Are U.S. Farm Bankruptcies About to Surge Again?
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Lunes, 17 de agosto de 2026
Farm Bankruptcies Rise Again as Financial Pressure Builds Across U.S. Agriculture
Bankruptcy filings among FSA borrowers are climbing again, exposing financial pressure in dairy, cattle, and major crop-producing regions.
Marco Díaz Collins Journalist focused on covering current affairs in the United States. Reports on news, trends, and key developments with a broad perspective, analyzing their impact on society and the broader information landscape.
Fuente: AgroLatam.com
Autor: AgroLatam.com
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U.S. farm bankruptcy filings among borrowers participating in Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan programs increased again in 2024 and 2025, reversing much of the improvement that followed the 2019 peak, according to an analysis by Farmdoc in August 2026 using USDA FSA administrative data.
The shift matters because bankruptcy is a lagging indicator of farm financial stress, suggesting that lower commodity prices, elevated interest rates, high input costs, and tighter operating margins accumulated over previous production cycles are now appearing in court filings and farm credit portfolios.
The study identified approximately:
- 2,900 FSA direct-loan borrowers
- 157 guaranteed-loan borrowers
who filed for bankruptcy from 2015 through 2025.
The large difference partly reflects the composition of the programs. Direct loans generally serve producers unable to obtain reasonable commercial credit, while guaranteed loans are originated by private lenders with FSA covering as much as 95% of potential losses. Guaranteed-loan bankruptcies may also be underreported because FSA depends on private lenders to notify the agency when a borrower files.
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Among guaranteed-loan borrowers entering bankruptcy, 87% used Chapter 12, the bankruptcy provision designed primarily for family farmers and fishermen.
Chapter Breakdown:
- Chapter 12: 87%
- Chapter 13: 8.3%
- Chapter 11: 3%
- Chapter 7: 1%
Unlike studies that rely solely on Chapter 12 as a proxy for agricultural distress, the Farmdoc analysis examined bankruptcies under all chapters when the producer was an active FSA direct or guaranteed loan customer.
FSA Direct-Loan Borrowers Reporting Bankruptcy
| Year | Borrowers | Trend | |---|---|---| | 2016 | ?200 | Starting level | | 2017 | ?360 | Sharp increase | | 2018 | ?350 | Elevated | | 2019 | 632 | Peak | | 2020 | ?105 | Sharp decline | | 2021 | ?65 | Decline | | 2022 | ?15 | Low | | 2023 | ?40 | Recovery begins | | 2024 | ?60 | Increase | | 2025 | ?95 | Further increase |
FSA Guaranteed-Loan Borrowers Reporting Bankruptcy
| Year | Borrowers | Trend | |---|---|---| | 2016 | 14 | - | | 2017 | 18 | Increase | | 2018 | 22 | Peak | | 2019 | 19 | Decline | | 2020 | 17 | Decline | | 2021 | 18 | Increase | | 2022 | 10 | Sharp decline | | 2023 | 9 | Decline | | 2024 | 7 | Low | | 2025 | 7 | Stable |
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