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Farmer sentiment remains optimistic despite trade uncertainty

Graphic provided by Purdue’s Center for Commerical Agriculture.

Farmer concern about President Trump’s tariff threats didn’t impact farmer sentiment in this month’s Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.

Director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture Michael Langemeier says half of the responses expect a stronger safety net under the new administration.

“Respondents are thinking that if we do see a trade war, or if we do see a trade policy that’s adverse to agriculture, perhaps they would get some payments related to that, like we did back in 2018 for soybeans and other crops,” he says.

He tells Brownfield farmers remain optimistic about the future.

“There’s a lot of optimism regarding agriculture in the next 5 years, but we’re still bound to Earth a little bit with the index of current conditions,” he says. “I mean 24 and 25 are not going to be high net income years.”

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy 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’s Center for Commercial Agriculture