Ag Economy Barometer Declines Again, Producers Express Concern About Interest Rate Policy

Farmer sentiment weakened again in October as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell to a reading of 102, down 10 points compared to a month earlier. Both of the barometer’s sub-indices, the Index of Current Conditions and the Index of Future Expectations, declined this month. The Current Conditions Index dipped 8 points to a reading of 101 while the Future Expectations Index dropped 11 points to a reading of 102. When the barometer survey was launched in October 2015 estimates from the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2016 served as the barometer’s base period and the average Ag Economy Barometer index value over those two quarters was 100.  The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted from October 10-14, 2022.