AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — As autumn comes to a close, so does the 2025 crop season. Most Alabama farmers have completed harvest of the state’s primary crops — corn, cotton, peanuts and soybeans.

While agronomic crop agents with Alabama Extension at Auburn University anticipate final numbers will show an average year, they also received reports showing large variation between maximum and minimum yields.

“It really was a mixed bag,” said Cade Grace, an agronomic crops agent covering northwest Alabama. “On corn, some farmers were as low as 40 bushels an acre, while others were pushing 300 bushels an acre. The same can be said for cotton. The lowest yields were around 400 pounds an acre, but other farmers were harvesting three-bale cotton, which is about 1,500 pounds an acre.”

Timing Is Everything

Abundant spring rain and an arid summer were the primary reasons for crop yield variations. Grace said some parts of northwest Alabama received rain 26 out of 31 days in May.

“I looked it up, and this year, we had the wettest May on record since 1895,” Grace said. “At the most important time for planting, a lot of fields were flooded or got drowned out by excess rain. I saw more people replanting fields late into spring and summer than I ever have before.”

The story was similar in northeast Alabama, where Eddie McGriff serves as an agronomic crops Extension agent. McGriff said farmers who timed it right and planted early benefitted from the ample rainfall.

“Most of our corn growers had one of their better years,” McGriff said. “Soybeans were all over the map, though. We had everything from below-average to record-breaking yields. Cotton was better than anticipated, considering how late it was planted due to the heavy rains in May.”

Weather extremes were not as much of an issue in southeast Alabama. However, Sedrick Mack, who serves five counties in the region as an agronomic crops Extension agent, said cotton farmers in his area dealt with a new problem this year.

“Cotton jassid was a big issue,” Mack said. “This is a new insect that was found in Alabama for the first time this season. Cotton jassid will strip the leaves and take all the nutrients out of the plant. I always say that the leaf is like the brain of the plant. If it’s gone, the plant doesn’t really know what to do next.”

Even with a new pest to deal with, Mack said he expects to see average yields on cotton and peanuts grown in southeast Alabama.

Impact of Dry Summer Weather

After the wet spring in north Alabama, crops endured weeks without rainfall.

“From mid-August to Oct. 1, we didn’t see a drop of rain in northwest Alabama,” Grace said. “That’s really what left us with this tale of two crops: some folks seeing great yields and some seeing poor yields.”

Additionally, dry weather in southeast Alabama took a toll on equipment.

“It got so dry that peanut farmers were having a hard time digging the peanuts out of the ground,” Mack said. “They had to replace plow points on their peanut inverters pretty often.”

Back in northeast Alabama, McGriff said the lack of rain hurt late-planted soybeans. However, there were some benefits to the dry weather.

“A little less rain always helps when it’s time to pick corn, because it means farmers can get in and get harvesting done,” McGriff said. “Plus, dry weather as cotton bolls were opening meant there were less issues with boll rot.”

Struggling with Low Commodity Prices

While average yields are a plus, Alabama farmers continue to struggle because of low commodity prices received for their crops.

“With input costs high, there is a lot of money going out and not enough coming in,” Mack said. “The economy is so bad, some farmers are getting out of farming, or they’re looking for a way to incorporate something new, like raising beef cattle. For farmers who row crop and raise cattle, those cattle are helping pay a lot of bills.”

To help Alabama row crop farmers in making management decisions for 2026, Alabama Extension is planning numerous educational programs this winter. Those include the Alabama Row Crops Short Course, Jan. 20-21, in Prattville and the Wiregrass Cotton Expo, Jan. 22, in Dothan.

Check the Alabama Extension online calendar at aces.edu for additional upcoming programs.