About the Ag Economy Barometer

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…

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 value was the lowest reading since March and the second-lowest reading of 2017 (Figure 1). The decline in the Ag Economy Barometer over the last two months was driven entirely by producers adopting a more pessimistic perspective regarding the future. The Ag Economy Barometer has…