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Arkansas Crop Yields: Highest And Lowest On Record

National Cotton Council

Arkansas crop yields are all over the map this year, with cotton harvests at an all time low and wheat registering as the second highest on record.

Brent Griffin, a county extension agent for Prairie County, says wheat is a world wide commodity and is affected by what goes on in the overseas market. He says local factors attributed to the high yield of 59 bushels this year.

A normally very large crop for the state, only 320,000 acres of cotton were planted this year, only half of what was planted in 2012.

Butch Calhoun with the Arkansas Department of Agriculture says this significant decrease could negatively affect jobs.

"People that operate the gins, and some of the different jobs what work with fertilizer and stuff- it is going to make a change. There could be some jobs lost, it's going to hurt the cattle industry, they use a lot of cotton seed for the byproducts for cattle feed and stuff. It's going to reach out and touch a lot of things," said Calhoun.

Agriculture officials say growers can make more money by planting corn or soybeans.