The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index fell 10 points to 125.
Farmers were “markedly less optimism about the future” with the index of future expectations declining by 16 points to 123, which is the lowest since last September.
Crop specialists were pessimistic, but livestock farmers, led by beef producers riding a wave of high prices and record-setting profits, were optimistic.
The Short-Term Farmland Value Expectations Index reading of 112 dropped three points from July, continuing a three-month trend.
But any reading higher than 100 indicates that more farmers still expect rising values in the coming year than those who consider declining values as more likely.
Three-quarters of crop producers expect farmland cash rental rates in to remain unchanged next year; only 12 per cent felt rents will go lower.
