Farmer sentiment improved in April as producers expressed more optimism about current and future conditions on their farms. Purdue ag economists James Mintert and Michael Langemeier share their insight into the results of the April 2025 Ag Economy Barometer survey, conducted from April 14-21, in this episode of the Purdue Commercial AgCast. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose 8 points to a reading of 148, up from 140 in March. Key topics include the surprising economic optimism among livestock producers, farm capital investment trends, and ongoing trade policy impacts. The conversation also covers survey respondents' expectations for farm input costs, interest rates, and the potential long-term effects of tariffs on U.S. agriculture.
The Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. Further details on the full report is available at https://purdue.edu/agbarometer. Slides and the transcript from the discussion can be found at https://purdue.ag/agcast186.
You can find the FULL video episode on our YouTube channel. Visit https://youtu.be/ZAK199Yq61c to subscribe and watch.
Podcast provided by Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. For more economic information and insights on the Ag Economy Barometer, visit us at http://purdue.edu/commercialag.