Ag Economy Barometer

Producers’ perceptions of improved current conditions in the agricultural economy pushed the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer to a record high. The index rose to 168 in February, an increase of one point from January, and was 18 points higher than in December. Thi ...

The October Ag Economy Barometer improved to a reading of 136, up 15 points compared to September.  The monthly measure of the farm economy saw an increase in the assessment of current and future conditions by farmers.  The Current Conditions Index rose from 100 in September to 115 in October, and the Futures Expectations Index also rose 15 points to a reading of 146.  The res...

The monthly measure of farmer sentiment shows producers are more pessimistic about current conditions.  The monthly Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer slipped to 121, down three points from August.  However, the Index of Current Conditions, a sub-index of the barometer, dropped 22 points to a reading of 100.  The bar...

Farmer concern regarding low prices and the farm economy led to a sharp drop in the August Ag Economy Barometer.  The Perdue/CME Group economic measure fell 29 points last month to a reading of 124. The barometer’s decline was attributed to declines in both the Index of Current Conditions, which dropped 19 points, and the Index of Future Expectations, which fell 34 points below its July reading.  

The Ag Economy Barometer dropped again in May.  The barometer reading of 101 was 14 points lower than a month earlier and was the lowest barometer reading since October 2016.  For the second month in a row, the decline in farmer sentiment was attributable to big declines in both the Index of Current Conditions, which fell from 99 in April to 84 in May, and the Index of Future Expectations, which f

The Ag Economy Barometer plummeted in April, declining to a reading of 115, an 18-point decline compared to March.  The 18-point decline in the index was the fourth largest one-month fall in the barometer since data collection began in October 2015.  Or...

Farmers are expressing more concerns regarding the future as the monthly Ag Economy Barometer drifts lower.  Released this week, the March survey fell to 133 down three points month-over-month.  Organizers say increasing concerns about future economic conditions drove the barometer lower as the Index of Future Expectations declined to 139 in March compared to the 145 reported in February.  The cur

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index for February fell but remained above growth neutral.  The monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state Midwest region dependent on agriculture and energy sank to 50.2 from January's 51.5.  ...

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer took a big jump up in October.  The October index came in at 136, which was 22 points higher than the September index, and sits at a number close to its level in 2017.  The driving force behind the jump in the index level was the improved way that producers see both current and future conditions.   Month-to-m...

The Ag Economy Barometer rebounded in August to a reading of 129 after falling to 117 in July.  However, producer sentiment remains well below its late spring readings of 141 in May and 143 in June.  Organizers say the shift occurred primarily because producer's perception of current conditions improved as the Index of Current Conditions increased to a reading of 121 following a dip to 99 in July.