America’s farms are facing a financial storm — and the numbers are showing it loud and clear.
In just the first three months of 2025, 259 farms across the U.S. filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy — more than the total filed during all of 2024. That makes it the highest quarterly number since 2021, according to new data from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
The numbers reflect deepening financial pressure. Ryan Loy, an extension economist with the university, noted that we’re seeing the same red flags that showed up before the farming crises of 2018 and 2019.
Chapter 12 bankruptcy allows farms to restructure and try to repay debts instead of liquidating everything under Chapter 7. But when farmers start flooding into the courts this early in the year, it signals trouble that isn’t going away anytime soon.
The root of the crisis? A brutal combination of falling commodity prices and stubbornly high input costs — seed, fertilizer, fuel, and pest management products are all still expensive. Farmers are spending more to grow less valuable crops.
With only the first quarter numbers in and bankruptcy filings already higher than all of last year, the writing is on the wall: U.S. agriculture is facing a serious financial reckoning in 2025.
Stay tuned for updates as this crisis unfolds.
