In Reply to: No surprise: Cruelty is the point posted by mh on October 08, 2026 at 10:34:21
US farm debt is at a record. Official data might be undercounting it
American farmers are borrowing more money than ever before to operate — but the rise in non-traditional and vendor credit has created some gaps in the federal government's current ability to measure and track farm debt, US Department of Agriculture officials told Reuters.
Financial pressure is mounting across farm country, where growers have already faced years of tight margins due to slumping prices and high input costs. More recently, farmers have struggled with disruptions to export markets from Washington's trade fights with top buyers including China, while the US-Israeli war with Iran has driven up the cost of fertilizer and fuel.
As farm bankruptcy filings have climbed, some banks have tightened credit, prompting growers to seek money elsewhere. Inflation-adjusted US farm debt has more than doubled since 2000, rising from about $300 billion to more than $605 billion this year, a record, according to the latest USDA estimates.
But that figure may understate how much farmers owe, Reuters found. Farmers are increasingly borrowing from suppliers, farmer cooperatives, equipment manufacturers, financial technology firms and other nontraditional lenders that are more difficult for the government to comprehensively measure.