The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer for March identified an uptick in farmer sentiment. “It’s somewhat surprising that the ag economy barometer index increased from 116 to 127 in March,’ said Michael Langemeier, director, Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture and Economics. “That’s an 11-point jump, and the biggest part of that jump was in the index of the future expectations.” Land values and the current direction of the United States were big indicators. “There was more optimism regarding where land values were heading five years from now, and then also we ask a question about if the U.S. is heading in the right direction or on the wrong track, and the percentage of people that said we are heading in the right direction increased from about 58 or 59 percent last month all the way up to 65 or 66 percent this month.”
