b"The El Nio pattern would really benefit the Americas in growing season 2024. We should see the reverse effect and see some lower prices, some lower costs and inflation at the supermarket.Shawn HackettHigh temperatures and dry conditions put stress on the crop and reduced yield below expectation in some cases, says Scott Horner, chief commercial officer of HyTech Production Ltd. That said, in other cases where we were able to plant early, and water was not limited the yields were on target.Some areas of the world, like Asia and Australia, saw record yields due to this same weather pattern which brought them high levels of rainfall. While the rain is good for growing, too much can cause disease, which the drought prevents.In areas where it's been dry, we haven't seen an uptick in dis-eases, says Steve Wilkens, Golden Harvest agronomy manager at Syngenta Seeds. If you think about many of the commonShawn Hackett. Scott Horner.corn and soybean diseases, most favor a cool and wet environ-ment.The weather caused growers in South America to work withThe El Nio pattern would really benefit the Americas in unfavorable conditions on top of already existing supply chaingrowing season 2024, Hackett says. We should see the reverse and pricing issues. However, growers and farmers were noteffect and see some lower prices, some lower costs and inflation backing down despite the mix of challenges.at the supermarket.The weather has really forced farmers to re-evaluate andWeather is unpredictable. Ocean temperatures are still read-change many of their growing practices and I think it's for theing colder than expected, meaning the weather pattern could better, says Wilkens.stay in La Nada and delay or never reach El Nio before heading We spend a lot of time talking about sustainability. Thatback into La Nia. Waiting and predicting based on history is all word can mean so many different things to so many differentthat can be done now.people, but if you're a row crop producing farmer, there's nothing This is a very interesting year. We could have some sur-more sustainable than profitably growing your crop year afterprises, some weather surprises in different regions that are not as year, Wilkens adds. The weather is a challenge, but farmersclear cut, Hackett adds.continue to evolve to be able to work with it. Neither La Nia or El Nio are inherently good or bad. Both Farmers have faced countless challenges, and with the com- have their own benefits and challenges depending on which bination of endurance, new technology and research they areregion is looked at. able to tackle those challenges like never before.El Nio being good or La Nia being bad isnt that clear, I am pretty convinced that if 2022 had 2012 farming prac- Hackett says.tices and technology, I don't know if we'd be anywhere close toThe weather is the weather, and we really cant change it. As the yield that we were able to achieve this past year, Wilkensagronomists we take extra steps in helping farmers enact solid says. agronomic practices that help mitigate risk and work to weather-The La Nia weather pattern certainly did not lighten the loadproof their farming operations, concluded Wilkens. of challenges that South American growers face. The La NiaTime will show us how the weather will play out and what appears to be leaving and becoming an El Nio. El Nio weathernew challenges will be presented. Growers will arm themselves patterns are beneficial for South American growers, bringing awith new technology as new research is presented and face the much wetter growing season.challenges the weather brings one day at a time. SWLATAMSEEDWORLD.COM /29"