WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and
CHICAGO, May 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Producer
sentiment toward the agricultural economy inched up six points in
April, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy
Barometer.
The barometer increased from 124 in March to 130 in April. The
higher reading comes on the heels of two months of declines
following January 2017's all-time high of 153.
April's 130-point reading represents a vast improvement in
producer sentiment since the barometer launched at 106 in
April 2016.
The increase is part of a recent trend of higher optimism among
producers, said Jim Mintert, director of Purdue's Center for Commercial Agriculture and
principal investigator for the barometer.
"Agricultural producer sentiment since December 2016 has been more positive than at any
other time since data collection began, including the base period
from October 2015 to March 2016," he said.
The barometer's two sub-indices also showed slight improvement
with the Index of Current Conditions increasing from 120 in March
to 127 in April, and the Index of Future Expectations improving
from 126 to 132.
April's survey asked producers about their expectations for crop
prices over the next year. While 54 percent said they expected
prices to be about the same in 12 months, another 27 percent
expected lower soybean prices. Only 17 percent said they expect
soybean prices to be higher.
"This is quite different from a year earlier as the share of
respondents expecting lower prices in the April 2017 survey was more than double the 13
percent of respondents expecting lower prices in the April 2016 survey," Mintert said.
Quarterly, the barometer also includes survey data from 100
industry thought leaders, such as agribusiness executives,
agricultural lenders, commodity and farm organization leaders, as
well as agricultural economists in the academic and government
sectors.
Thought leaders' expectations for the health of the farm economy
increased by 12 percent in April compared to January. But their
optimism about the farm economy didn't carry over to commodity
prices, said David Widmar, senior research associate for the Center
for Commercial Agriculture and leader of the barometer's research
activities.
"Despite the improvement in thought-leader sentiment from
January to April, the group indicated they are less optimistic
about both corn and soybean prices than they were back in January,"
he said.
Read the full April Ag Economy Barometer report at
http://purdue.edu/agbarometer. This month's report includes
additional updates about commodity price expectations among
producers and thought leaders, and looks at producers' willingness
to make capital investments – another measure of their
confidence.
The April release marks a year since the barometer launched. A
supplemental year-in-review report is also available on the
website. The report looks at trends in the barometer and supporting
areas, such as farmland values and commodity prices.
The free quarterly Ag Economy Barometer webinar is Thursday, May 4 at 1:30 pm
(EDT). Register at
https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ageconomybarometer/update/.
The Ag Economy Barometer, Index of Current Conditions and Index
of Future Expectations are available on the Bloomberg Terminal
under the following ticker symbols: AGECBARO, AGECCURC and
AGECFTEX.
About the Purdue University Center
for Commercial Agriculture
The Center for Commercial Agriculture was founded in 2011 to
provide professional development and educational programs for
farmers. Housed within Purdue
University's Department of Agricultural Economics, the
center's faculty and staff develop and execute research and
educational programs that address the different needs of managing
in today's business environment.
About CME Group
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace,
CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage
risk. Through its exchanges, CME Group offers the widest range of
global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including
futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes,
foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. CME
Group provides electronic trading globally on its CME Globex
platform. The company also offers clearing and settlement services
across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter
derivatives through its clearinghouses CME Clearing and CME
Clearing Europe. CME Group's products and services ensure that
businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve
growth.
CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange,
Globex and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Inc. CBOT, Chicago Board of Trade,
KCBT and Kansas City Board of
Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York
Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York
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trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Related website:
Purdue
University Center for Commercial Agriculture:
http://purdue.edu/commercialag
CME Group: http://www.cmegroup.com/
CME-G
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SOURCE CME Group