Farm bankruptcies are down from last year across the country, including here in Kansas.
The American Farm Bureau says Kansas had 19 bankruptcies last year, down 16 from 2020.
Across the country, Chapter 12 filings dropped 50 percent from the near-record number of filings in 2020 and a general trend of increased filings since 2018. The Farm Bureau says filings were down in every region, and the Midwest — Kansas included — had the largest decrease by absolute number, trimming the bankruptcy amount by more than half, although it still leads all regions in filing numbers and accounts for more than half of all Chapter 12 filings nationwide.
The Farm Bureau doesn’t specifically give a perspective on why bankruptcies dropped as dramatically as they did last year, but it says financial returns for farm operators have been “incredibly volatile” the past 10 years, while producers have dealt with higher input costs across the board — which may have offset the benefits of higher commodity prices. The Farm Bureau says the relationship between commodity prices and input costs will dictate whether the lower bankruptcy filings are a short-term or long-term trend.
