Farmer sentiment improves as interest rate expectations shift
U.S. farmers’ outlook improved in March as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index increased to 114, three points higher.
U.S. farmers’ outlook improved in March as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index increased to 114, three points higher.
In January 2024, farmer sentiment declined, with the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index dropping 8 points lower than the previous month.
There was a rise in agricultural producers’ sentiment in October, as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index rose four points to 110.
Bank failures, rising interest rates, lower crop prices, and other factors appear to be negatively affecting farmer sentiment.
A gene discovered by a scientific team from the Agricultural Research Service and Purdue University could help fortify the defenses of sorghum to anthracnose, a disease of the cereal grain crop that can inflict yield losses of up to 50 percent.
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer farmer sentiment index rose 14 points in August to a reading 117. The rise in the overall measure of agricultural producer sentiment was driven by increases in both the Index of Current Conditions, which rose nine points to 118 and the Index of Future Expectations, which climbed 16 points to 116.
Producers are less optimistic about both current conditions on their farming operations as well as their expectations for the future.
Farmer’s optimism rose 12 points in March to a reading of 177 — marking the highest reading for the Ag Economy Barometer since October 2020.
Farmer sentiment was virtually unchanged in July in comparison to a month earlier, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The barometer plummeted as concerns over the impact of the coronavirus on the agricultural economy weighed heavily on farmers’ minds.