U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Rise 19% as $6 Diesel and China Trade Losses Squeeze Harvest
Updated
Updated · NPR · Sep 24
U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Rise 19% as $6 Diesel and China Trade Losses Squeeze Harvest
3 articles · Updated · NPR · Sep 24
Summary
Farm bankruptcies are up 19% from a year ago as growers enter the fall harvest with little margin, and major row-crop farmers are expected to lose money for a fourth straight year.
Input costs are driving much of the strain: fertilizer costs 15% more than last year, diesel has risen as much as 80%, and some farmers are paying about $6 a gallon while combines burn roughly 150 gallons a day.
China, historically the third-largest market for U.S. farm exports, cut purchases last year in retaliation for Trump tariffs; soybean sales have only partly recovered, while cotton, wheat, pork and beef exports remain far below pre-Trump 2.0 levels.
USDA expects higher income this year for soybeans, corn and cotton from better prices or volumes, but economists say the gains will largely be absorbed by expenses tied to the U.S. war with Iran and other production costs.
About 200,000 U.S. farms have gone out of business since 2020, yet many operators keep borrowing or sell land only as a last resort, hoping costs ease and next year's harvest improves.