The mood of the American agricultural producers fell to the lowest level since October 2016, erasing all the improvements recorded after the elections in November 2016.

Purdue University / CME Group Ag Economy Barometer (Purdue University Economics Barometer / CME Group Ag), which is a national measure of the state of the US agricultural economy, based on an average monthly survey of 400 farmers throughout the United States, fell by 14 points in May to 101, compared with the April mark at 115.

The fall of the barometer was due to the fact that the prospects of manufacturers regarding current and future economic conditions have deteriorated significantly compared with a month earlier. The current conditions index fell to 84 from 99, while the index of future expectations fell to 108 from 123.

“Agricultural producers tell us that the agricultural economy has weakened significantly this spring, the barometer has fallen 42 points (29%) since the beginning of this year. Farmers are faced with difficult decisions at the height of the wet season and great uncertainty surrounding trade discussions, ”said James Mintert, Principal Investigator at the Barometer and Director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture at Purdue University.

The large farm investment index, which measures producers' attitudes toward large investments in their agricultural activities, has fallen sharply over the past year. In May, only 18% of farmers said it was a “good time” for large investments in farms, and 81% said it was a “bad time”.

Since the beginning of 2019, farmers' optimism regarding short-term and long-term values ​​of agricultural land has also decreased. The percentage of farmers expecting a decrease in farmland value over the coming year jumped from 21% in January to 25% in March and most recently to 30% in May.

Looking to the future, only 39% of producers said that they expect that the value of farmland will increase over the next five years, while in March they expected prices to rise 48% of the surveyed farmers.