Farmer Sentiment Rises as Income Prospects Improve
By AgDaily
There was a modest improvement in producer sentiment according to the December Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer increased 7 points from November to a reading of 174. Both of the barometer’s sub-indices, the Index of Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations, were also higher in December than in November. The Index of Current Conditions climbed 15 points to 202 and the Index of Future Expectations increased by 5 points to a reading of 161. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted from December 7-11, 2020.
“The rise in the Ag Economy Barometer was primarily driven by farmers’ perception that the current situation on their farms really improved. The sharp rise in the Index of Current Conditions is correlated with the farm income boost provided by the ongoing rally in crop prices. That appears to be the driving force behind producers’ optimism,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.