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Ag Economy Barometer sees rise in May

According to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, farmer sentiment has improved slightly from last month, but an ag economist says concerns remain.

Jim Mintert with Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture tells Brownfield future expectations contributed to the rise. 

“That was really all attributable to an improvement in farmers expectations for the future and the index of future expectations,” he says. “It was up 11 points compared to April. It was actually 19 points higher than it was a year ago.”

He says respondents are less optimistic about the current state of their farm finances. 

“When we compare 2024 to last year, I think farmers are looking at the same thing we are in with respect to high input costs and the softening or weakening commodity prices for the things they produce,” he says.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer is a nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy and surveys 400 agricultural producers on economic sentiment each month.

AUDIO: Jim Mintert, Purdue University