By NATHAN STUEDLE
St. Joseph Post
Farmer sentiment dropped during March as concerns over agricultural trade and farm policy weighed on producers’ outlook for the future. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell 12 points to 140. The Index saw a 15-point drop in the Index of Future Expectations to 144, and the Current Conditions Index fell five points to 132. The drop was influenced by falling crop prices since mid-February, along with the increasing uncertainty surrounding agricultural trade and farm policy.
Keeping on with the trade theme, they asked producers which of the following policies or programs, between trade policy and interest rate policy, will be most important over the next five years, and there’s been a shift since the election. 22 percent of the respondents in the survey chose interest rate policy as one of their top concerns versus 20 percent choosing trade policy. Since the election, over 40 percent, an average of 43 percent, of the respondents to the survey have chosen trade policy as their top concern. While the percentage choosing interest rate policy as a top concern has been falling, and this month was just ten percent. The Index indicates that producers still anticipate better financial performance this year than in 2024.
