Farmer sentiment dips, though optimism over future remains
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Agriculture producers across the United States continue to express optimism over their farms’ future, particularly when it comes to regulations, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The barometer is calculated monthly from a telephone survey of 400 agricultural producers across the country. Purdue says while the December survey saw a slight drop in farmer sentiment, many producers retained their post-election optimism that saw a big jump in November.
The barometer fell nine points to a reading of 136 in December, which James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and outgoing director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, said is still higher than October.
Mintert notes that presidential elections have had a big impact on farmers’ outlook over the past eight years.
November’s survey, which took place about a week after the election, 55% of respondents said they expect environmental regulations to be less restrictive, compared with 10% who believed they would be more restrictive. That’s almost a complete flip from the previous month, before the election.
In December, the gap widened. Purdue says 61% of farmers now expect less environmental regulation restrictions versus 7% who believe regulations will be more restrictive.
Producers are also now expecting a big shift when it comes to taxes as well.
“The question said, ‘Do you think income tax rates for farms and ranches will be higher, lower, or about the same five years from now.?’ In October, only 8% said they expect to see lower income tax rates. In both November and December, that was up to 36%,” said Mintert.
Additionally, only 10% of respondents in December said they expected higher estate taxes, compared to 40% in October.
Mintert and Michael Langemeier from the Center for Commercial Agriculture discussed the latest survey in the Purdue Commercial AgCast: