There are many measures of moods in this economy, from consumers to CEOs to homebuilders. Purdue University has recently released its measure of sentiment in the ag sector.

Now is not a great time to be farming row crops — think soybeans, wheat, and corn.

“Prices are relatively depressed from where they were over the last several years,” said Stephen Nicholson, a grain and oilseed strategist for Rabobank.

That’s thanks mainly to the trade war, he said. Meanwhile, the cost of inputs — like seeds, fertilizer, and land — has surged.

“Just very difficult to make any money in that business right now,” Nicholson said.

That’s reflected in Purdue’s latest read on farmer sentiment. Crop producers were down in the dumps in October, but livestock producers were telling a different story than those who grow row crops.

“It's the largest difference we've seen since we started this survey 10 years ago, by quite a bit,” said Michael Langemeier, who runs Purdue’s survey.

A historically small U.S. cattle herd and high beef prices in 2025 are driving record profits for cattle ranchers, he said. And those producers’ good mood was enough to lift the entire index.

“It makes the ag policy very, very difficult,” Langemeier said.

When it comes to financial relief for farmers who’ve been hurt by the trade war, and in this tale of two ag economies, one thing the survey respondents agree on is that an aid package is likely coming.