Farmer sentiment improved in April with the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer climbing 8 points (5.7%) to a reading of 148. That was up 49 points (49.5%) from April 2024. The improvement in farmers’ sentiment was bolstered by increases in both the Index of Current Conditions, which rose 9 points to 141, and the Index of Future Expectations, which increased 8 points to 152. This month’s improvement in farmer sentiment occurred despite ongoing trade disputes with many of U.S. agriculture’s largest trading partners. Producers overwhelmingly reported they expect the increased use of tariffs by the U.S. to prove beneficial to the U.S. agricultural economy in the long run.
Although sentiment improved in April, farmers are still concerned the U.S. government’s tariff policy will have a negative impact on farm incomes. Some 56% of respondents to the April survey said they think the U.S. tariff policy will have either a negative or very negative impact on their farm’s income in 2025. In a related question, 53% of producers expect the increase in tariffs on imports to make it more difficult to obtain inputs from their suppliers this year. Producers who expect some difficulty in obtaining inputs pointed to three main areas of concern: fertilizer, parts for farm machinery and electronics and crop chemicals.
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