Farm Bankruptcies Increase 55% in 2024

There were 216 farm bankruptcies filed in 2024 — up 55% from 2023, according to a Feb. 20, 2025 Market Intel report from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). While that is a big jump from the previous year, it is still 64% lower than 2019’s the all-time high of 599 filings. 

Samantha Ayoub, the AFBF associate economist who wrote the report, notes that 2024 is the end of a 4-year downward trend in bankruptcies, which she says, "appears to mark a turning point in long-term financial health.” 

One dealer recently shared with Farm Equipment that in his region 3 of the largest farms have gone under, and he says rumor is more are to come. 

From a regional standpoint all regions but one — the Southwest — saw an increase in Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings in 2024. The Southwest region saw a 14% decrease in filings vs. 2023 when it was the only region that saw an increase in filings. In the Northwest region, the number of Chapter 12 filings doubled in 2024. The Northwest and Southwest were for the fewest filings in 2024 at 12, according to the AFBF report. 

In the Midwest, Chapter 12 Bankruptcy filings were up 69% in 2024 to 71. The Southeast followed closely behind with 62 filings, a 55% increase. 

Ayoub writes: “Row-crop markets have experienced sharp decreases in cash receipts for three years, with expected further declines of over 4% and 6% in corn and soybean receipts, respectively, in 2025. Cotton had a nearly 24% decrease in cash receipts in 2024 but is the only major row crop forecast to post an increase in cash receipts in 2025. Chapter 12 bankruptcies lag declines in farm income as farms must exhaust their ability to pay back debt before filing. It is likely that the downward trend in net farm market returns, combined with even longer-term declines in government payments in 2024 due to an outdated farm bill, drove more farmers in the Grain Belt and South to their last resort of farm bankruptcy in 2024.”

Looking at filings by state, California had the most with 17, while there were 13 states/territories that had none. According to the report, 28 states and territories had an increase in filings in 2024 vs. 19 that had an increase in 2023. Michigan had the largest increase in filings with 12 cases, up from zero in 2023. 8 other states and territories had double-digit filings in 2024: California (17), Nebraska (15), Kansas (10), Arkansas (16), Louisiana (13), Puerto Rico (12), Georgia (11) and New York (10).