Farmer sentiment recovered somewhat in May following a sharp drop in April. The May reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer came in at 108, up 9 points (7.7%) from April and 4 points (3.8%) higher than last year. Both current conditions and future expectations rose, with the biggest improvement coming from the Index of Future Expectations.
The barometer noted: “Increases in crop prices provided producers with a somewhat more optimistic financial outlook, which helped boost producer sentiment. Although sentiment and financial performance expectations improved in May compared to April, they both remain weak from a longer-term perspective. There was a small uptick in the Short-Term Farmland Value Expectation Index in May, but sentiment about farmland values in 2024 remains weaker than last fall. Interest in leasing farmland for solar energy production continues to rise as one out of five survey respondents reported discussing a solar energy lease with a company in just the last six months.”
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