James Mintert and Michael Langemeier   The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell to a reading of 114 in September, fifteen points below its August reading of 129 and its lowest reading since October 2016. September marked the second large decline in the barometer this summer, as it also declined precipitously in July. The…

James Mintert & Michael Langemeier   The Ag Economy Barometer rebounded in August to a reading of 129 after falling to 117 in July. Although the producer sentiment index increased by 12 points in August, producer sentiment remains well below its late spring readings of 141 in May and 143 in June. The shift in…

James Mintert & Michael Langemeier   Ag producer sentiment fell sharply during July as the impact of commodity price declines and concerns about ag trade prospects weighed on producers’ perceptions of both current and future conditions in the agricultural economy. The Ag Economy Barometer declined 26 points to a reading of 117 in July, driven…

James Mintert & Michael Langemeier   Ag producer sentiment improved slightly during June as the Ag Economy Barometer index rose to a reading of 143 compared to 141 a month earlier. The modest rise in the Ag Economy Barometer, which is based on a nationwide survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers each month, was underpinned…

James Mintert & Michael Langemeier   The May reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer was 141, 16 points higher than in April 2018 and the highest barometer value since January 2017 (Figure 1). The rise in the barometer, a sentiment index derived from a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers across the…

James Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell to 125 in April, which was 10 points lower than a month earlier and 15 points below its February reading (Figure 1). The sharp drop in the ag producer sentiment index, which is based upon a monthly a survey of 400…

James Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer slipped to 135 in March, down 5 points compared to February, but unchanged from January’s results (Figure 1). The decline in the sentiment index, which is based upon a monthly a survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S, was attributable…

James Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer moved higher again in February. At 140 points, producer sentiment, which is based on monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the country, reached its second-highest level in more than two years of data collection. Sentiment is also higher for the…

James Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier   After trending lower in late 2017, the Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer turned higher in January. The monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S. indicated that the measure of producer sentiment climbed to 135 points at the beginning of 2018, up 9 points from…

James Mintert, David Widmar and Michael Langemeier   The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer drifted lower to a reading of 126 in December, the second month in a row that the barometer has declined. The Ag Economy Barometer is based on monthly survey responses provided by 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S. December’s barometer…