MANHATTAN — A Kansas State University senior agricultural economist says theres a 70 percent chance an El Niño will arrive this fall — and thats good news for the United States. Jay ONeil, an instructor and specialist at the universitys International Grains Program, says what happens with El Niño will affect worldwide crop production. El Niño, which is the warming of the sea temperatures off the coast of Peru, is expected to affect crops during September, October and November. El Niño is generally favorable to crop production in the United States because it brings extra rain and moisture into the core crop-growing areas, ONeil said. Were just coming out of a four-year drought cycle in the United States and wed like to get back to what we call trend-line yields and big crop production so theres plenty for everybody. Better crop production in the U.S. would also mean lower food prices. However, other countries would experience harsher growing conditions because of El Niño. ONeil says South America is expected to be dryer than usual, which would have an impact on the global food market. If South America goes dry, that would affect next years production worldwide, ONeil said.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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