JANUARY 9, 2026

Hybrid Delivery

(In-Person in West Lafayette, IN or Virtually)

JANUARY 9, 2026

Hybrid Delivery

(In-Person in West Lafayette, IN or Virtually)

Top Farmer Conference 2026

Overview Agenda Registration

Overview

Take part in one of the most successful and longest-running management programs geared specifically for farmers — the Purdue Top Farmer Conference, featuring faculty and staff experts from Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. Surrounded by farm management, farm policy, agricultural finance and marketing experts, and a group of your peers, the conference will stimulate your thinking about agriculture’s future and how you can position your farm to be successful in the years ahead.

Registration for the one-day conference which will be held at Purdue’s Beck Agricultural Center in West Lafayette on Friday, January 9, 2026, is $150. If you can’t attend in-person, you can still join us remotely for one of the best conferences of the winter meeting season. Registered participants will receive an email with a link to join the conference live prior to the start of the conference. Conference video recordings and slide deck presentations will only be available to registered participants.

Thank you to our Conference Sponsor:

View details on the past 2025 Purdue Top Farmer Conference >>

Agenda

Download agenda (pdf)

Friday, January 9, 2026
8:00 a.m. (EST)	Light Breakfast Join us to network with colleagues over a light breakfast
9:00 a.m. (EST)	Welcome & Insights from the Most Recent Ag Economy Barometer Michael Langemeier, Director & Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University Michael is one of the co-authors of the monthly Ag Economy Barometer report. In addition to gauging producer sentiment, monthly reports often include questions pertaining to policy developments and management practices.
9:30 a.m. (EST)	Long-Run Outlook for Corn & Soybeans Ben Brown, Senior Research Associate, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri One of the premier extension crop outlook economists in the country, Ben Brown will share his thoughts on the corn and soybean markets. Given his connection to FAPRI, Ben has a unique vantage point on long-run market changes and the impact of government programs on crop and livestock markets.
10:30 a.m. (EST)	Networking Break
10:45 a.m. (EST)	The Effects of Tariffs on Export-Oriented Agriculture Russell Hillberry, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University In 2025, U.S. tariffs rose sharply, reaching levels unseen since the late 1930s. Retaliation upset domestic markets for export commodities, especially soybeans. Russ will review recent developments, discuss the sources of persistent U.S. trade deficits, and the consequences of higher tariffs for export-oriented agriculture. Prior to joining Purdue, Russ was an economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission and a member of the research department of the World Bank.
11:45 a.m. (EST)	Networking Over Lunch
12:45 p.m. (EST)	Competitiveness of U.S. Corn and Soybean Production Joana Colussi, Research Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University Joana is an expert on comparative production systems and policies in the U.S. and Brazil, and along with Michael, participates in agri benchmark, a global network of agricultural economists, advisors, and producers that use standardized methods to compare production costs and net returns for agricultural commodities in different countries. Joana and Michael will compare per-unit costs and net returns for Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Ukraine, and the United States.
1:30 p.m. (EST)	Using Option Thinking to Explore Opportunities Trey Malone, Associate Professor, Purdue University When the future is very uncertain, flexibility is a farmer’s most valuable asset. This presentation introduces “option thinking” as a helpful mindset drawn from business strategy and innovation management. From open thinking perspective, the goal is to make incremental moves today while preserving the ability to pivot tomorrow.
2:30 p.m. (EST)	Networking Break
2:45 p.m. (EST)	Strategies to Reduce Your Cost Per Bushel in 2026 Dan Quinn, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University Shaun Casteel, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University Reducing costs without reducing productivity is a challenge every farm will face in 2026. Purdue corn and soybean specialists will share key tips from their research and work with growers while Michael Langemeier will highlight key management strategies you should consider implementing. Each of the specialists will then answer questions from the audience.
4:00 p.m. (EST)	Conference Concludes Thanks for joining us!

Friday, January 9, 2026

8:00 a.m. (EST)

Light Breakfast

Join us to network with colleagues over a light breakfast

9:00 a.m. (EST)

Welcome & Insights from the Most Recent Ag Economy Barometer
Michael Langemeier, Director & Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

Michael is one of the co-authors of the monthly Ag Economy Barometer report. In addition to gauging producer sentiment, monthly reports often include questions pertaining to policy developments and management practices.

9:30 a.m. (EST)

Long-Run Outlook for Corn & Soybeans
Ben Brown, Senior Research Associate, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri

One of the premier extension crop outlook economists in the country, Ben Brown will share his thoughts on the corn and soybean markets. Given his connection to FAPRI, Ben has a unique vantage point on long-run market changes and the impact of government programs on crop and livestock markets.

10:30 a.m. (EST)

Networking Break

10:45 a.m. (EST)

The Effects of Tariffs on Export-Oriented Agriculture
Russell Hillberry, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

In 2025, U.S. tariffs rose sharply, reaching levels unseen since the late 1930s. Retaliation upset domestic markets for export commodities, especially soybeans. Russ will review recent developments, discuss the sources of persistent U.S. trade deficits, and the consequences of higher tariffs for export-oriented agriculture. Prior to joining Purdue, Russ was an economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission and a member of the research department of the World Bank.

11:45 a.m. (EST)

Networking Over Lunch

12:45 p.m. (EST)

Competitiveness of U.S. Corn and Soybean Production
Joana Colussi, Research Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

Joana is an expert on comparative production systems and policies in the U.S. and Brazil, and along with Michael, participates in agri benchmark, a global network of agricultural economists, advisors, and producers that use standardized methods to compare production costs and net returns for agricultural commodities in different countries. Joana and Michael will compare per-unit costs and net returns for Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Ukraine, and the United States.

1:30 p.m. (EST)

Using Option Thinking to Explore Opportunities
Trey Malone, Associate Professor, Purdue University

When the future is very uncertain, flexibility is a farmer’s most valuable asset. This presentation introduces “option thinking” as a helpful mindset drawn from business strategy and innovation management. From open thinking perspective, the goal is to make incremental moves today while preserving the ability to pivot tomorrow.

2:30 p.m. (EST)

Networking Break

2:45 p.m. (EST)

Strategies to Reduce Your Cost Per Bushel in 2026
Dan Quinn, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University
Shaun Casteel, Professor of Agronomy, Purdue University
Michael Langemeier, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University

Reducing costs without reducing productivity is a challenge every farm will face in 2026. Purdue corn and soybean specialists will share key tips from their research and work with growers while Michael Langemeier will highlight key management strategies you should consider implementing. Each of the specialists will then answer questions from the audience.

4:00 p.m. (EST)

Conference Concludes

Thanks for joining us!

Thank you to our Conference Sponsor:

Registration