Welcome to the PAER Outlook 2024 issue! As is the tradition, we ask department specialists to spend time thinking about key issues in their field and consider how these have impacted outcomes over the past year and may continue to go forward. We continue to call the issue an “Outlook” to recognize the department’s tradition of delivering programming at the start of the year. This aims to educate stakeholders who may benefit from knowledge in key mission areas of Purdue Ag Econ.

Much of what used to be “Outlook” programming has now transitioned to various center units in the department. In this issue, we feature contributions from faculty members who are prominent leaders in each unit, including Commercial Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability, Global Trade Analysis, and Regional Development. The PAER editors strongly recommend that readers follow the activities of these centers throughout the year.

The articles in this issue cover our traditional farm economy topics of land values, farm credit, farm costs and return estimates, and dairy markets. Additionally, there are articles addressing the broader economy with dedicated sections on the national economic outlook, trade, policy and food prices. This year we are fortunate to have spotlight topics that discuss key applied research findings from the department in the areas of energy (biofuels policy), rural development (generation gap) and agricultural trade (war in Ukraine).

Altogether, the issue provides a snapshot of the many departmental efforts in service of our land-grant mission, and we hope readers find it engaging and useful.

Roman Keeney, Associate Professor, Agricultural Economics and Co-editor of Purdue Agricultural Economics Report