The series was created by Dan Signer, a former writer and co-executive producer of The Suite Life on Deck, after he was inspired by China Anne McClain's natural talent and confidence, leading him to build a show around the concept of a child prodigy.

Disney Channel greenlit the series in mid-November 2010, with production beginning in early 2011; after the first few episodes aired, the network increased the season one episode order from 13 to 26.

In 2009, China Anne McClain, Sierra McCormick, and Jake Short starred together in an unaired Disney Channel pilot called Jack and Janet Save the Planet; after it was not picked up, Dan Signer created A.N.T. Farm specifically for McClain.

Sierra McCormick landed the role of Olive after she spent her audition continually talking about tigers, which convinced Signer that her fast-talking, enthusiastic manner matched the character.

Jake Short was the last of the three core young leads to be cast, chosen after Signer found him convincingly likable playing an artist during his audition.

Caroline Sunshine was originally cast as Lexi Reed and Stefanie Scott as Tinka Hessenheffer for Shake It Up!, but Dan Signer swapped the two actresses between the roles; Sunshine later returned to guest star as Tinka in an A.N.T. Farm episode.

The series' one-episode sneak preview drew 4.4 million viewers and ranked as the No. 1 telecast among both Tweens 9-14 and Kids 6-11 for that day.

The A.N.T. Farm soundtrack, released October 11, 2011, spent five weeks on the Billboard kids chart, peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200, and reached number 2 on the US Top Soundtracks chart.