U.S. Farm Bankruptcies · 2016–2026 YTD
Farm bankruptcies are accelerating into 2026
April 2026 produced 29 Chapter 12 filings — up +7% from April 2025 and the highest monthly total since February 2020. That single month is running at roughly the quarterly pace that produced 315 filings across all of 2025.
The causes are well-documented: corn and soybean prices that have fallen 40% from 2022 peaks, input costs that remain elevated, operating-loan rates that doubled from 2021 levels, trade-policy disruption, and USDA program freezes that removed an expected liquidity buffer at the worst moment.
USDA's February 2026 release cut its 2025 net farm income estimate by $25 billion versus its September 2025 forecast. Farm-sector debt is forecast to reach a record $624.7B in 2026, with a record $33.0B in interest expense. Leading indicators — loan delinquencies, working-capital declines, rising loan size and maturity — all point toward continued increases.
The cycle · 2016–2025
U.S. Courts · AFBF Market Intel
Three phases over a decade: rising stress through 2019, federal-aid relief through 2023, and the renewed-stress phase that began in 2024. 2025 closed at 315 filings — half the 2019 peak, but the second consecutive ~50% annual increase.
| Year | Filings | Year-over-year change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 (estimate) | 461 | not available |
| 2017 | 501 | +8.7% |
| 2018 | 498 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 595 | +19.5% |
| 2020 | 552 | -7.2% |
| 2021 | 276 | -50.0% |
| 2022 | 169 | -38.8% |
| 2023 | 139 | -17.8% |
| 2024 | 216 | +55.4% |
| 2025 | 315 | +45.8% |
The acceleration · monthly pace
Epiq AACER · May 2026
April 2026's 62 filings is 2.4× the 2025 monthly average and 5.4× the 2023 trough average. The acceleration happened during the rollout of the $12.0B Farmer Bridge Assistance program — relief that's arriving too small or too late to offset the underlying stress.
| Period | Filings per month |
|---|---|
| Avg month 2022 | 14 |
| Avg month 2023 | 12 |
| Avg month 2024 | 18 |
| Avg month 2025 | 26 |
| March 2026 | 34 |
| April 2026 | 62 |
| May 2026 | 29 |
The geography · top states, 2024 vs 2025
AFBF · U.S. Courts
The renewed-stress phase has shifted the geography: Arkansas (rice / cotton / soybeans) and Georgia (cotton / peanuts / poultry) now lead the country, with the Corn Belt — Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri — recording triple-digit percentage increases. Labels show 2025 count and YoY change.
| State | 2024 filings | 2025 filings | Year-over-year change | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 16 | 33 | +106% | Southeast |
| Georgia | 11 | 27 | +146% | Southeast |
| Iowa | 6 | 18 | +200% | Midwest |
| Nebraska | 15 | 17 | +13% | Midwest |
| Florida | 5 | 16 | +200% | Southeast |
| Missouri | 6 | 16 | +167% | Midwest |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 16 | +700% | Midwest |
| Minnesota | 3 | 13 | +300% | Midwest |
| Louisiana | 13 | 12 | -8% | Southeast |
| Texas | 10 | 12 | +20% | Southwest |
The squeeze · income vs debt
USDA ERS · Feb 2026
Real (inflation-adjusted) net farm income peaked in 2022 and has fallen back toward pre-pandemic levels, while total farm-sector debt has climbed every year of the decade — to a forecast record $624.7B in 2026. That widening gap is the underlying driver behind both rising delinquencies and rising Chapter 12 filings.
| Year | Net farm income (real $B) | Total debt ($B) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $79.6B | $376.0B |
| 2017 | $95.7B | $388.5B |
| 2018 | $103.3B | $406.6B |
| 2019 | $101.7B | $425.3B |
| 2020 | $135.9B | $442.2B |
| 2021 | $160.5B | $477.6B |
| 2022 | $194.6B | $512.0B |
| 2023 | $156.4B | $539.3B |
| 2024 | $140.9B | $581.5B |
| 2025R | $150.9B | $594.0B |
| 2026F | $148.5B | $624.7B |
On one scale · interactive
U.S. Courts · AFBF · USDA ERS
Filings, debt, income and loan delinquency move on wildly different scales, so absolute numbers hide the relationship. Re-based to 2016 = 100, the divergence is stark: debt has climbed every year while real income and — after the 2022 low — loan performance turned against producers, and filings tripled off their 2023 trough. Toggle series, switch to actual values, and show or hide the policy events driving each inflection.
| Year | Chapter 12 filings | Total farm-sector debt | Net farm income (real) | Ag-loan delinquency rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 461 filings | $376.0B | $79.6B | 1.79% |
| 2017 | 501 filings | $388.5B | $95.7B | 1.86% |
| 2018 | 498 filings | $406.6B | $103.3B | 2.04% |
| 2019 | 595 filings | $425.3B | $101.7B | 2.21% |
| 2020 | 552 filings | $442.2B | $135.9B | 1.85% |
| 2021 | 276 filings | $477.6B | $160.5B | 1.32% |
| 2022 | 169 filings | $512.0B | $194.6B | 1.06% |
| 2023 | 139 filings | $539.3B | $156.4B | 1.02% |
| 2024 | 216 filings | $581.5B | $140.9B | 1.03% |
| 2025 | 315 filings | $594.0B | $150.9B | 1.45% |
| 2026 | — | $624.7B | $148.5B | — |
Aid context
The Trump administration's $12.0B Farmer Bridge Assistance package was finalized in December 2025; USDA payments began February 28, 2026 at $44.36/acre for corn and $30.88/acre for soybeans, with enrollment closing April 17, 2026. AFBF's November 2025 study put accumulated farm-sector losses at more than $50B over the previous three crop years — the bridge payments cover a fraction of that gap.