Markets, Mayhem & What's Next: Ag Economics Outlook for 2026

From commodity price swings to farm bill surprises, agricultural markets are rarely calm — and 2026 is shaping up to be no exception. In this fast-paced and farmer-focused session, AFBF’s leading team of economists will break down the key trends to watch in the year ahead. What will interest rates do? What policies might shift as Congress settles in? How will global unrest or weather events ripple through your bottom line? Whether you sell corn, cotton, cattle or cut flowers, this session is your chance to cut through the noise and hear what’s really driving ag markets — and what savvy producers should be planning for now.

Speakers:

• Samantha Ayoub, Economist, AFBF
  
• Danny Munch, Economist, AFBF
• Bernt Nelson, Economist, AFBF
• Faith Parum, Economist, AFBF

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Speaker Details

Samantha Ayoub

Samantha Ayoub is an Economist covering environment/sustainability, labor markets, tax policy and food safety for American Farm Bureau Federation. Samantha is originally from northeast Georgia where she was an active 4-H and FFA member. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a BSA in Agricultural and Applied Economics, she worked for USDA NRCS in Lincoln, Nebraska, focusing on state watershed projects. She then received her Master of Science in Agricultural and Resources Economics from Colorado State University evaluating market demand for animal welfare in beef cattle. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Field to Market.

Danny Munch

Danny works as an Economist within AFBF’s public affairs department with a profile that covers issues including dairy markets, transportation & infrastructure, natural disasters, aquaculture, endangered and invasive species, public lands, and specialty crop markets.

Born and raised in the shoreline New England town of East Lyme, Connecticut, Danny was an active 4-H member and heavily involved with Northeast agriculture. After graduating from UConn in 2018 with a double major in Livestock Management & Policy and Resource Economics he worked within the U.S. House of Representatives on agricultural policy research for Connecticut’s second congressional district on Capitol Hill. In 2020, Danny graduated from Cornell University with a Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics. Throughout his graduate career, Danny was heavily involved with providing valuable strategy insights to farmer-owned cooperatives and agribusinesses, including hands-on projects with Ocean Spray, Palabana Fisheries (a tilapia producer in Zambia, Africa), and with Farm Credit East. Prior to joining the American Farm Bureau Federation, Danny worked as a protein market commodity analyst for Urner Barry, focusing on protein crop markets.

Bernt Nelson

Bernt Nelson is an Economist with American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington D.C. Bernt originally comes from a family farm in rural Fullerton ND where he grew up with his two younger brothers. The farm is still active today. Bernt got both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agricultural Economics from North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND before spending 5 years working with Clemson Cooperative Extension in South Carolina. Bernt combines his experience growing up on the farm with his expertise as an economist to provide analysis and advocacy in livestock markets, rural development, finance and ag research.

Faith Parum

Faith Parum is an Economist focusing on international trade and farm policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation. Faith is originally from Big Spring, Texas, where she was an active 4-H and FFA member. After graduating from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics in 2020, she earned her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the same institution. Her dissertation, “Exploration of Causal Inference Using Machine Learning for Food Policy Modeling in the U.S.”, evaluated the impacts of public policy through advanced modeling techniques. Prior to joining AFBF, she worked in the Office of Trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, supporting regulatory and trade policy analysis.