Accurately delivering and precisely timing sprinkler irrigation improves peanut yield and profitability, but there are no data on how to achieve this in the mid-southern USA where furrow-irrigation dominates. This research was conducted to determine if soil water potential could be manipulated through land preparation method, irrigation delivery, and irrigation scheduling. The effects of land preparation method (flat vs bed), furrow-irrigation delivery (every vs every-other furrow), and irrigation scheduling [Food and Agriculture Organization and drainage paper 56 (FAO-56), - 50 kPa, -75 kPa, and -100 kPa] on peanut yield, net returns above irrigation costs, and irrigation water use efficiency were investigated near Stoneville, MS on a Bosket very fine sandy loam. Our data indicate that regardless of land preparation method, peanut yield, net returns above irrigation costs, and irrigation water use efficiency are most often optimized in the mid-southern USA by irrigating every other furrow at a threshold of -50 kPa.