The North Atlantic oscillation is associated with altered climatic conditions in the United States and Europe. Climate in key agricultural areas is affected. A historically based statistical analysis of crop yield finds that the NAO effect on yields is basically as large as the crop yield implications from the El Ni˜no/Southern oscillation phenomena. In turn an estimate of the potential welfare gains that could be achieved through early NAO phase announcements and subsequent crop mix, storage and consumption adjustments ranges from 600 million to 1.2 billion dollars a year.