Article By Jenn Gidman
US farm debt is hitting new highs, and Washington may not even have the full picture. Reuters reports that while the US Department of Agriculture pegs inflation-adjusted farm debt at more than $605 billion this year—a doubling since 2000—that tally may miss a fast-growing slice of borrowing from nontraditional lenders such as suppliers, cooperatives, equipment makers, and fintech companies.
In interviews across seven Midwestern and Southern states, most commercial growers told the news outlet that they juggle between seven and 10 separate credit lines; some have more than 30, often tied to specific machinery purchases.
That complexity makes it harder for regulators and policymakers to gauge how stressed the farm economy really is—and whether trouble there could bleed into the broader financial system.
One Kansas State University-USDA study found that equipment loans from nontraditional lenders could be up to four times larger than official data suggest.
The USDA is now scrambling to plug the data gaps with new research projects, hoping for answers within two years. The American Farm Bureau Federation, meanwhile, has more on how the farm economy has shifted over the past eight or so years.
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