Ag Barometer drifts lower, farmers remain concerned about the future despite strong economic conditions

The Ag Economy Barometer drifted lower in January to a reading of 167, a decline of 7 points compared to December and equal to the index’s November reading. The barometer’s decline over the last three months is all attributable to weaker expectations for the future as the Index of Future Expectations has fallen 35 points or about 19 percent since October. This month’s survey was conducted from January 18-22, 2021. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier review the results and give some insight into the January 2020 Ag Economy Barometer survey, a nationwide monthly survey of 400 ag producers. The full report is available at https://purdue.ag/agbarometer.