Crop and livestock producers are less optimistic about the economic outlook for the farm sector, according to the Ag Economy Barometer sponsored by Purdue and the CME Group. The chief reason was a decline in cattle prices during May, said Purdue economist Jim Mintert.
“In May, just 36 percent of producers surveyed expected widespread good times for livestock producers over the next five years, which is a substantial drop from the 46 percent in April who expected good times for livestock production,” said Mintert, the principal investigator for the barometer, which is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers. Cattle futures traded above $130 per 100 pounds in March but declined to $115 in early May.
Comparatively few farmers, around 14 percent, expect land prices to rise in the coming year but fewer of them expect prices to fall than in March. One-third of respondents said they expect farmland prices to fall, compared to 46 percent in the previous survey. Nonetheless, 52 percent of producers said farmland was a good investment. Some 25 percent were neutral and 23 percent said it was a poor investment.