Farmer sentiment rebounds in October
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Agriculture producers across the country reported an increase in optimism for the future, 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 the results of the survey indicated that many farmers believe economic conditions may strengthen in 2025, avoiding an extended downturn in the farm economy.
The barometer rose 27 points to a reading of 115 in October which James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, said was a big surprise after hitting an eight-year low the previous month.
“As you think about the complete set of responses that we received to the survey this month, it’s clear that there’s more optimism about the future,” Mintert said. “They kind of view the downturn that we’ve seen here in 2024 as being transitory and actually think maybe we’re going to have to see kind of a rebound of sorts in 2025.”
The survey was conducted from Oct. 14-18. Purdue said the boost in farmer sentiment was primarily driven by a rise in confidence among producers about the future of their operations.
The barometer’s Future Expectations Index jumped 30 points to a reading of 124. The Current Conditions Index also improved to a reading of 95, though Purdue noted that that number is still lower than the barometer’s base period of 2015-2016.
“While producer sentiment improved in October, many respondents indicated they are still feeling financial strain due to the deterioration of their financial situation throughout 2024,” the university said in a news release. “Over half of the producers we surveyed reported that their farm’s financial condition was worse than a year ago, which underscores the ongoing challenges producers face despite their more optimistic outlook for the year ahead.”
Mintert said when asked what their biggest concerns are, farmers continued to highlight higher input costs and low crop and livestock prices, which is in line with previous months.
You can connect to the full results of the survey by clicking here.
Mintert and Michael Langemeier from the Center for Commercial Agriculture discussed the latest survey in the Purdue Commercial AgCast: