Sentiment reflects farmer challenges

Farmer sentiment decreased again in June as the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index declined from 119 points in May to 113 points in June. The Index of Current Conditions decreased by 5 points, while the Index of Future Expectations decreased by 7 points. June’s Current Conditions Index was 26 points worse than its December 2025 reading, reaching its worst level since December 2024. The percentage of respondents who listed inflated input costs as their biggest concern was 47 percent in June, with the concern about depressed crop and livestock prices at 23 percent coming in as a distant second. In a related question, 42 percent of respondents indicated that inflated input costs are limiting improvements in their financial positions this year. The June barometer survey was conducted June 15-19 among 400 farmers across the country from.

Only 12 percent of respondents indicated that their farm operations were better off in June than they had been a year ago. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, 22 percent of respondents expect their farms to be better off financially a year from now. The Farm Capital Investment Index decreased 1 point to 40, its worst level since September 2024.

As in the May survey, the June survey asked farmers to identify the main factor limiting improvement in their farm’s financial situation. Inflated input costs were by far the most frequently cited constraint, selected by 42 percent of respondents. Depressed output prices ranked second at 17 percent, followed by weather risk at 14 percent, policy uncertainty at 11 percent, labor and equipment concerns at 9 percent, and debt or financial pressure at 8 percent.

This month’s survey included two questions related to the use of artificial intelligence or data-driven tools in agriculture. The first question asked survey respondents what they viewed as the main benefit of using the tools. About 23 percent of respondents indicated that an increase in production would be the main benefit. Reducing labor and reducing risk or uncertainty were chosen by 14 percent and 11 percent of respondents, respectively. Meanwhile, 52 percent of respondents said they didn’t see a meaningful benefit. A second question asked whether recommendations coming from data-driven tools would be difficult to follow. About 63 percent of respondents indicated that recommendations would be sometimes difficult to follow, while 22 percent indicated that recommendations would often be difficult to follow.