Hurt Optimistic About Farm Profit in 2019

Hurt Optimistic About Farm Profit in 2019

While we still have 364 days left in 2019, at this point, one of the state’s top ag economists is optimistic about farm profit in the new year.  Purdue Ag Economist Dr. Chris Hurt is optimistic, overall, that 2019 will be a better year financially than 2018, “I think we have a better tone to prices for 2019 especially for corn and wheat. I feel there is a sense of renewed optimism by most producers.”

Hurt sees fertilizer prices higher in the new year, but most other production costs remaining stable, “At Purdue, we are forecasting cash rents to be stable and chemical costs also are not expected to rise. So I feel production costs will be steady to perhaps only up slightly.”

As for crop prices, Hurt sees upward movement for corn and wheat, “We are seeing new crop corn prices above $4. If we get a weather rally out of South America, we could see December corn futures reach $4.25.” But, like most analysts, the outlook for soybean prices is not good because of the large production levels in the U.S. and South America.