Results from the most recent Purdue University/CME Group monthly Ag Economy Barometer study showed farmers surveyed in December were somewhat less optimistic about the future direction of farmland values than indicated on November's survey. The percentage of respondents who expect higher farmland values, both in the upcoming year and the next 5 years, declined in December compared to a month earlier.

Similarly, more respondents in December said they expect future farmland values to decline, both in the year ahead and 5 years ahead, than in the November survey. Reviewing responses to the two farmland value questions over the course of 2019 indicates that sentiment regarding the direction farmland values will take rebounded sharply from the very negative sentiment expressed in May, leaving expectations in December nearly unchanged from the beginning of 2019.