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Farmer sentiment continues to weaken, as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer declined again in July. The barometer fell 11 points to 135 from June, a reading that resulted from U.S. farmers’ weaker perceptions of both current conditions and future expectations.

“When we asked producers about what their expectations are going forward over a longer time period, 45% of them indicated that they expect to see bad times in the next 5 years,” said Professor emeritus Jim Mintert with Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Producers still think things are better than a year ago, at least in terms of their overall sentiment.”

He says producers remain optimistic President Trump’s tariff policy will benefit U.S. agriculture.

“Although in the short run, what’s taking place with respect to tariff policy could be disruptive, in fact has been somewhat disruptive in respect to ag trade,” Mintert says. “The folks that we’ve interviewed here have pretty much decided that they’re willing to give it a chance and see how it plays out.”

Mintert says he continues to monitor how recent trade frameworks could impact farmer sentiment. He says the latest survey was conducted the first week of July.

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