The Ag Economy Barometer fell to its lowest reading since March as optimism about the future declined, said Purdue University. Some 79 percent of farmers taking part in the monthly gauge of the farm sector said they expect bad times financially in the 12 months ahead – a jump of 11 percentage points in one month.
“This is the highest share of respondents expressing pessimism since data collection began” a year ago, said Purdue. Jim Mintert, director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, said a quarter of respondents said they expect corn and soybean futures prices to decline in the coming months. “Producers expressed strong pessimism about the agricultural economy’s prospects in the next year.”
Nearly half of farmers, 46 percent, said they would reduce fertilizer rates, as a way to reduce costs, because of lower expectations for crop revenue. Some 35 percent said they would adjust the trait packages for the crops they plant. Only 19 said they would scale back on seeding rates.
To read the Ag Economy Barometer report, click here.