FARGO, N.D. – According to Bushel, one of the nation’s largest agricultural software technology companies, its 2026 State of the Farm Report revealed a significant demographic shift, with the younger farmer population developing an accelerated desire for digital-first financial and marketing tools.

Released April 2, the annual study, which had responses from more than 1,400 farmers across the United States and Canada, said, “For the first time in the report’s history, farmers under the age of 50 represent nearly 38.4 percent of the respondent pool, a sharp increase from 28.8 percent just one year ago. This younger demographic is bringing a new level of technological maturity to the farm, with a strong focus on efficiency and mobile-first operations,” the report said.

Julia Eberhart, Bushel director of marketing, told Farm World the company’s survey is mainly sourced from its e-mail database that includes current subscribers, but also anyone that has started a free trial in the past five years, or signed up for the newsletter.

“Additionally, we did send out a push notification to farmers that are using a white-labeled app from one of our grain or ag retail customers,” she said. 

She added, “The sample from our survey does come from larger farms. The USDA Census of Agriculture cites that 85 percent of farmers are under 500 acres, while our survey shows only 30 percent of respondents are under 500 acres. This is why I position this survey as how leading farmers are thinking as they tend to be larger operations.”

The report said AI tools are being used in farm management, with 14 percent of farmers currently applying them. Larger farms mainly use AI for financial and business analysis (50 percent), while in-field use like yield prediction or agronomy remains limited (25 percent), indicating AI adoption starts in office operations rather than field work.

Under the report’s category of Tech Innovators (Willingness to Experiment), the overall U.S. average is 22.2 percent. Eberhart said: “When asked if they are willing to experiment with new technologies, Iowa leads the pack by a massive margin, with 31 percent of respondents considering themselves early innovators.

“Indiana (22.5 percent) and Michigan (22 percent) track almost perfectly with the national average,” she said. “Meanwhile, Tennessee (11.1 percent) shows the highest reluctance to be the first to try something new.”

Under the report’s category of Heavy Digital Tool Adoption (Uses Three or More Farm Apps), the overall U.S. average is 34.3 percent. She said Indiana is highly digitized, with 47.5 percent of farmers relying on three or more software apps to run their operations.

She added, “Kentucky (45.5 percent) also heavily outpaces the national average in app adoption. Conversely, Ohio (26.7 percent) and Tennessee (5.6 percent) prefer a much more streamlined or traditional approach, keeping their software stack minimal.”

Under the report’s category of Current Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage, the overall U.S. average is 7.7 percent. She said while AI on the farm is still in its infancy nationally, Iowa (13.8 percent) and Indiana (12.5 percent) are already adopting it at nearly double the national rate. 

She said, “Overall, Iowa and Indiana consistently act as the technological pioneers. They are the most willing to experiment, the most heavily app-reliant, and the quickest to adopt emerging tools like AI and digital grain marketing. On the other end of the spectrum, Ohio and Tennessee lean much more traditional, consistently acting as the ‘wait and see’ states before bringing new technology into their operations.”

Andrew P. Griffith, University of Tennessee professor of agricultural and resource economics, told Farm World, “I am probably more pragmatic in my thinking than some. AI is just another tool to assist the agricultural community. AI tools do not have the ability to think or reason despite what some may think. There is no way it works like the human brain.”

He said AI may be able to solve problems faster than the human brain in many instances because it can run through iterations so quickly. 

“However, its ability to think beyond known information does not seem realistic to me,” he said. “It will certainly contribute to efficiency, labor savings, and quicker advancements in technology.”

The report said online grain marketing is expanding, with digital adoption rising from 21 percent in 2024, to over 31 percent in 2026, and 56 percent of farmers now using apps or software for grain sales. Among farmers under 50, over half plan to use online platforms to submit offers, or sell grains when available.

In addition, the report said financial trends showed increased reliance on loans, with equipment financing increasing to 39.1 percent, operating loans to 38.9 percent, and real estate loans to 31.2 percent. The report added that farmers using agricultural retailer financing placed higher importance on digital tools when choosing lenders.

The report said farmers under 50 showed the biggest disconnect in how they get paid for grain versus how they want to get paid. While most young farmers receive paper checks (82.8 percent), only 54.9 percent prefer this method, highlighting a demand for digital payments. That 27.9-point gap was the largest of any demographic, the report added.

Eberhart said, “What we see in technology adoption is a reflection of our overall customer experience.”

She said anything that can help remove friction in doing business is a welcome technological change: “One example that one of our grain elevators shared with us is that the farmer will have a conversation with them about grain markets, and potentially making grain offers.

“But then, the farmer wants to think about it,” she added. “They find they have a higher success rate when the farmer can submit that offer digitally on their own time, versus calling back, or waiting for a call back. Technology should help strengthen relationships in the supply chain, not just be noise.”