Barometer Reads Farmers Are Staying Optimistic
Summary
The July agricultural producer sentiment improved slightly over the last month, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. On a monthly basis the Ag Economy Barometer is calculated by using 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses. “Producers were slightly more confident about the farming economy in July, despite recent crop price volatility and continued concerns about rising interest rates,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. There was also an increase in the July’s Farm Capital Investment Index recorded — this rose three points to 45, marking a great improvement over November 2022. Producers are significantly more concerned about rising interest rates instead of declining output prices.