RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — It could be a record year for a signature Virginia crop: peanuts.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports the peanut yield is forecast at 4,300 pounds per acre. That’s up 300 pounds from last year.

If that forecast holds, it will be the highest yield on record.

Production is forecast at 81.7 million pounds, up 28 percent from 2013’s mark.

The forecast was provided by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Based on Sept. 1 conditions, the service said the state’s corn crop is expected to be down 5 percent from last year, while soybean production is up 8 percent.

On the plus side, cotton yield is forecast at just over 1,000 pounds per acre, up 119 pounds. If reached, production would be up 26 percent.

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