May 3, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and CHICAGO \u2013 Purdue University\u2019s Center for Commercial Agriculture<\/a> and the derivatives marketplace CME Group<\/a> are partnering to produce the Purdue\/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy.<\/p>\n The introduction of this new economic indicator underscores the importance of the agricultural economy and its participants \u2013 food producers and agribusinesses \u2013 to the overall U.S. and global economies, Purdue and CME Group said Tuesday (May 3) in announcing the partnership.<\/p>\n \u201cAgriculture is a critical component of the global economy and has been the cornerstone of CME Group\u2019s business for nearly 170 years,\u201d said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy<\/a>. \u201cBy providing financial tools to help producers and agribusiness participants manage the risks they face, they are better able to focus on what they do best \u2013 feeding the world. We believe this collaboration with Purdue University to create the Purdue\/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer will provide an essential resource for monitoring the health of the food industry and vital insight into the global economy.\u201d Each month, the Ag Economy Barometer will provide a sense of the agricultural economy\u2019s health with an index value. Results to calculate the index are obtained through a survey of 400 large agricultural producers on economic sentiment. In addition, Purdue will bring its research and agricultural economics expertise to measure producers\u2019 expectations of key farm economy drivers such as farm profitability; farmland prices; capital expenditures; row crop, livestock and dairy prices; and seasonal drivers such as seed, fertilizer and feed ingredient prices.<\/p>\n The barometer provides a value for each month that is relative to the base period, which is the winter and spring months of 2015 and 2016, explained Jim Mintert<\/a>, director of Purdue\u2019s Center for Commercial Agriculture, professor of agricultural economics and principal investigator for the barometer. A score of 100 would mean that the sentiment is unchanged from the base period values. Higher than 100 means sentiment improved from that period, whereas lower values would indicate sentiment declined.<\/p>\n Quarterly, the index will be accompanied by a webinar and in-depth thought-leader survey. The 100 agricultural thought leaders surveyed include agricultural lenders, business professionals, academics, consultants and commodity association representatives. This survey is separate from the results of the producer survey but serves as a supplement to the barometer. April survey results<\/strong><\/p>\n The agricultural sentiment of U.S. producers increased to 106 in April 2016, which was an improvement in producer sentiment compared to the base period of October 2015 through March 2016. The increase was driven in part by strengthening corn, soybean and wheat prices. After months of trending lower, and a sharp drop in corn prices following the USDA\u2019s March Prospective Plantings report, crop prices moved up during April. In addition, general weather conditions across the Plains and Midwest were favorable for crop development and planting and likely contributed to the improved sentiment. About the Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n The Center for Commercial Agriculture was founded in 2011 to provide professional development and educational programs for farmers. Housed within the Department of Agricultural Economics, the center\u2019s faculty and staff develop and execute research and educational programs that address the different needs of managing in today\u2019s business environment.<\/p>\n About CME Group<\/strong><\/p>\n As the world\u2019s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com<\/a>) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. Around the world, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex\u00ae electronic trading platform and its exchanges based in Chicago, New York and London. CME Group also operates one of the world\u2019s leading central counterparty clearing providers through CME Clearing and CME Clearing Europe, which offer clearing and settlement services across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives. CME Group\u2019s products and services ensure that businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve growth.<\/p>\n CME Group is a trademark of CME Group Inc. The Globe Logo, CME, Globex and Chicago Mercantile Exchange are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. CBOT, the Chicago Board of Trade, KCBOT, KCBT and Kansas City Board of Trade are trademarks of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are registered trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Further information about CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) and its products can be found at www.cmegroup.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Writers:<\/strong> Jessica Eise, 765-494-0974, jeise@purdue.edu<\/a> Sources:<\/strong> Jim Mintert, 765-494-4310, jmintert@purdue.edu<\/a> NEWS RELEASE May 3, 2016 WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and CHICAGO \u2013 Purdue University\u2019s Center for Commercial Agriculture and the derivatives marketplace CME Group are partnering to produce the Purdue\/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy. The introduction of this new economic indicator underscores the importance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9,11,12,10,13,8],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","tag-ag","tag-barometer","tag-cme","tag-economy","tag-group","tag-purdue"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cPurdue\u2019s College of Agriculture has a long tradition of pushing us toward better food security, safety and sustainability with their cutting-edge research,\u201d said Purdue President Mitch Daniels<\/a>. \u201cWe can imagine no better partner than CME Group to help us analyze and report the real-time economic health of U.S. agriculture, on which literally every citizen and the rest of the economy depends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe barometer is the only ongoing monthly measure of the health of the agricultural economy,\u201d Mintert said. \u201cAlso unique is that the index is calculated based on producer sentiments about both current conditions and future expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhile the most recent data show an uptick in producers\u2019 sentiment, it is important to keep the situation in perspective,\u201d said David Widmar<\/a>, senior research associate for the Center for Commercial Agriculture and lead researcher on the Ag Economy Barometer. \u201cOverall, the general agricultural outlook is still difficult. A strong majority of respondents, from both the producer and quarterly Agricultural Thought Leaders survey, reported expectations of the next twelve months being \u201cbad times\u201d financially across the agricultural sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nJennifer Stewart-Burton, 765-496-6032, jsstewar@purdue.edu<\/a><\/p>\n
\nDavid Widmar, 765-494-0848, dwidmar@purdue.edu<\/a>
\nChris Grams, 312-930-3435, chris.grams@cmegroup.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"