Farmers suffer as the US economy soars

Because I am addicted to the news and have a need to be on top if it every minute of every day, I was inundated this week with reports about the state of the U.S. economy and how great it is.

That may be so for some people, but for those in the business of growing crops to feed a hungry world, the cost of doing business has risen to the point where making a profit is difficult.

Although there are many reasons why farmers are having a tough time, key among them is the cost of inputs and the cost of borrowing money to pay for those inputs. Add in lost markets due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs that have lowered exports and crop prices and you have a recipe for disaster.

According to a recent report by the American Farm Bureau Federation, “USDA now estimates that 2025 net farm income totaled about $154.6 billion, down roughly $25 billion from the $179.8 billion forecast in September. Net cash farm income for 2025 was similarly revised down to about $153.9 billion, nearly $27 billion below the $180.7 billion previously projected.

“At the same time, USDA revised 2025 production expenses higher, to $473.1 billion, while adjusting direct government payments lower, to about $30.5 billion, roughly $10 billion below earlier expectations. Together, these revisions suggest the farm economy is experiencing a generational downturn rather than a temporary slowdown. Outside of the cattle sector, most commodity markets are weakening. The updated forecast further cements that the expectations of a strong income rebound for 2025 did not come to fruition and this reinforces that farm profitability last year was more fragile than previously believed.”

The problem is that most farmers don’t have the wherewithal to make up for those losses. What’s happened is that many farmers have increased the amount of money they borrow each year to plant their crops, with the hope that crop prices will increase so that they can pay the loan back. But with low crop prices and a larger loan to pay off with high interest rates, it’s easy to see why there is so much pain in the heartland today. Many of our farmers already have jobs outside of the farm in order to make ends meet, but even with that added income it’s hard to keep up.

So what happens is as the AFBF recently reported is an increase in bankruptcies.

“The U.S. Courts report that 315 farm bankruptcies were filed in calendar year 2025, up 46% from 2024. While still down from recent highs, this is the second year in a row of increased filings. Chapter 12 also does not reflect larger trends in farm closures that may be the only option for certain struggling operations,” according to a the AFBF report written by Samantha Ayoub, an economist.

The bankruptcy rates have been higher in the past but the fact that they are increasing as fast as they are should cause alarm.

What’s really distressing is that farmland prices continue to be high, and out of the reach of many farmers and ranchers. That means only millionaires and billionaires, who maybe aren’t interested in farming and ranching, or developers will be able to afford to buy farmland.

For years we have been hearing about how young people are reluctant to start farming and ranching, and for years the average age of farmers has been rising. It’s time to sound the alarm that farming is in trouble and the time to fix it is now.

We need to let President Trump know about what’s happening in the countryside and that some of his policies are hurting not helping farmers.