North hi Carolina peanut farmers produce some of the best peanuts in the world, ranking first in the production of the large kernel Virginia-type cocktail peanut. The vast majority of peanuts in North Carolina are raised in the northeast and southeast areas of the State. The State harvested the peak number of acres in 1945 with 320,000 acres. Most of North Carolina's peanuts are consumed "out-of-hand," as cocktail peanuts, instead of crushed into peanut butter or incorporated into candies. Peanuts are one of the most significant agricultural crops in North Carolina