As climate change continues to reshape agricultural landscapes, coffee production faces unprecedented challenges, from erratic rainfall to pest outbreaks. In a recent study, Daniel Ramírez explored how integrating shade systems and leveraging data from the Helios platform can enhance climate resilience in coffee farming.

Our CEO, Francisco, was featured on the Farm to Fork: The Innovators with David Maloni Podcast this week. Together, they examine the current state of commodity markets, discuss how climate change is reshaping supplies and prices, identify which crops are feeling the greatest impact, and explore actionable strategies for adapting where and how we produce our food.

2024 has been an extremely challenging year for North Carolina’s Christmas tree farmers with extreme weather events wreaking havoc on an industry that supplies a significant share of the nation’s holiday evergreens. Consumers can expect to pay more for their Christmas trees in the next few years — potentially 20-30% above last year’s prices in some areas.

While celebrating Thanksgiving this year, remember that the U.S. almost lost one of its Thanksgiving MVPs (Most Valuable Produce): sweet potatoes. North Carolina, the largest producer in the country, suffered a severe drought in June and July, followed by unrelenting rainfall at the end of the summer that nearly doubled precipitation levels, climbing from 19 to 38 inches.

Warmer winters are throwing a wrench into the delicate machinery of agriculture, and the effects are not pretty. Crops that count on cold weather for their winter nap—like wheat and fruit trees—are waking up groggy or, worse, not waking up properly at all. This winter "snooze button fail" is bad news for farmers.

Water scarcity is no longer some far-off threat; it’s here, and it’s hitting agriculture hard. That’s why Helios AI’s new "Water Stress Map" is a game-changer, offering a future-focused, interactive view of water stress in key agricultural zones.

This year, the cranberry harvest in the United States is facing its greatest challenge yet due to a severe drought, including New Jersey, one of the nation’s top cranberry-producing states. Our AI platform has been tracking this risk since early in the growing season, providing valuable insights into how persistent drought conditions would likely impact cranberry yields.

As Halloween approached this year, UK pumpkin supply chains faced a spooky twist. Relentless rainstorms and a sudden slug invasion wreaked havoc on pumpkin crops, resulting in a significant supply shortfall and driving prices up by about 30%. But for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers using Helios AI, the story took a less sinister turn.

France’s wine production has seen a significant decline in 2024 due to climate-related disruptions. The country is expected to see a 22% drop in wine output compared to last year. Unfavorable weather conditions, particularly wet and erratic patterns, have affected all wine-growing regions. This isn’t a one-off event either—chaotic weather patterns driven by climate change have consistently impacted grape harvests.

At Helios AI, we’re thrilled to share some exciting news—our CommodiTrack™ executive dashboard just got a whole lot bigger! We’ve expanded it to cover 50 new commodities, giving agri-food buyers and traders unprecedented access to key supply chain risks for everything from apples to zucchini.

This apple season is truly a rollercoaster ride for the U.S. apple industry, with some regions expecting bumper crops and others bracing for disappointing yields. Experts are predicting a harvest of about 260 million bushels—about 5% lower than last year's 274 million. So, what's causing this ups and downs in apple production? Well, it seems that this year, the weather has been throwing a few unexpected curveballs.

Helios AI climate risk signals are extremely predictive of major agricultural commodity prices and have been proven very profitable over a 10-year backtest. So, let's get to it: How much money would we have made trading its signals over the last few years? The answer: a lot. More specifically, you would’ve made over $2.8M over the past four years trading as an individual.

In today's fast-paced world, staying ahead in the commodity trading & procurement game requires more than just intuition and traditional data analysis. Enter the CommodiTrack Dashboard—a groundbreaking upgrade to our platform designed to transform how users interact with and interpret agricultural commodity data.

How much time have you really spent thinking about the soil, beneath your feet?  Probably not much! You see, mostly everything you eat relies on healthy soil that can grow and support crops - but that could soon be a thing of the past.  Soil degradation is accelerating faster than at any point in modern history and is already impacting the amount of food we produce. 

Most of us don’t associate rising sea levels with water scarcity.  After all, wouldn’t more water from melting glaciers mean… more water? In fact, rising sea levels driven by global warming are increasingly encroaching on coastal farmlands. This phenomenon, known as saltwater intrusion, means that as sea levels rise, they push saltwater into freshwater sources, damaging crops and soil.

The last eight years since the Paris Agreement was signed have been heartbreaking. The world’s leaders have gone from being clear-eyed visionaries, united in their efforts to save our planet, to more like sad ostriches, heads buried deeply in the sand. Or worse, modern Nero’s, playing the violin to pretend all can still be well while our planet burns. 

We are deeply passionate about bringing our cutting edge AI platform to the problems faced by both the private AND public sector, and are thrilled to announce today that Helios’ platform is now available on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule!