By Jim Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier Producer sentiment inched higher during April as the Ag Economy Barometer increased to 130. The latest result for the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, which is based on a monthly survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers, was slightly higher than March’s 124 reading, but still well below…

By Jim Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer launched publically in May 2016 with the release of survey results from an April 2016 survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers. The barometer’s public launch came following six months of data collection used to establish a base period for the barometer…

James Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier   The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer slipped to 124 in March, marking the second month in a row that producer sentiment dropped below the prior month’s level. Recent weakness in the Barometer – which is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the…

James Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier Following three months of strong gains, the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer shifted course during February, declining to a reading of 134 compared to 153 a month earlier. Although the Barometer—a measure of producer sentiment based on a monthly survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers—fell 19 points below its…

The dramatic improvement in ag producers’ sentiment that started following the November election continued into the new year. The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer—based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S.—reached 153 in January 2017, 21 points higher than December’s survey and 61 points higher than in October (Figure 1).…

James Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier Agricultural producer sentiment rose sharply as 2016 drew to a close. December’s reading of 132 for the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer marked the second month in a row that the index increased, rising to its highest level since data collection began in October 2015. The December reading is…

James Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier Agricultural producers’ sentiment improved markedly in November, reaching its highest level since October 2015. At 116, the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer–a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the country–was considerably higher than October 2016’s value of 92 and also compared favorably with the early summer…

By Jim Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer settled lower in October. Based on a survey of 400 agricultural producers across the U.S., the monthly measure of U.S. agricultural producers’ sentiment was measured at 92, the lowest reading since March 2016 and the second-lowest Ag Economy Barometer value since data…

By Jim Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer indicated that farmer sentiment improved modestly during September as fall harvest got under way across most of the U.S. Based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers, the Ag Economy Barometer was at 101 in September (Figure 1). While this…

James Mintert, David Widmar, and Michael Langemeier After several months of improvement in sentiment toward the ag economy, declining commodity prices weighed heavily on farmer sentiment during August. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer–based upon a monthly survey of 400 farmers across the U.S.–fell to 95 in August, down from 112 in July. The…