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New Year, New Perspective for farmers 

An ag economist says farmers are more optimistic about the ag economy at the start of 2018.

David Widmar says the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer’s index of Current Conditions climbed to 144, the highest it’s been in two years.

“Producers are still telling us it’s a tough farm economy, but it’s important to note that we’ve had some improvement,” he says. “It’s not nearly as bad as it was a year ago. That’s really driving the index of current conditions higher. ”

He tells Brownfield 43 percent of farmers said their farm was financially worse off a year ago, while 14 percent said their farms were financially better off.

He says a possible driver of producer sentiment is the passage of the tax reform bill.

“More than 40 percent told us that they thought it would be beneficial to their farm operation, they gave it a rating of six or higher,” he says. “While about half as many, about 20 percent, thought it would have an adverse impact.”

The index of Future Expectations climbed 11 points to 131, the largest one-month improvement since January 2017.

The Ag Economy Barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers. A rating below 100 is negative, while a rating above 100 indicates positive feelings about the ag economy.

Audio: David Widmar, Purdue University