by James Mintert and Michael Langemeier, Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture
Farmer sentiment plunged in April as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer fell 15 points below a month earlier to a reading of 99. The barometer’s sub-indices both declined from a month earlier, with the Current Condition Index at 83, down 18 points, and the Future Expectations Index at 106, down 14 points.
This was the weakest farmer sentiment reading since June 2022 and the lowest current condition rating since May 2020. Concerns about their farms’ current financial situation and expectations for weak financial performance in the year ahead were the driving forces behind the fall-off in farmer sentiment.
The April Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from April 8-12, 2024.
The Farm Financial Performance Index fell to 76 in April, 7 points lower than a month earlier and 21 points lower than last fall’s peak of 97. The financial index is based upon a question that asks farmers if they expect their farms’ financial performance to be better than, worse than, or about the same as last year.
This month, fewer producers said they expected better or the same financial performance, with more respondents choosing worse performance than last year. Farmers’ expectation that 2024 will be a difficult year was a big contributor to this month’s decline in farmer sentiment.
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