 |
| CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT ISSUE |
 |
| Best of NAMA 2026 |
|
 |
|
PURDUE/CME INDEX: FARMER SENTIMENT JUMPS UP IN NOVEMBER AS HARVEST WINDS DOWN
Dec. 4, 2019
Source: Purdue University news release
To view the complete report, click here.
The Ag Economy Barometer rose in November for the second month in a row, climbing to 153, 17 points higher than in October when the index stood at 136. This month's rise in the ag economy sentiment index left the barometer tied with July for the highest barometer reading of 2019. Once again, the rise in the barometer was driven by improvements in farmers' perceptions of both current economic conditions and their belief that conditions will improve in the future, with the biggest boost coming from improved perceptions of current conditions.
 |
|---|
| Figure 1. Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, October 2015-November 2019. |
This month's Index of Current Conditions rose from 115 in October to 153 in November while the Index of Futures Expectations climbed just 7 points to reach a reading of 153. The Ag Economy Barometer and related indices are all based upon results from a nationwide telephone survey of 400 U.S. crop and livestock producers. This month's survey was conducted from November 11-15, 2019. As a result, most survey responses were received before USDA's announcement on November 15th that the second round of 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments would be made to farmers in November.
 |
|---|
| Figure 2. Indices of Current Conditions and Future Expectations, October 2015-November 2019. |
The Farm Capital Investment Index rose to a reading of 71 in November, up 12 points from a month earlier and 24 points higher than in September. This month's rise in the investment index coincided with a sharp upward move in the Index of Current Conditions, suggesting that, as producers' perspective regarding their farm's current situation improved, they were more favorably inclined toward making farm capital expenditures.
This month's investment index reading was not only the highest of 2019, but the Farm Capital Investment Index's highest value since February 2018.
 |
|---|
| Figure 3. Farm Capital Investment Index, October 2015-November 2019. |
Producers had a more optimistic view regarding farmland values this month than in October. Although the percentage of farmers reporting that they expect to see higher farmland values in the upcoming 12 months did not change, the percentage expecting values to fall declined from 22 percent to just 11 percent.
As a group, the shift among respondents was from expecting lower farmland values in the year ahead to expecting farmland values to remain unchanged. When asked for their perspective on farmland values five years ahead, fewer farmers said they expected values to decline than a month earlier and that shift nearly matched the increase in the percentage of farmers expecting farmland values to increase.
So, looking at both time frames, producers were more optimistic about farmland values when queried in November than in October, but there was a bigger increase in confidence that farmland values would rise over the next five years than over the upcoming 12 months.
|
|
|
|
|
