WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – On Tuesday, results from the March 2022 Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer were released showing producer sentiment at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic.
The drop in optimism is fueled by concerns about the war in Ukraine, which 63 percent of the respondents said will lead to a further escalation in input prices. When identifying their biggest concerns regarding the farm in 2022, the top two answers included the lack of availability for inputs and the threat of lower crop and/or livestock prices.
On the topic of farm input prices, 57 percent of those surveyed in mid-March said they expect those costs to increase by 20 percent or more while more than one-quarter (27 percent) have already experienced supply-chain issues which have caused a delay in either purchasing or getting herbicides, fertilizer, and farm machinery parts.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)