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  El Niño seems to be quieting down , after reports of “substantially” lower temperatures in the pacific. The question is; What happens next? Well, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology says in a media update that La Niña years follow El Niño years about 40% of the time. And for 10% of the time another El Niño year follows after an El Niño year. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says that the effects of  El Niño are still being felt, further delaying La Niña, which is already underway. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) says on the 11th of April that there is an 85% chance of ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) in April-June and a 60% chance of La Niña developing in June-August. La Niña is characterized by being colder and gives more rainfall. This is a blessing for some and a curse for others. Indian agriculture flourishes from increased monsoons, while Northern Australia experiences catastrophic floods.  In other news, tough times seem imminent for ru...

28th of March, USDA released their annual prospective plantings report for the coming year. They are reporting a decrease of 5 percent in corn planted acreage from 2023. USDA estimates that the planted area for corn for all purposes in 2024 will be at 90 million acres. This is 4.61 million less than last year. In terms of wheat, the planted acreage is reported to be down by 4 percent. The planted area for all wheat types is estimated at 47.5 million acres for 2024. More specifically, winter wheat is set at 34.1 million acres. Where 24.3 million of these are Hard Red Winter, and 6.26 million acres are Soft Red Winter. The remaining 3.59 million acres are White Winter Wheat. Spring wheat is estimated to be 11.3 million acres for 2024, where 10.7 million acres are Hard Red Spring. Durum wheat is expected at 2.03 million acres. As an immediate response to the publication of the prospective plantings report, corn prices saw a surge on March 28th. The US being the world’s largest corn produ...