Producer sentiment improved sharply in December on strong year-end income estimates. The Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index ended the year at 126, the highest reading of the year and 24 points higher than November.
Farmers were more optimistic about both their current situation and expectations for the future. The Current Conditions Index jumped 37 points to a reading of 135, while the Future Expectations Index increased 18 points to a reading of 122.
James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial…
