Which FSA Farm Loan Borrowers Filed Bankruptcy between 2015-2025?

[Viable Food News Desk]

Publisher: farmdoc daily
Published: August 17, 2026
Source: Read at farmdoc daily
Category: Food Access

Roughly 2,900 USDA Farm Service Agency direct-loan borrowers and 157 guaranteed-loan borrowers filed for bankruptcy between 2015-2025. Direct-loan bankruptcies peaked at 632 filings in 2019, while guaranteed-loan bankruptcies peaked at 22 filings in 2018. Wisconsin had the largest share of filers in both programs, including 24.5 percent of guaranteed-loan filers. Dairy and beef cattle operations each represented 20.1 percent of direct-loan filers, while dairy operations accounted for roughly a quarter of guaranteed-loan filers.

Why this matters: The concentration of filings among dairy, beef, and other farm operations points to financial stress that independent grocers and rural food-access groups may encounter in communities dependent on those producers.

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