About half of farmers surveyed for Purdue's latest ag barometer called high input costs their biggest concern, as farmer sentiment stayed relatively steady in May.
Overall farmer sentiment, according to the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index, fell 2 points from April to May. The Current Conditions Index dropped by 8 points, and the Future Expectations Index increased 1 point.
The conflict in Iran remains a concern for respondents and, similar to April’s barometer, approximately two-thirds of respondents believe their net farm income will decrease as a result of the conflict.
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Eighty-six percent of farmers think their farm is worse off than in May 2025. In addition, slightly more than half of farmers – 52% – think the U.S. is "headed in the right direction," the lowest value for that metric since the question started being asked monthly in July 2025, and down 5 percentage points from April. In the last six months of 2025, 71% of respondents said the country was headed down the right path.
Alternative investments, interest rates and net farm income led to increased farmland value indexes. The short-term index increased from 121 points in April to 130 in May. The long-term index increased from 155 points in April to 160 in May. Over the next year, 22% of the farmers think their farm will be better off financially.
