Farmers show optimism on financial conditions in October survey
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Farmers are feeling better about financial conditions, according to an October survey conducted by Purdue University and the CME Group.
Just over a third of producers surveyed between Oct. 16 and Oct. 20. said they expect farmland in their area to rise over the next year. And, nearly two-thirds said they expect that value will continue to rise over the next five years.
“Farmers in this month’s survey were slightly less concerned about the risk of lower prices for crops and livestock and felt somewhat better about their farms’ financial situation than a month earlier,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, in a news release. “Reports of higher-than-expected corn and soybean yields in some Corn Belt locations, along with a modest rally in corn prices, likely contributed to this month’s rise in the financial conditions and the barometer indices.”
This comes as dry weather this spring and summer brought concerns about shifts in long-term weather patterns. Nearly 25% of corn and soybean growers surveyed said they made changes to adjust. Those changes included increasing the use of no-till farming, changing their mix of crops, planting more drought-resistant varieties, installing tile drainage and setting up irrigation.