Farm Equipment Purchases Plummet in First Quarter

Bloomberg reports farm equipment purchases dropped by $900 million annualized in the first quarter of 2019. Bloomberg says this drop comes on the heels of six years of decline in farm profits, which fell to $69.4 billion last year. This decline can be attributed to declines of corn and soybeans and historic flooding.

With this uncertainty in commodity prices and retaliatory tariffs, which have targeted U.S. agricultural goods, farmers are opting to wait on major equipment purchases.

“U.S. farmer sentiment remains fluid and continues to erode the longer trade uncertainty persists,” Brent Norwood, Manager of Investor Relations for Deere & Co. told Bloomberg. That, “has resulted in some U.S. farmers temporarily pausing equipment investment decisions.”