The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index dipped 5 points in February to a reading of 125. Farmers’ perspectives regarding both current conditions on their farms and their expectations for the future both weakened slightly. The Index of Current Conditions fell 2 points to 134 and the Index of Future Expectations declined six points to 121.
Producers’ expectations for their farms’ financial performance in 2023 compared to last year weakened in February. The Farm Financial Performance Index declined 7 points to a reading of 86. Farmers continued to point to concerns about higher input costs. Notably, in this month’s survey more producers said they are concerned about the risk of lower crop and/or livestock prices than just a few months ago. Concerns about rising interest rates appear to be on an upswing as well.
Although both the long-term and short-term farmland value indices remain in positive territory, the percentage of producers who expect farmland values to fall in the upcoming year continue to rise, reaching a life-of-survey peak in February.
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