Rising Input Costs Moderating Excitement Over Higher Prices

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – One consistent theme from farmers across the nation is that higher crop prices will not offset the dramatic increase in farm production costs this year.

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer for March says producers continue to expect their farm’s financial performance to decline in 2022 compared to 2021.

The March Farm Financial Performance Index, which asks producers whether they expect their farm’s financial performance in 2022 to be better than, worse than, or about the same as in 2021, was up slightly but remains 30 percent lower than a year earlier, and they do not view this as a good time to make large investments in their farming operations.

This sentiment will put pressure on farm machinery purchases for the upcoming year as 62 percent of respondents admit their plans for adding new equipment is lower than in 2021 and is the most negative response to that question in two years. It appears that supply chain issues continue to plague the industry as 42 percent of farmers say their farm machinery plans were impacted by low farm machinery inventories, consistent with industry reports that major machinery manufacturers are experiencing order backlogs.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)