ICYMI: The 4-alarm fire in farm country

Production prices are rising and incomes are falling across the nation, according to a new FarmProgress report

Des Moines –  The future of the American agricultural industry is in dire straits. Farmers across the country are ringing alarm bells as their financial outlook goes from troubling to downright grim. On the ground statistics back up their fear:

• Debt-to-asset ratios are up 6.7% compared to 2022. 
• Fertilizer costs amount to 36% of 2025 corn production expenses — a record-high corn-to-fertilizer price ratio.
• Interest expense ratios are 4.2% — the highest since 2006.

Farmers are bracing for a hard year, and their confidence that their operations will survive is not high:

• 46% believe the U.S. is on the brink of a farm crisis. 
• More than 75% are very or moderately concerned about the farm economy.
• 65% are more concerned about their financials than they were last year.

This fear is going to influence their spending, which warns of a further slowdown in the industries that work with our farmers:

• 58% may postpone equipment purchases.
• 38% may reduce fertilizer application.
• 22% may look for off-farm income.

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