An American Farm Bureau Intel report shows farm bankruptcy filings on the rise for five straight years. Their latest report that covered from March of 2019 to March of 2020 shows a total of 627 filings. Nebraska Farm Bureau Senior Economist Jay Rempe says those numbers show how tough economic conditions are for farmers and ranchers and that those numbers will likely rise due to the impacts of COVID 19.
Wisconsin led the way for the past twelve months with 78 filings with Nebraska second with 41 and Iowa third with 37. Rempe says those would likely have been higher had it not been for market facilitation program payments.
He says the recent assistance from the Federal Government through the CARES Act and more relief promised in the near future is badly needed now in Rural America.
One concern going forward is that a decline in off farm income from the unemployment caused by the coronavirus will hurt small and medium sized farms that often rely on off farm income to supplement their bottom lines.
