The optimal crop certainly depends on weather. In northern Brazil they double crop corn for insane yields of 22M calories per acre. In Wisconsin they grow wheat for 4m calories per acre. Farmers in the Midwest split between soybean (oil/protein 6m calories per acre) and corn (carbs 11m calories per acre).
Optimizing yield per acre, adjusting for the value of oil/protein/carbs and weather is the best explanation for the current state of what gets planted.
If you have a desert with access to cheap labor, water, and transportation, then the best thing to do is sell organic strawberries to rich people. Rich people don’t like spots on their fruit.
I am a believer that the invisible hand is what drives farm decisions. As soon as someone invents a robot that can pick blueberries and deliver them to a store, I’ll never eat another banana.
Optimizing yield per acre, adjusting for the value of oil/protein/carbs and weather is the best explanation for the current state of what gets planted.
If you have a desert with access to cheap labor, water, and transportation, then the best thing to do is sell organic strawberries to rich people. Rich people don’t like spots on their fruit.
I am a believer that the invisible hand is what drives farm decisions. As soon as someone invents a robot that can pick blueberries and deliver them to a store, I’ll never eat another banana.