Page 22—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 12, 1996 EL NINO EFFECTS •Greg Roth Penn State Agronomy Associate Professor Several lowa State scientists R. E. Carlson, D. P. Todey, and S. E. Taylor recently published a report in the Jour nal of Production Agriculture in which they compared Mid western com yields, weather, and the El nino phenomenon since 1900. They grouped years into El nino years, La Nina years, and in between years. El nino years are character ized as those with a sea surface temperature warming in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific. La nina years are those with colder than normal sea surface temperatures in this section of the Pacific. El ninos have generally been associated with better than average crop production with droughts common in between El nino events. Recently, an Accurate, Precise Single Seed Placement Accurate seed spacing and precise depth increase yield potential. ■ Time-proven positive air metering system and edge drop seed discs gently singulate seeds to eliminate wasteful doubles. ■ The short 18" seed drop makes seed spacing accurate ■ Consistent seed depth is assured through our indepen dently operating walking beam gauge wheels adjust in 1/8" increments ■ Low air pressure gently handles fragile seed coat Umberger’s Of Fontana, Inc. [A WHITE Rt. 4, Box 545, Lebanon, PA 17042 8 Miles E. of Hershey on Rt. 322 717-867-5161 1-800-261-2106 Hours: Mon. thru Thurs. 7:30-6 yU] Fri, 7:30-8: Sat. 7:30-4 exceptionally long El nino (1991-1995) ended in the Pacif ic Ocean. In years when the El nino was in effect, there was a ten dency for yield to be above average and in years when the La nina was in effect, there was a tendency for yields to be low er than expected. During the La nina, for example, lowa com yields from only one year were 10 percent above the average predicted yield, yet in six of 15 years were 10 percent below predicted yield. During the 22 El nino years, seven had yields that were 10 percent above the average pre dicted yield and only three had yields that were 10 percent below the predicted yield. The yield trends in this study indicated that above-average com yields are associated with the El nino phase in lowa and other Com Belt States except Missouri because of more pre- ■ Fewer moving parts reduce maintenance and downtime ■ No-till attachments give you flexibility to plant in all residual levels ■ Narrow row attachment makes converting to 15" rows a breeze ■ Interchangeable seed discs available for soybeans, com, sweet com, popcorn, sorghum, milo, acid delinted cotton, sugar beets and others. ■ Ask about competitive financing plans through Agncredit cipitation and cooler tempera tures, especially during August. One researcher has sug gested this effect may cause storms to track more south ward, resulting in more favor able weather for the Com Belt. On the average, yields were about nine percent higher dur ing HI nino years compared to CONTINUOUS FLOW OR AUTOMATIC BATCH WITH THE SAME DRYER! R ‘ »* r CF/AB 150 286 BPH* “A Tradition of Excellence” I’d like to know more about: □ BUILDINGS O ELEVATOR LEGS □ DRYER SERVICE □ FEED BINS □ NEW DRYERS O ROLLER MILLS □ FEED SYSTEMS □ MIXERS NAME ADORE: CITY PHONE ! □ Plmm und □ Plmm'mH I _ JMormalJon j GRAIN DRYING, STORAGE, AND PROCESSING THE AGRI INDUSTRY TRUSTSI La nina years. The authors also calculated the deviation from normal for precipitation and temperature in HI nino years and found that there is some variation across the Com Belt. Precipitation in August is I.S inches above nor mal in central lowa in El nino years but only 0.5 inches above normal in eastern Ohio. NOW! OPERATE jjvs 4 lARM lANS. INC. • Economically priced • Fully automatic • Outstanding efficiency • High capacity Here are the dryers for the farmer who has more to do at harvest time than just dry grain. W C The new CF/AB Series from Farm Fans are designed to allow drying by either CON TINUOUS FLOW or AUTO MATIC BATCH modes. These dryers are specifically designed for full heal appli cation for combination drying and dryeration. However, when operating AUTO MATIC BATCH, you can also select Dry and Coot application. Full Heat 25% 20% The authors conclude that while there is no clear physical relationship between the El nino and Midwestern weather, there are some strong tenden cies for more favorable weather during El nino years. As meteorologists improve their ability to predict the El nino, Midwestern yield fore casts should improve as well. .48 South Mountain Road lllsburg, PA 7-432-9738 cn\sCbfp.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers