Purdue survey: Farmer sentiment hits nearly two-year low
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A growing number of agriculture producers is expressing concerns about their current and future financial performance, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
Purdue said Tuesday that farmer sentiment in April hit its lowest level since June 2022.
The barometer is calculated monthly from a telephone survey of 400 agricultural producers across the country. The newest survey was conducted April 8-12, and saw the barometer fall 15 points to a reading of 99.
“If you think about it in terms of why sentiment dropped, people became less optimistic about what was taking place on their farms today,” said James Mintert, director of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture. “And they’re also starting to show some concerns about where we’re headed here over the course of the next year.”
Mintert said the concern among producers’ about their future performance is related to the recent weakness in crop prices.
According to the barometer, 17% of respondents said they expect their farmland values to weaken or decline over the next year, while only 29% said they expect to see farmland values rise.
“To put both of those numbers in perspective, a year ago, 14% of the producers in the survey said they thought farmland values might weaken over the next 12 months, and 37% said they thought farmland values were headed higher,” said Mintert. “So you could kind of see what’s taking place there, that erosion of confidence with respect to farmland values.”
The April survey also included questions about potentially leasing farmland for solar energy production. Purdue said 19% of respondents reported having discussions with a company in the last six months about potential leases. That’s up 7% from March.
“Looking ahead, energy production activities could provide some support for farmland values and expectations in some regions,” said Mintert.
You can connect the full Ag Economy Barometer results for March by clicking here.