summer’s record heat was a wildcard for corn growers.
“How much did the heat late in the grain-fill period impact yields? Too much heat speeds up grain fill, which tends to reduce seed size and overall yield,” he said. “Early planting helped us reach grain fill before the really hot temperatures arrived. Harvest has been smooth, with minimal weather-related delays.”
Rice
Rice was revised upward to 7,500 pounds per acre from last month’s forecast of 7,450 pounds. Last year’s rice yield was 7,480 pounds per acre.
“Rice yields have been good but erratic and a little off this year,” said Jarrod Hardke, extension rice agronomist for UADA. “Certain planting windows that spent more time in adverse weather seem most impacted,” he said, noting that there were still fewer “wild swings” than last year.
“Considering the yield range we’ve lived in the past 10 years of 7,410 to 7,640 pounds per acre, the current projection of 7,500 pounds is in line with my expectation,” he said. “We’re not going to challenge recent yield records from 2024, but we should be improved from the lower yields of 2025.”
Peanuts and cotton
The expected peanut yield was revised 100 pounds per acre downward from last month to 4,700 pounds per acre, even while total peanut acreage remained at 40,000 acres. Peanuts yielded 5,000 pounds per acre in 2025.
NASS lowered its forecast for cotton from 1,341 pounds per acre to 1,297 pounds, leaving acres at 560,000. Yields will reveal themselves over the next few weeks as “cotton harvest is kicking off in our southern counties,” said Zachary Treadway, extension cotton and peanut agronomist for UADA.
“I thought the cotton acreage number may come down a little from the August report, but USDA seems to be pretty confident in that 560,000-acre number,” Treadway said.
NASS left peanut acres unchanged at 40,000 acres.
“I also thought peanut would go up a few thousand, but it looks to be holding steady as well,” he said. “I still believe there are more than 40,000 acres of peanuts.
“In terms of yield, I agree with those decreases,” Treadway said. “We have been extremely hot and dry, weather that’s very hard on the crop. Some areas have caught rains recently, but I fear it’s too little too late.”
Treadway said peanut harvest would begin in the next week or two.
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.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 22 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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