Ag Economy Barometer Registers Steep Decline
(photo courtesy: Lance Cheung/USDA)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe economic pressure of the pandemic is weighing heavily on America’s farmers as a majority is worried about how it’ll impact their bottom line. The most recent reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer recorded its largest one-month drop in farmer sentiment.
The barometer dipped 47 points from last month to a reading of 121.
Purdue says three-quarters of the U.S. farmers surveyed were either fairly worried or very worried about the impact of the virus on the farm’s profitability this year.
“While originally it was thought that the coronavirus effect would be limited to trade with China, now it appears producers are bracing for challenging financial times leading into the 2020 planting season,” said James Mintert, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
Mintert says the sentiment also spilled over into their perceptions of financial performance with 40% of respondents expecting a worse year compared with 2019.
The Ag Economy Barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers. This most recent survey was conducted from March 16-20, 2020 as the coronavirus crisis escalated in the U.S. and around the world.
For further analysis of the Ag Economy Barometer from Purdue’s Jim Mintert, watch the video below.