Harsh weather from El Nino has been negatively affecting crop yields for much of the year, but 2024 should bring an improved outlook, according to the November Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor that surveys 20 agricultural economists domestically.
Even outside the United States, the El Nino weather pattern has been bringing severe droughts or heavy rainfall depending on geographic location. In places like China and India, a lack of rainfall has affected yields while in other parts of the world like Brazil, there’s been heavy rainfall.
The Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor, which is conducted by the University of Missouri and Farm Journal, is looking upbeat heading into the new year.
“The biggest takeaway I see out of the Monthly Monitor this month is we’re seeing a lot more positives than we’ve seen for the last couple of months,” said Scott Brown, the interim director for the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) at the University of Missouri. He also contributes to the aforementioned monthly monitor.
“I think when you look at where we are in terms of our estimate of crop prices, and we’re talking about crop prices for the property harvest next fall at this point, we saw a number of respondents now more positive, maybe the most positively been since we started our estimates for 2024/2025. As both corn and soybeans continue to move higher, there’s more positive news this month,” Brown added.
Get Broad Commodities Exposure
Investors looking to diversify their portfolios and play potential upside in ag commodities for 2024 should consider the Teucrium Agricultural Fund (TAGS). The fund is essentially a fund of funds that features a low 0.13% expense ratio.
“Agricultural commodities have a historically low correlation with U.S. equities making TAGS a potentially attractive option for portfolio diversification,” noted Teucrim on the TAGS product website.
It combines exposure to Teucrium exchange traded funds focused on corn, wheat, soybeans, and sugar. Traders or long-term investors can focus on TAGS for broad-based exposure or the individual funds for a more focused, concentrated approach in specific commodities.
The funds featured in TAGS:
- Teucrium Corn Fund (CORN)
- Teucrium Wheat Fund (WEAT)
- Teucrium Soybean Fund (SOYB)
- Teucrium Sugar Fund (CANE)
As mentioned, agricultural commodities can provide a portfolio with the diversification it needs to help navigate market uncertainty. Furthermore, the potential for upside is apparent given the performance of the Teucrium Agricultural Fund Benchmark Index, which is up 60% within the last three years.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Commodities Channel.