The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is one of dozens of weather cycles that climatologists track closely. Many farmers also pay attention to the three phases of ENSO because even though it physically occurs thousands of miles from the U.S., it can alter weather patterns around the world – and affect grain production in many key areas, including the Midwest. 

In episode #5 of “Deep Dive With Bryce and Ben,” we take a closer look at what production areas tend to be most affected and how ENSO occasionally impacts grain marketing. 

Miss an episode of Deep Dive? Follow the links below. 

Episode 4: USDA Export Data

Episode 3: USDA Production Projections

Episode 2: China 

Episode 1: Spreads

Senior Editor Ben Potter brings more than 14 years of professional agricultural communications and journalism experience to Farm Futures. He began working in the industry in the highly specific world of southern row crop production. Since that time, he has expanded his knowledge to cover a broad range of topics relevant to agriculture, including agronomy, machinery, technology, business, marketing, politics and weather. He has won several writing awards from the American Agricultural Editors Association, most recently on two features about drones and farmers who operate distilleries as a side business. Ben is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. 

Bryce Knorr first joined Farm Futures Magazine in 1987. In addition to analyzing and writing about the commodity markets, he is a former futures introducing broker and is a registered Commodity Trading Advisor. He conducts Farm Futures exclusive surveys on acreage, production and management issues and is one of the analysts regularly contracted by business wire services before major USDA crop reports. Besides the Morning Call on www.FarmFutures.comhe writes weekly reviews for corn, soybeans, and wheat that include selling price targets, charts and seasonal trends. His other weekly reviews on basis, energy, fertilizer and financial markets and feature price forecasts for key crop inputs. A journalist with 38 years of experience, he received the Master Writers Award from the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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