(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Farmers apparently have a better outlook on agricultural production than a few months past, despite the current pandemic still affecting sales.
According to a Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer August survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers released Sept. 2, there was a big improvement in farmer sentiment.
Purdue said farmers, including some in Illinois and Indiana, were more optimistic about U.S. agriculture’s trade prospects compared to the past several months. In August, 67% of producers said they expect exports to rise over the next five years, compared to just 57% who felt the same way during the spring and summer months of 2020.
“This month marked a considerable increase in farmer sentiment,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “With a positive crop production outlook, rebounding commodity prices, and news of additional export sales to China, producers were much more optimistic about the future for the U.S. agricultural economy.”
Purdue said farmers expecting land values to increase over the next 12 months rose to 20% in August, up from 16% in July and 7% back in April. The percentage of producers expecting values to increase in the next five years rose to 59%, up from 48% in July and just 40% who expected higher values back in May.
Each summer, survey respondents are asked their opinion regarding changes in farmers’ equity position over the upcoming year. The percentage of respondents in the August 2020 survey who expect equity to decline in the upcoming 12 months was 38%. This marked the second-lowest percentage since the survey question was first asked in 2016 and was well below a year earlier when 48% of respondents said they expected farmers’ equity to decline.
You can view the full report here.