By John Newton, Ph.D. and Gwen Battram
American Farm Bureau Federation
Recent higher commodity prices and ongoing ad hoc financial support to offset natural disasters, retaliatory tariffs and coronavirus-related damages have come a little too late for some farmers across the U.S., i.e., 2020 Farm Profitability: A False Positive. The impact of multiple years of low commodity prices and delayed distribution of disaster assistance relief, followed by a global pandemic is visible in recently released caseload statistics from the U.S. Courts, which indicate that Chapter 12 family farm and family fishery bankruptcies totaled 552 filings during 2020, down 43 filings, or 7%, from 2019, but also the third highest over the last decade.