Ag economist on how producer sentiment could improve

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Ag economist on how producer sentiment could improve

Farmer sentiment continues to fall as the agriculture industry is negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Purdue University Ag Economist Jim Mintert says there are several things that need to happen to see a turnaround in sentiment.

“We need to see the livestock sector get healthy from a financial standpoint,” he says. “That means working through the issues we have with packing plant closures and starting to see more regular volumes move through that side.”

He says there also needs to be improvement in ethanol production and demand.

“Before this started, roughly four out of 10 bushels of corn that we produce has been going to ethanol production on a nationwide basis,” he says. “That’s a huge factor going forward seeing those plants come back online and start operating if not at full capacity, at least closer to full capacity because that’s a huge important source of demand for our corn crop.”

Mintert says an improvement in consumer income would also benefit the industry.

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