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Current state of the ag economy leads to lower sentiment in this month’s Ag Economy Barometer

An ag economist says a weakening ag economy led to a decline in this month’s Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Michael Langemeier, director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, says more than 30 percent of producers anticipate lower financial performance in 2026.

“The January WASDE report was somewhat negative, particularly for corn,” he says. “The industry was expecting U.S. corn yields to decline, but they actually increased by half a bushel. There’s a little bit less optimism.”

He tells Brownfield survey respondents are concerned about increased competition from Brazil.

“There’s about 16 percent said that they expect exports to decline,” he says. “Over 20 percent said they think soybean exports are going to decline over the next five years. There’s even more pessimism regarding soybeans than there is with overall U.S. exports.”

Langemeier says he expects trade to continue to drive farmer sentiment throughout the rest of this year.

The Barometer is a nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy and surveys 400 agricultural producers on economic sentiment each month.

AUDIO: Michael Langemeier, Purdue University