America’s farmers are locked in a generational crisis, fending off an array of threats that could jeopardize food supplies and spell financial disaster for those often hailed as the “backbone of the nation.”
Farm sector debt is expected to reach a record $561.8 billion in 2025, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up 3.7 percent from 2024. The Kansas City Federal Reserve has attributed this primarily to increased lending for small- and mid-sized farms.
This growing financial pressure has also pushed up bankruptcies. Researchers at the University of Arkansas recently found that Chapter 12 filings—specifically for farmers and family fishermen—reached 88 in the first quarter of the year, nearly doubling the previous year’s figure.
“Bankruptcies are on the rise and you will see many more on the auction block in the coming months especially this fall,” said John Boyd, a crop and livestock farmer and founder of the National Black Farmers Association.
Boyd has been farming since the early 1980s, currently growing soybeans, corn and wheat across 1,500 acres in Virginia while raising 150 head of beef cattle. He told Newsweek that 2025 marked the first time in his career that he was unable to receive an operating loan, which provides farmers working capital needed to cover daily expenses, and blamed this on the trade policies of the current administration.
“I was turned down by banks for the simple fact of low commodity prices due to the president’s tariffs,” he said.
The higher costs for foreign importers have dampened foreign demand, leading to further reductions in the price of America’s agricultural exports. Corn futures, as an example, have fallen about 15 percent since the start of the year, according to TradingEconomics.
“Mexico buys U.S. corn, China buys soybeans,” Boyd said. “We cannot survive on low crop prices with input costs at an all-time high. I have not seen such political chaos like this, and I have been farming since 1983.”
A May survey by Purdue University found that a strong majority (70 percent) of U.S. Farmers believe Trump’s tariffs will strengthen U.S. agriculture—some telling Investigate Midwest that they will help the U.S. pressure China to boost its imports.
