Oklahoma Farm Report masthead graphic with wheat on the left and cattle on the right.
Howdy Neighbors!
Ron Hays, Director of Farm and Ranch Programming, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network  |  2401 Exchange Ave, Suite F, Oklahoma City, Ok 73108  |  (405) 601-9211

advertisements
   
   
   
   
   

Agricultural News


Ag Economy Barometer Declines Again, Producers Worry About Interest Rate Policy

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 04:39:05 CDT

Ag Economy Barometer Declines Again, Producers Worry About Interest Rate Policy Farmer sentiment weakened again in October as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped 10 points to a reading of 102. Both of the barometer's sub-indices also declined this month. The Current Conditions Index dipped 8 points to a reading of 101 while the Future Expectations Index dropped 11 points to a reading of 102. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers' responses to a telephone survey. This month's survey was conducted between October 10-14.
"Concern over rising interest rates grew once again in October and is adding to the unease amongst producers who are worried about its impact on their farm operations," said James Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "Additionally, challenging shipping conditions throughout the Mississippi river valley have hampered exports recently and the corresponding widespread weakening of corn and soybean basis levels could be contributing to heightened unease about financial performance."

Producers' concerns about their farm's financial performance were one of the primary drivers of weakening sentiment in October. The Farm Financial Performance Index fell 13 points this month to 86 and was a distillation of producers' concerns about high input costs combined with weaker commodity prices. Looking ahead to next year, over 40% of producers viewed high input costs as their top concern, followed by 21% who chose rising interest rates, 13% who chose lower output prices, and 13% who chose input availability.
After dipping to a new record low last month, the Farm Capital Investment Index improved 7 points this month to a reading of 38. Producers who viewed this as a bad time for large investments revealed that increasing prices for farm machinery and new construction (40% of respondents) was the primary reason for their negative outlook, followed by rising interest rates (20%) and uncertainty about farm profitability (17%).

Producers' expectations for short and long-term farmland values rose this month. The Short-Term Farmland Value Expectation Index rose 10 points to a reading of 133 while the Long-Term Farmland Value Index rose 5 points to 144. Strength in both indices comes on the heels of reports from farmland auctions around the Corn Belt that land values are setting new record highs again this fall. Even with this month's rise both indices remain weaker than a year earlier. The short-term index this month was 15% lower and the long-term index was 11% lower than in October 2021.

Farm policy discussions are underway as Congress prepares for debate on a new Farm Bill in 2023. As a result, several farm policy related questions were included in this month's barometer survey and posed to crop producers. Crop producers were asked which two policies or programs would be most important to their farm in the upcoming five years. More than one-third (36%) of crop producers chose interest rate policy as the most important policy issue for their farming operation, followed by crop insurance program (27%), environmental policy (16%), conservation policy (11%) and climate policy (10%). When asked how effective the current ARC-County and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs are at providing a financial safety net, 72% of respondents rated the two programs as either "somewhat" (61%) or "very effective" (11%). When the same question was posed relative to crop insurance, 84% of respondents rated it as either "somewhat" (56%) or "very effective" (28%).

Read the full Ag Economy Barometer report by clicking here. The site also offers additional resources – such as past reports, charts and survey methodology – and a form to sign up for monthly barometer email updates and webinars.

Each month, the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture provides a short video analysis of the barometer results, and can be seen by clicking on the play button in the video box below. For more information, check out the Purdue Commercial AgCast podcast available at https://purdue.ag/agcast, which includes a detailed breakdown of each month's barometer, in addition to a discussion of recent agricultural news that affects farmers.






   

 

WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI

 


Top Agricultural News

  • Oklahoma Youth Expo Sale of Champions Sale Order Available Here- Sale Set for 4 PM Friday  Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:50:54 CDT
  • Rural Voters Dominated Vote to Defeat Recreational Marijuana March 7th  Fri, 10 Mar 2023 07:13:05 CST
  • Ron Hays Talks to Israeli Ag Tour Guide Colin Lotzof About the Miraclel of Ag in Israel  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:11:04 CST
  • OALP Members Experience First Hand View of Cutting Edge Drip Irrigation Technology as Israel Travel Ends  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:51:49 CST
  • OALP Members Get First Hand View of Cutting Edge Drip Irrigation Technology as Israel Travel Ends  Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:50:10 CST
  • Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Sees Fruit, Beef and Dairy Production North of the Sea of Galilee in Israel  Mon, 20 Feb 2023 21:56:02 CST
  • Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program Sees Diverse Farm Operations in Jordan River Valley of Israel  Sun, 19 Feb 2023 21:17:30 CST
  • Israeli Tour Guide Mark Kedem Talks About The Cultural Aspects of What Class XX of OALP is Experiencing   Sat, 18 Feb 2023 22:17:23 CST

  • More Headlines...

       

    Ron salutes our daily email sponsors!

    Oklahoma Beef council Oklahoma Ag Credit Oklahoma Farm Bureau National Livestock Credit Ag Mediation Program P&K Equipment Oklahoma City Farm Show Union Mutual Stillwater Milling Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association KIS FUTURES, INC.
       
       
       
       
       

    Search OklahomaFarmReport.com

    © 2008-2024 Oklahoma Farm Report
    Email Ron   |   Newsletter Signup   |    Current Spots   |    Program Links

    WebReady powered by WireReady® Inc.