Farming again leads national Gallup poll

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – Americans still view farming more favorably than any other industry sector, according to an annual Gallup poll.

The national poll, which began in 2001, asks people whether their overall view of 25 key industries and business sectors is very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or very negative.

The 2025 poll was conducted Aug. 1-20 and released Sept. 25.

The “farming and agriculture” sector again led the poll, with 60 percent of Americans having a “very” or “somewhat” positive view of the industry.

The computer industry (59 percent) came in at second, followed by the restaurant industry (52 percent).

Those were the only three sectors viewed positively by a majority of Americans in the 2025 poll.

As crop producers continue to struggle with low farm-level prices, it’s good to know that Americans appreciate their efforts, said New Plymouth farmer Galen Lee.

“I’m happy to know that,” he said. “It doesn’t change the low prices that we are receiving right now, but it’s good to know that all the work we are doing to feed the nation is appreciated and that the American public trusts us.”

Farming nabbed the No. 1 spot in the poll for the first time in 2020 and has kept it since.

Some farmers speculate that many Americans gained a new appreciation of the agriculture industry during the initial COVID-19 scare, when some grocery store shelves were temporarily bare due to panic buying and supply chain disruptions.

When that food scare dissipated and Americans realized that farmers and ranchers were plowing ahead with their usual plans to produce an abundant food supply, many relieved people may have been left with a more positive feeling about agriculture as a result.

Wilder farmer Miguel Villafana said Americans’ favorable view of farming can probably be attributed to several factors.

For one, he said, 95 percent of farms in the country are family farms.

“I think people appreciate that when they think of farming, they see the family with the kids,” Villafana said. “They don’t think of a big building in downtown San Francisco, so a benefit that we have is that our image is strong.”

Farming is also pretty transparent, he added.

“When you drive by a farm, you see the fields, you see the cows, the crops, the facilities and it’s all out in the open,” Villafana said.

If a person was curious enough, they could watch daily how a field of sugar beets or a field of corn or potatoes is raised.

“It’s all out in the open with nothing to hide,” he said. “… they see a crop go from planted to harvested and they’re able to see the whole process. Then when they go to the store, they can visualize how the produce was grown because they’ve seen it.”

Most Americans also see farmers as good people, which they are, Villafana added.   

“I think whether people live in the city or country, they see a farmer as a good person,” he said. “Farmers have earned a reputation of serving and volunteering in the community. During the winter they’ll take their tractor and plow snow off of driveways for neighbors, they’re volunteer firemen, and they often donate some of the crops to the community….”

In 2020, the grocery industry ranked No. 2 in the Gallup poll, behind farming, with a 63 percent positive rating, while the restaurant industry came in at No. 3 with a 61 percent rating.

Both those sectors have seen their favorability ratings fall since then. The restaurant industry had a positive rating of 52 percent in 2025 and the grocery industry came in at 40 percent.

This might show that Americans are partly blaming those two industries, but nor farmers, for higher food prices.

While food prices have continued to increase, the price that farmers receive for their commodity is actually decreasing.

Apparently, most Americans realize that.

At the bottom of the 2025 poll was the federal government, as just 23 percent of Americans had a positive view of the sector. The pharmaceutical industry came in next to last at 28 percent.

In the 2025 Gallup poll, 29 percent of Americans had a very positive view of the farming and agriculture sector and 31 percent had a somewhat positive view.

Twenty-two percent were neutral, 11 percent had a somewhat negative view of the industry and 5 percent a very negative view of it.

Interestingly, Republican survey respondents had a much more positive view of the farming industry than Democrat respondents.

According to a Gallup news release about the poll, political “partisans’ average industry ratings are typically more positive when the sitting president is from their own party….”

According to Gallup, “The farming and agriculture and the oil and gas industries have usually been viewed more positively by Republicans and Republican leaners than by Democrats and Democratic leaners.”

While 74 percent of Republicans or Republican leaners had a very or somewhat positive view of farming ang agriculture, only 51 percent of Democrats or Democrat leaners did.