A news release yesterday from Purdue University stated that, “Producer sentiment increased for the second straight month in February, but producers continued to indicate uncertainty surrounding a possible U.S. withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
“The barometer read 140 in February, a 5-point increase from January’s reading of 135. The increases mark a strong 14-point jump since December. February also marked the second-highest barometer reading since data collection began in 2015.
“The barometer is based on a monthly survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers.”
The release added that, “February’s survey asked producers about their expectations for corn and soybean production in the 2018 cropping year. A majority – 71 percent – said soybeans would be more profitable than corn, up 4 percent from the number of respondents who expected soybeans to be more profitable when surveyed in February 2017.
“Despite expectations that soybeans will be more profitable, 81 percent of those surveyed said they expect their soybean acreage in 2018 will be unchanged. Only 10 percent expect to plant more soybeans than a year earlier. This differs from the February 2017 survey, when 18 percent of producers reported they expected to increase their soybean acreage.”
