About the Ag Economy Barometer

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 to ag producers’ weakening perceptions of current conditions and a decline in their expectations for the future. The Index of Current Conditions fell to 134 in March, a 9-point drop from February, and the Index of Future Expectations slipped to 135, down 4 points compared…

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 second-consecutive month, providing a strong 14-point boost to the index compared to December 2017.     While the Ag Economy Barometer reached a survey high of more than 150 points back in January 2017, it’s worth noting the difference between the January 2017 peak in…

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 December’s 126. (Figure 1) The uptick in sentiment was driven by an improvement in both of the barometer’s two sub-indices: the Index of Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations. The improvement in the Index of Future Expectations, a one-month jump of 11 points, was…