Farmer sentiment remained stable in December as farmers’ concerns about inflation have apparently subsided.
After increasing in October and November, the barometer dropped by just one point in December.
Seventy percent of farmers surveyed expected the inflation rate for consumer items to be 4 percent or lower in 2024, including 24 percent who expect the rate to be less than 2 percent. Those are markedly lower than the expectations from a year ago.
Farmers also reported improvement in their financial performance during December. The Farm Financial Performance Index rose two points over November. That number has increased 11 points since late summer and is 21 points higher than May’s number, which was the low point for 2023.
“The shift in farmers’ perception of financial performance during the fall quarter corresponds with USDA’s more optimistic 2023 farm income outlook released in late November, which was $10 billion higher than their previous forecast,” said James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
The main concerns for farmers are lower prices for crops and livestock, as well as rising interest rates.
