Farmer Sentiment Drops In May

According to the latest Agriculture Economy Barometer by Purdue University and CME Group, farmers are growing more pessimistic regarding the overall agriculture economy.  After a surge in producer sentiment in April, spurred in part by a favorable swing in commodity prices, producer sentiment settled lower in May at a value of 97.  The dip in May brings the index back in line with readings provided by producers in January and February of this year.

The base period score is 100.  So if the index falls below 100, the measure would indicate sentiment has declined.

Some of the decline in producers’ sentiment during May was attributable to changing perceptions about the livestock sector.

Further, just 10% of the 400 farmers surveyed said they expect profitability to improve in the next year.

However, the outlook on farmland prices was more favorable as 52 percent respondents rated farmland favorably and nearly one-quarter of survey respondents provided a neutral rating for farmland as an investment.

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