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Ag Economy Barometer takes a nosedive in August

Farmer sentiment decreased drastically in the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Jim Mintert with Purdue’s Center for Commerical Agriculture says the August reading is the lowest for the survey since late 2016.

“The ag economy barometer index fell 13 points to a reading of 100,” he says. “That leaves the index down 15 points compared to August a year ago, and significantly, that kind of takes us back to a level that we saw the barometer when we first started collecting data.”

He tells Brownfield farmers are concerned about the current state of the ag economy.

“2015 to 2016 was not a very good time in US agriculture,” he says. “Farm incomes were weakening and that was the early days of a multi year downturn in US agriculture. So I think sentiment reflects those concerns that we might be seeing or return to that.”

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 Center for Commerical Agriculture