Purdue University released its latest monthly Ag Economy Barometer last week; the barometer is a joint project with the CME Group and is based on a monthly national survey of 400 producers. The April Barometer increased seven points to an index level of 123, not quite making back the drop of eight points in March.    

The Ag Economy Barometer index value for a given month is always relative to the base period of October 2015 to March 2016. A Barometer value of 100 implies no change from the base period. A value greater than 100 indicates an increase in producers’ sentiment compared to the base period, whereas a value below 100 indicates producers’ sentiment declined relative to the base period. The drop in the...