Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The smallest peanut crop in decades may affect peanut butter prices.

Georgia produces about 1 million tons of peanuts, that's about half of the country's total harvest. But extreme heat and drought, combined with insects and disease have plagued this year's production. Agriculture experts estimate this year's harvest to top 700,000 tons.

Many farmers are also planting more corn and cotton crops since those commodities fetch higher prices.

The loss is expected to hit consumers' pockets at the grocery store. The makers of Jif peanut butter have said they expect to raise prices by 30-percent because of higher peanut costs.