(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) — The past few years have been challenging for farmers in the Federal Reserve’s Ninth District. The latest Minneapolis Fed Ag Credit Survey shows the pressure is growing on the district’s producers, with slumping incomes and worsening financial conditions over the last two years.
“Farmers are suffering this year,” a North Dakota lender commented on the survey. “If it’s prolonged into 2026, we could see some farms fail.”
While the number of bankruptcies has risen, the total remains low by historical standards, but there are reasons to expect those numbers to increase. Court information shows the number of operations filing for Chapter 12 increased in the first two quarters of this year. However, the increase does come off a very low floor, and the overall level is still very low as a total of nine farms in the Ninth District filed for bankruptcy in the second quarter of this year.
