U.S. farmers sentiment weakened following the November 2020 elections, as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell 16 points from a month earlier to a reading of 167. The decline in the Ag Economy Barometer was the result of weakened expectations for the future on the part of agricultural producers.

Farmer sentiment hit a new record high in October as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbed to a reading of 183, a 27-point increase compared to September. The reading easily eclipsed the previous record high set back in February, before the pandemic’s onset.

U.S. agricultural producers became more optimistic again in September as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbed to 156, the highest reading for the index since the pandemic began last winter and 12 points higher than one-month earlier.

Farmer sentiment improved markedly in August as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose to a reading of 144, 26 points higher than a month earlier. The barometer and its two sub-indices all posted their most positive readings since February 2020 when record highs were established and before the pandemic began.

Farmer sentiment in July was virtually unchanged from a month earlier as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose just one point to a reading of 118. The small change in the barometer left it 30 percent below its February 2020 peak and 23 percent below its level a year ago. 

Farmer sentiment improved again in June as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose 14 points to a reading of 117. The rise was fueled by improvements in both the Index of Current Conditions which rose 19% higher than a month earlier, and the Index of Future Expectations which climbed 12% higher than in…

Farmer sentiment improved slightly in May after falling sharply in both March and April. The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer reading in May was 103; the 7 point improvement from April left the gauge of farmer sentiment nearly 40 percent below its February peak of 168.

For the second month in a row the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped sharply, falling 25 points in April to a reading of 96. This marks the first time the barometer has fallen below 100 since October 2016.

The Ag Economy Barometer plummeted in March, dipping 47 points (28%) from a month earlier to a reading of 121. The point drop was the largest one-month fall in the life of the index, which dates to October 2015.

The Ag Economy Barometer rose slightly with a reading of 168 in February, just one point higher than January. The one-point rise in the sentiment index was enough to push the barometer to a new all-time high.