Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84JANUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 27 Farmers Less Pessimistic Corn and soybean price rallies move the needle on Ag Economy Barometer. Jennifer Stewart-Burton PURDUE UNIVERSITY’S CENTER for Commercial Agriculture surveys farmers monthly about their expecta- tions for the agricultural economy during the next five years. This is reflected in the Ag Economy Barometer. In the latest survey (November), the barometer jumped an unexpected 24 points as soybean and corn futures prices rallied. Largely driven by the Index of Future Expectations, sentiment climbed to 130 in November, up from 95 in October. The Index of Current Conditions increased only slightly, from 85 to 87. “Producer sentiment about the future climbed partly because of a significant rally in futures prices for corn and especially for soybeans this fall,” says Jim Mintert, barometer principal investi- gator and director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture. But, he says it’s important to note that the jump had more to do with decreased pessimism about the future than it did with a notable shift toward a positive outlook. The share of respond- ents expecting “bad times financially” declined dramatically from 56 percent in October to 42 percent in November. However, the share of respondents expecting “good times financially” increased just 2 percent from 35 to 37 percent. SW From October to November, producers’ outlook of the agricultural economy over the next five years has significantly improved. Source: Purdue University Center for Commercial Agriculture.