Farm bankruptcies surged in April to their highest monthly total since early 2020, along with mounting financial pressure across rural America as producers continue to battle elevated fuel, fertilizer, and operating costs.
According to reporting from Law360, data from Epiq AACER showed 62 Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies were filed in April 2026 — a 130 percent increase from April 2025 and an 82 percent jump from March 2026.
“Monthly farm-related Chapter 12 filings soared in April to a more than six-year high, with more likely on the horizon, amid an overall increase in all bankruptcies as fuel prices and other costs continue to rise, according to data from Epiq AACER,” Law360 reported.
“This down period for crop farmers has been going on for several years now,” said Robert E. Moore, an attorney and research specialist at The Ohio State University Extension’s Agricultural and Resource Law Program. “Each year that we don’t start on the upswing is just more and more stress on farmers, and I think the higher diesel prices, the higher fertilizer prices, it’s just made 2026 the breaking point.”
The April filing numbers marked the highest monthly Chapter 12 total since February 2020, before bankruptcy rates temporarily declined during the pandemic era.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of hope for the farm economy to show improvement any time soon,” Moore said. “The anticipation is this farm stress is going to continue for the foreseeable future. So I think farm bankruptcies are more likely to increase than decrease over the next few years.”
Law360 also reported that at least 158 Chapter 12 bankruptcies have been filed nationwide so far in 2026, with Arkansas, Missouri, and California leading the country in filings.
Additional reporting from the Minnesota Reformer noted the financial strain hitting Midwest agriculture especially hard.
“Minnesota led the country in farm bankruptcies during the first quarter of 2026, continuing last year’s steady nationwide climb that was particularly steep for Midwest farmers,” Minnesota Reformer reported. “Eight Minnesota farmers have already filed for bankruptcy this year, double the amount for the entire year of 2024.”
“It’s really this margin squeeze on an industry that already operates on extremely thin margins,” Samantha Ayoub, the agricultural economist who authored an American Farm Bureau Federation report on rising farm bankruptcies, said in an interview with the Minnesota Reformer.
Chapter 12 bankruptcy protections were established following the 1980s farm crisis to help family farmers restructure debt while continuing operations. However, some producers are deciding to leave farming altogether.
Bob Worth, a southwestern Minnesota corn and soybean farmer, also told the Minnesota Reformer he knows many farmers currently working through mediation steps that often precede bankruptcy.
“They just don’t want to lose any more money,” Worth said.