(NAFB.com) – There wasn’t much movement in the November Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The index read 102 for the month, unchanged from October.

However, the Current Conditions Index dropped three points to 98, while the Future Expectations Index rose two points to a reading of 104. Even though producer sentiment was the same in November, producers are continuing to look at their bottom line and rising interest rates. Combine that with high input and energy costs, and there’s a lot of anxiety at the farm level. Forty-two percent of the survey respondents list high input costs as their top concern in the year ahead.

The Farm Capital Investment Index dropped to a record low of 31 in November. Almost 80 percent of the respondents said it’s a “bad time” to make large investments in farm machinery. Just over one-fourth of the respondents have made operational changes due to rising energy prices.