Gro Intelligence

Yesterday, the USDAannounced the discontinuation of their NASS County Estimates for Crops, effective immediately. The County Estimates for Crops are an important source of production, yield, and area across the agriculture industry. Losing this valuable source of data will impact business operations, decision making, database construction, and yield forecasting. At Gro, we are well positioned to handle this type of data disruption and fill in the gaps.

Despite a steady decline in grain futures prices in recent months, prices for many soft commodities — including cocoa, coffee, sugar, cotton, and orange juice — have risen sharply. Tight inventories of some soft commodities have lifted prices to multi-year highs. El Niño has played a role in higher prices by hurting growing conditions, which reduced crop production and cut into supplies. Exports also suffered as some countries enacted trade restrictions to maintain adequate domestic stocks.

Agricultural land, along with the businesses that depend on it, is facing unprecedented risk due to increasing extreme weather as a result of climate change and ever-increasing demand on critical natural resources. Agricultural land and business investors, lenders, and insurers require a new generation of tools to effectively navigate these risks and adjust their business strategies, pricing expectations, and approaches to climate impacts.

2023 was the hottest year in history — a year marked by a record number of billion-dollar-plus climate-related disasters, including wildfires that devastated communities on Maui, and forest fires across Canada that sent smoke billowing over much of North America. In 2024, Gro expects global average temperatures will continue to rise, potentially triggering further growth in extreme weather events.

Our ResourcesUS Cotton Acreage Will Jump in 2024, Gro Predicts InsightSupplyDroughtUSAgriculture US acres planted to cotton are set to increase by double digits from last year, according to early forecasts from Gro’s US Planting Intentions Model. The predicted boost to cotton acreage comes as drought eases in Texas, the No. 1 cotton-producing state.

The South American crop growing season is currently underway. Gro Intelligence data and applications like the Climate Risk Navigator provide insights into critical factors affecting the growing season including temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions for key crops in the region. In this snapshot, learn what variables will be important to monitor this season that determine healthy conditions for Soybean and Corn production.

Our ResourcesImproved Conditions Boost Prospects for India’s Upcoming Wheat Harvest InsightWheatAsiaClimateSupply & DemandAgriculture India’s upcoming wheat harvest looks set to exceed last year’s crop following recent improvements in growing conditions, Gro’s machine learning-based forecast model currently predicts. India’s wheat production is especially important this year, as the country’s inventories of the grain are at the lowest level in 15 years, as seen in this Gro display.

The South American crop growing season is currently underway. Gro Intelligence data and applications like the Climate Risk Navigator provide insights into critical factors affecting the growing season including temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions for key crops in the region. In this snapshot, learn what variables will be important to monitor this season that determine healthy conditions for Soybean and Corn production.

Palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia looks set to increase to record levels this year despite earlier concerns that El Niño might trigger a reduction in output. Rainfall has been plentiful in the two countries’ major palm growing regions — as seen in this display from Gro’s Climate Risk Navigator for Agriculture — which is forecast to help hold palm oil yields mostly steady.

Our ResourcesUSDA Further Trims Brazil Corn and Soybean Production Forecasts InsightProcurement - Supply Chain ManagementCornSoybeansSouth AmericaBrazilTrade The USDA in its February WASDE report further trimmed its forecasts for Brazil corn and soybean production, as erratic weather since the start of the growing season has cut into yields. Despite the reduced outlook, the USDA estimates that Brazil’s corn and soybean harvests will be the country’s second highest ever, after last year’s records.