NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RFD-TV) — Southern row-crop producers closed 2025 facing another season marked by weather extremes, tight margins, and shifting acreage decisions — a combination that kept many farms near or below breakeven for the third consecutive year. For growers across the region, higher production costs and persistently weak commodity prices continued to outweigh localized yield gains.
Extension economists from Alabama to Texas report similar themes. Widespread prevented planting, late-season drought, and new pest pressures — including the expanding cotton jassid — lowered yield potential and added to input and management costs. Even where corn, cotton, peanut, or soybean yields exceeded five-year averages, many producers struggled to capture price rallies due to limited storage, early harvest timing, or cautious marketing strategies.
Financial stress intensified as producers faced negative returns, high interest expenses, and tighter credit standards. Several states highlighted growing concerns about depleted working capital and multi-year operating debt that will carry into 2026 — especially on row-crop-focused farms without livestock income to offset losses.
Acreage patterns shifted notably. Corn gained ground at the expense of cotton in multiple states, while peanuts expanded in Georgia, and rice acreage climbed in Louisiana. Soybeans held their footprint in some areas but declined sharply in others amid lower prices and early-season weather delays.
Looking ahead, Extension specialists warn that producers will enter 2026 with elevated cost structures, uncertain price trends, and heightened reliance on ad hoc assistance, making crop insurance, rotations, and marketing discipline critical for financial survival.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Southern producers head into 2026 with thin margins, tighter credit, and rising agronomic risks despite scattered yield improvements.
Tony St. James, RFD-TV Markets Specialist
If you’re a fan of RFD-TV’s Where the Food Comes From, you might recall visiting Larry Smith’s idyllic Christmas Tree farm in rural North Carolina. This year, ahead of the holidays, we are taking a look back at the classic episode from Season 2 with a host of new, behind-the-scenes and bonus content to enjoy!
November 16, 2023 03:14 PM
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November 10, 2023 02:41 PM
The State of Louisiana is known as a major wintering location for North American waterfowl. However, a new visitor — a species of Whistling Ducks hailing from South America — may pose a problem to native species.
November 09, 2023 01:52 PM
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In today’s production update, Total Acre Farming’s David Hula has an enlightening conversation with Jeremy Rountree about a new, industry-disrupting product from
Brandt Fungicide.
November 02, 2023 12:23 PM
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A story that started with hardship ultimately led to a producer impacting the lives of youth involved in sheep showing. The North Carolina Farm Bureau takes us to Haynes Farm in Dobson, N.C., to hear this inspiring story.
November 01, 2023 12:50 PM
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Show producer Donna Sanders shares her perspective on filming the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From at Splenda Stevia Farms, a company growing a sweet specialty crop here in the U.S. that is typically imported from overseas.
November 01, 2023 09:00 AM
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Splenda’s new stevia farm in Florida is the first of its kind in the United States. Thousands of plants produce millions of leaves that are then turned into plant-based stevia sweetener products. But how do they get the sweet stuff out?
October 31, 2023 09:00 AM
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke with RFD-TV’s own Susan Alexander this Monday morning on the Market Day Report to explain Arkansas’s recently passed giving lawmakers greater authority to sanction foreign ag-land ownership within the state.
October 30, 2023 12:51 PM
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What does Splenda have to do with farming? Sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are plant-based — so they are just not sugar, but are comprised of those other plants also grown on farms.
October 30, 2023 09:00 AM
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