WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and
CHICAGO, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agricultural
producers indicated they have reduced optimism heading into 2018,
according to the December reading of the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy
Barometer.
The barometer fell to 126 in December, a two-point drop from
November's 128 and the second straight month of declines in
producers' sentiment toward the health of the agricultural economy.
The barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural
producers from across the country.
The decline was driven by producers' thoughts on the future, as
measured by the Index of Future Expectations – one of the
barometer's two sub-indices. The Index of Future Expectations fell
7 points in December to 120. The index has fallen 15 points just
since October.
"Two specific survey questions capture the recent erosion of
producers' forward-looking sentiment," said James Mintert, the barometer's principal
investigator and director of Purdue
University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "The share
of producers expecting 'better' financial positions for their farms
fell to just 20 percent in December, while the share expecting
'worse' financial positions climbed to 30 percent. Both of these
responses are the least optimistic levels in more than a year."
A similar trend occurred with regard to the overall agricultural
economy. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they expect "bad
times" over the next 12 months.
One bright spot in the December report is the Index of Current
Conditions, which jumped 10 points to 139. That reading was
supported by subtle changes in producers' thoughts about large farm
investments, Mintert said.
"When asked if now is a good time to buy large investment items,
such as buildings or machinery, 32 percent of respondents said it
was," he said. "That's marked improvement from the just 21 percent
of respondents who thought the timing was right for large
investments back in August 2017. The
August reading was a survey low, while the December reading is the
second-highest."
That said, 62 percent of respondents still believe that now is a
bad time for large farm investments.
Read the full December Ag Economy Barometer report at
http://purdue.edu/agbarometer. This month's report includes
additional information about farmers' sentiments toward bringing a
new generation into their farming operations.
The Ag Economy Barometer, Index of Current Conditions and Index
of Future Expectations are available on the Bloomberg Terminal
under the following ticker symbols: AGECBARO, AGECCURC and
AGECFTEX.
About the Purdue University
Center for Commercial Agriculture
The Center for Commercial Agriculture was founded in 2011 to
provide professional development and educational programs for
farmers. Housed within Purdue
University's Department of Agricultural Economics, the
center's faculty and staff develop and execute research and
educational programs that address the different needs of managing
in today's business environment.
About CME Group
As the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace,
CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage
risk. Through its exchanges, CME Group offers the widest range of
global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including
futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes,
foreign exchange, energy, agricultural products and metals. CME
Group provides electronic trading globally on its CME Globex
platform. The company also offers clearing and settlement services
across asset classes for exchange-traded and over-the-counter
derivatives through its clearinghouses CME Clearing and CME
Clearing Europe. CME Group's products and services ensure that
businesses around the world can effectively manage risk and achieve
growth.
CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange,
Globex and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Inc. CBOT, Chicago Board of Trade,
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Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc. NYMEX, New York
Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York
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trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Related website:
Purdue
University Center for Commercial Agriculture:
http://purdue.edu/commercialag
CME Group: http://www.cmegroup.com/
Photo Caption: Sentiment among agricultural producers
fell for the second straight month in December as the 2018 outlook
for the agricultural economy continued to look bleak. (Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer/David Widmar)
A publication quality photo is available at:
https://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/2018/december-barometer.jpg
CME-G
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SOURCE CME Group