June’s Purdue/CME Ag Economy Barometer dropped to 113 from 119 in May, with both current conditions and future expectations weakening in the monthly survey of 400 U.S. farmers.
High input costs drove the slide: 47% of respondents named them as the biggest constraint on financial improvement, far ahead of low output prices at 17% and weather risk at 14%.
The downturn was sharper for crop producers, with only 25% expecting good times ahead versus 68% of livestock producers; the current conditions index also hit its lowest level since December 2024.
Longer-term confidence has softened as well: 32% expected good times over the next five years, down 17 points from June 2025, while only 12% said their operations are better off than a year ago.
Even so, farmers remained broadly supportive of trade, with 85% saying free trade benefits agriculture, as tariff-driven machinery costs and weak equipment sales continue to pressure the farm economy.