Farmer sentiment weakened in February amid uncertainty about the trade war with China and continued concern over price risk in agricultural markets, according to a survey released Tuesday.
div > div.group > p:first-child"> "There is quite a bit of uncertainty out there, and it's related to the trade dispute with China," said Michael Langemeier, an agricultural economist at Purdue University."Farmers are really concerned about the price uncertainty."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Iowa on Monday and tried to assure farmers as well as business and government leaders that a trade-war resolution could be around the corner. Yet some agricultural producers who attended had little to celebrate. "Mexico is our No. 1 volume country for pork exports, and they have tariffs on us because we have steel and aluminum [duties] on them," the Iowa farmer said."The price of the pork has been reduced by about 30 percent, and that's impacted farmers — and I will assure you my input costs didn't go down 30 percent."
The Purdue ag barometer, a monthly survey of the health of the U.S. farm economy and based on a poll of 400 U.S. agricultural producers, showed a downward shift in February due to"weakness in producers' perceptions of current economic conditions on their farms." It also said farmers' sentiment toward making large purchases such as machinery and buildings has weakened from a long-term perspective.
"The critical period here is getting this resolved well in advance of the harvest 2019," said Purdue's Langemeier, noting that period runs from September to December."China usually imports soybeans from the United States during our harvest time, and we don't want to miss that window of opportunity."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
As pigs await slaughter at Farmer John, strangers offer water, love and comfort to the doomedSince 2017, animal rights activists have made it their mission Sunday and Wednesday nights to give water, and comfort, to pigs headed to slaughter in Vernon.
Read more »
NFL mock draft: Look for Raiders to move up to No. 1 to select QB Kyler MurraySam Farmer predicts how the first round will go in the 2019 NFL draft in April. Look for Oakland to swap picks with Arizona to select Kyler Murray.
Read more »
Evidence Grows That Trump's Trade Wars Are Hitting U.S. EconomyIn two separate papers published over the weekend, some of the world’s leading trade economists declared Trump’s tariffs to be the most consequential trade experiment seen since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs blamed for worsening the Great Depression. In a study published on Saturday, economists from
Read more »
European shares rise as trade war resolution hopes lift sentimentEuropean shares opened higher on Monday as optimism over a deal to end the U.S.-...
Read more »
Hong Kong hands out reliefs as trade war hits growthHong Kong unveiled a less expansionary budget for fiscal year 2019/20 on Wednesd...
Read more »
With worries of war and an upcoming election, support surges for India's ModiIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slammed opposition parties for demanding...
Read more »
Analysis | The Daily 202: Growing bipartisan alarm in Congress over measles outbreaks amid falling vaccination ratesAnalysis: Growing bipartisan alarm in Congress over measles outbreaks amid falling vaccination rates
Read more »