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USDA works to rebuild farmer trust as low response rates raise concerns

The farmer response rate for USDA’s 2026 Prospective Plantings report was the lowest it’s ever been. Arlan Suderman with StoneX Group tells Brownfield that’s significant.

“That simply increases the risk that we could have more surprises in the June survey.”

Suderman says farmers could be withholding information thinking it puts them at an advantage in the marketplace, but agriculture is at a disadvantage when USDA can’t provide accurate information to the public, and large trading funds already have access to great information.

There are examples of where USDA data has come into question in the past year, including a gap in USDA’s 2025 corn acreage reporting. Suderman says USDA should be held accountable for that.

“They have to rebuild that trust. And I think we all bear part of that responsibility.”

The agency has been taking feedback on ways to improve, and the preliminary findings are expected to be shared at the Spring USDA data meeting.