More Iowa farmers have filed for bankruptcy in the first six months of the year than in all of 2024, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs are making the situation worse.
The Des Moines Register published the report on Thursday, and it featured on the front page. Iowa farmers told the paper the issue is “not just another economic cycle.”
“Iowa farmers filed the second-largest number of bankruptcies nationally in the first half of the year, already twice as many as last year and the most since 2021,” the report stated.
Bankruptcy attorney Joseph Peiffer said he sees “extreme financial distress” not only in Iowa but across the Midwest. He described the level of strain as higher than anything he has witnessed in years.
“They’ve been losing money for a couple of years, and this year, they’re looking at losing a lot of money,” Peiffer said.
Mediators and counselors echoed his concerns, telling the Register they are seeing a surge in farmers overwhelmed by rising financial stress.
Between January and October, 3,140 farms filed for bankruptcy, an 18 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
“Nationally, 181 farmers have filed for bankruptcy protection in the first two quarters of 2025, nearly 60 percent more than this time last year,” the report said, citing U.S. Bankruptcy Court filings. Arkansas led with 19 filings, followed by Iowa at 16; Georgia, 15; California, 12; and Nebraska, 11.
Peiffer noted that they usually hear little from farmers between planting and harvest. This year, that pattern changed.
Iowa Concern, a hotline that supports people facing financial and mental health challenges, reported receiving three times more calls in September than it did during the same month in 2024.
Iowa State University agricultural economist Chad Hart told the Register the last major crisis began in 2014 and lingered until 2020. State court data shows 138 Iowa farmers filed for bankruptcy during the COVID-19 crisis.
But the trade war with China has caused even deeper problems for soybean farmers.
“The pain is deeper now, but the pattern is similar,” Hart said.
A new report warns that Iowa farmers may see their income decline by 24 percent in 2026.
This warning comes as federal government assistance is being reduced.
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