Since 1960, there have been nine wet finishes to a year that were followed six times in the next season by reduced yields. In five of those instances — 1974, 1983, 1988, 1993 and 2012 — corn yields were 15 to 33 bushels an acre below the trend since 1960, said Mike Tannura, the president of Chicago-based T-storm. In four of those years, soybean yields were 3 to 7 bushels smaller.
From September to December, average temperatures were the second-highest ever, and the weakening El Nino signals that the weather in July and August will be hotter than average, if history is any guide, Tannura said. Global inventories of corn and soybeans will rise to records before this year's harvests following a run of bumper crops, the U.S. government forecasts.
In 2015, prices of the grain and oilseed fell for the third straight year. In 2012, futures in Chicago surged to records after a Midwest drought ravaged fields.
Comment: There has been a dramatic increase in seismic activity very recently.