News

Farmer optimism edges up in April

Farmer optimism about the agriculture economy is higher for April.  The Purdue University/CME Group Agriculture Economy Barometer inched upward from 124 in March to 130 in April.

“We spent of 2016 bouncing around 100 points,” said the barometer’s lead researcher David Widmar of Purdue University, during an interview with Brownfield Ag News.  “Producer sentiment is up for the month, but it’s also considerably higher than what we saw a year ago.”

The higher reading is after two months of declines following January’s all-time high of 153.

“And there’s also been an improvement in farmers’ conditions,” said Widmar, “with a large crop and commodity prices that didn’t tank as many producers feared going into harvest.”

A separate survey among farm lenders, commodity group leaders, and agriculture economists shows agriculture thought leaders have higher expectations for the agriculture economy, but less optimism about commodity prices.

AUDIO: David Widmar (7 min. MP3)