The Ag Economy Barometer from Purdue University found confidence among farmers and ranchers slipped again last month. The Barometer slipped to 124 in March, marking the second month in a row that producer sentiment dropped below the prior month’s level. A rating below 100 is negative, while a rating above 100 indicates positive sentiment regarding the agriculture industry. Recent weakness in the Barometer, which is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the U.S., followed a sharp improvement in producer sentiment from November through January. Although producer sentiment fell in both February and March, producers remain more optimistic about the agricultural economy than during all but the last two months of 2016. This month’s decline in producer sentiment was driven by weaker expectations about the future as the Index of Future Expectations fell to 126 – 22 points lower than a month earlier.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
Read the full Ag Economy Report from Perdue University.