Farmer sentiment improved slightly in July despite recent crop price volatility and concerns about rising interest rates.
According to the Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly telephone survey that gathers information from 400 U.S. agricultural producers, farmers said they were more “cautiously optimistic” about the ag economy than in previous months.
Michael Langemeier, a professor of agriculture economics at Purdue, said the results are surprising given the challenges currently faced by producers.
“When you look at crop-net returns and net farm income in ‘23 compared to ‘22, it looks like returns are going to be quite a bit lower,” he said. “Despite that fact, people are still relatively optimistic given the financial conditions they're likely facing here in ‘23 and ‘24.”
Interestingly, the number one factor driving sentiment was high input costs.
Source: indianapublicmedia.org
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Categories: Indiana, Business