US Farmer Sentiment Dives As Ag Input-Costs Skyrocket US Farmer Sentiment Dives As Ag Input-Costs Skyrocket Authored by Emel Akan via The Epoch Times, Despite strong commodity prices, farmer sentiment in the United States deteriorated sharply in May as producers are anxious about their farm’s financial health and prospects. Last month, farmer sentiment dropped to its lowest level since April 2020, down 22 points, according to the Purdue University|CME Group Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index. The rapid rise in production costs and uncertainty regarding the direction of input prices have been important contributors to the drop in sentiment. About 44 percent of farmers, according to the monthly survey, cited input costs as their biggest concern for the coming year. Nearly six out of ten farmers predict farm input prices to be at least 30 percent higher this year compared to 2021. The increase in input prices has been substantially larger than the general inflation seen in farm products so far, according to Michael Langemeier, professor at the department of agricultural economics at Purdue University and co-author of the AG Economy Barometer report.