Survey: producers less optimistic about farmland values

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Survey: producers less optimistic about farmland values

Farmers continue to be less optimistic about farmland values, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Jim Mintert is director of the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture.

“This is taking place in an environment where we continue to see auctioneers, for example, report record high farmland prices. Farmers are very aware of how much farmland values have increased over the last roughly 18 months or so and are indicating that they’re not confident this can keep going,” he says. “They’re not really telling us that they expect to see farmland values to decline although the survey did pick up a small increase in the percentage of people saying that this month. But in general, they’re not bearish on farmland values they’re just telling us they’re less confident they’ll continue to see farmland values increase given how much they’ve already increased over the past year and a half.”

He says expectations for continued increases in farmland values appear to have peaked last fall.

“The long-term farmland value index peaked last fall at 161, this month it was down five points compared to last month so it’s at 141. That’s about 13 percent below the peak of last fall,” he says.

The monthly national survey of 400 U.S. agricultural producers was conducted from April 18-22.

Audio: Jim Mintert

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