Purdue University’s monthly Ag Barometer shows farmers are worried about the current economic climate.
Analysts say farmers who were interviewed for the poll in February indicated they would be less likely to expand their farms or make large capital expenditures such as investing in machinery or buildings.
Michael Langemeier is a Professor at Purdue University and one of the study authors. He says the trade uncertainty is the greatest source for the index’s decline. In open ended response questions, farmers mention trade more than any other topic.
“The last few months trade has been by far and away the biggest word in the word cloud,” he says. “That just tells you that that’s weighing on people’s minds and is really creating a lot of uncertainty and therefore variability in the Ag Barometer index.”
The index is released on the first Tuesday of every month.
