News

Farmers are less optimistic about trade amid coronavirus pandemic

Producers are less optimistic about trade progress because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Jim Mintert is director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.

“The percentage of farmers expecting to see this trade dispute with China be resolved soon or quickly dropped to 47 percent,” he says. “And then when we asked people about is this at the end of the day going to be beneficial to US agriculture, the percentage dropped to 68 percent.”

In January and February more than 80 percent of farmers surveyed said they believed the trade dispute would be resolved in a way that benefits US agriculture.

Mintert says the lack of optimism about trade with China contributed to the decline in the overall barometer.

More than 60 percent of farmers surveyed said they anticipate Market Facilitation Program payments for the 2020 crop year.