Farmer sentiment rose sharply in October as producers expressed more confidence that there won’t be an extended downturn in the farm economy, according to the Purdue University CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The overall index, which is based on a monthly survey of producers, rose 27 points to 115 in September.
“The biggest driver of the sentiment improvement was an increase in producers’ confidence in the future, as the Future Expectations Index jumped 30 points to 124,” according to the survey report.
The Current Conditions Index also rose but by a smaller amount than the overall index.
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Some 53% of farmers surveyed in October expect the farm economy to be bad in 2025, compared to 73% who thought that in September. And just 33% of the producers surveyed in October expect the economy to be poor for the next five years; nearly half the farmers surveyed in September felt the downturn was going to last that long.
Only 23% of the producers surveyed in October said they were worried that the financial situation of their own operations would deteriorate over the coming year, down from 38% who felt that way in September.
The survey report noted that the November survey will be conducted one week after the election and will provide insight on how farmers view the results.
The latest survey was conducted Oct. 14-18.
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