Spatial Scale Issues in Interpreting ENSO Impacts on Cotton Production in the Southeastern U.S.

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can cause significant impacts on crop production around the world. Determining the magnitude of positive or negative effects of ENSO on crop yields may depend on the spatial scale, e.g. county, crop reporting district, or region, on which a particular interpretation of ENSO is based on. Such interpretation maybe rendered invalid, especially when there is a spatial scale mismatch between analysis and application. This paper attempts to address the issue of spatial scale in analyzing the impacts of ENSO on cotton production in the Southeastern U.S.