During the 2026 Georgia Peanut Tour, Scott Mumford, University of Georgia Extension peanut agronomist, provided an update on the peanut crop and some of the challenges growers have faced throughout the season.
According to Mumford, the 2026 crop is about 110 to 120 days into the growing season and has experienced both favorable and challenging conditions.
“We have had a lot of good things that happen for most of the growers in the state, but we also have had some bad things happen,” Mumford says. “It’s kind of an average year for us. We’ve struggled from planting all the way to now, and a large part of that struggle has been the weather.”
One of the biggest challenges this season has been sporadic rainfall. While irrigation has helped growers manage conditions in some areas, Mumford says irrigation alone cannot fully meet the crop’s needs. As a result, dryland fields across the state have responded differently depending on the rainfall they have received.
“You’re going to see some dryland crops that don’t look too good, and then we’re also going to see some that do,” Mumford says. “It’s not been a great season, but it’s been a good average season for us. Been a little bit better than the last two seasons has been for us.”
Growers have also had to manage diseases, insects and other production challenges throughout the season. Despite those issues, Mumford says growers have stayed on top of their management practices, helping the crop maintain its yield and quality potential.
“We are fighting diseases. We’re fighting insects, as well as some other issues, like I mentioned,” Mumford says. “But for the most part, our growers have stayed on top of those. And at this point, we think we’re going to have a pretty good crop yield-wise, but also quality-wise, and hopefully you’ll get to see that on this tour.”