IARN — For the second month in a row, the Ag Economy Barometer declined sharply. Released Tuesday, the most recent survey fell to 137, 21 points below a month earlier, and the weakest sentiment reading since July 2020. Producers in June were less optimistic about both current conditions on their farming operations as well as their expectations for the future.
Weakening perceptions of current conditions on their farms was the biggest driver of the barometer’s decline as the Index of Current Conditions declined 29 points to 149, the lowest reading since September 2020.
Producers were also less optimistic about the future as the Index of Future Expectations declined 17 points to 132, the lowest Future Expectations Index reading since July 2020.
Since peaking in April, producers’ perception of their farms’ financial performance has fallen sharply. Farmers also expect their input costs to rise much more rapidly in the year ahead than they have over the last decade.
