Farm bankruptcy rates to continue to rise
The drop in farm income and erosion in farmland values are early signs that the farm bankruptcy rate, now at a low 2 per 10,000 farms, is on the rise, said associate professor Ani Katchova of Ohio State University. The rise will be constrained by the strong equity position of the sector and the benefit of off-farm income for many operators, she said at USDA's annual Outlook Forum.
Are farmers facing the biggest farm collapse in decades?
The lean years following collapse of the agricultural boom in 2013 are "raising concerns that the next few years could bring the biggest wave of farm closures since the 1980s," says the Wall Street Journal in a story headlined, "The next American farm bust is upon us."