It may be hard times in agriculture but a larger share of farmers than a year ago say they don’t plan to expand their operations or get out of farming. Half of operators now hold those views, compared to 39 percent in 2018, according to the Ag Economy Barometer produced by Purdue University.
“The shift…could be related to the fact that some farms are experiencing financial stress,” wrote Purdue economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier on Tuesday. The Ag Barometer polls producers each February about their growth expectations. This year, 38 percent of operators said they did not plan to expand, an increase of roughly 10 percentage points. Twelve percent said they plan to retire or exit farming, a small increase from 2018.
“At the same time the percentage of producers that anticipate their farm growing by 5 percent or more per year decreased to 37 percent from 42 percent in 2018,” said Mintert and Langemeier.
The Purdue barometer indicated a decline in farmer confidence during February. Farmers also were less interested in making major investments in machinery and buildings, “suggesting the positive impact of the second round of MFP (Market Facilitation Program) payments on producer attitudes eroded quickly.” The administration spent several billion dollars on the payments to mitigate the impact of trade war on U.S. agriculture.