Producer sentiments took a post-election jump in the month of December.
The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer December reading of 132 marked the second straight monthly increase.
That’s also the highest level since the survey began in October of 2015.
The December mark was 16 points above the November mark and 40 points higher than October.
Producers seemed optimistic about both current and future conditions in the December survey, but the biggest improvement was in producers’ expectations about future economic conditions.
The index of Future Expectations jumped to an impressive 146 total, up 51 points over October and the highest number since data collection began.
The improved expectations are for outside of agriculture as well.
The October sentiment before the elections and the December expectations after the elections were drastically different.
Only 13 percent of October respondents expected the overall economy to improve, but 50% of the December respondents expect the economy to expand.
In October, 35 percent of respondents expected good times ahead for U.S. economy over the next five years.
In December, that number jumped to 71 percent.
