A new data project from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Law Center is aiming to sharpen the picture of financial stress across U.S. agriculture by tracking farm-related bankruptcies beyond the traditional Chapter 12 measure.
The project, called Data on Economic and Bankruptcy Trends in Agriculture, or DEBT, compiles agricultural bankruptcy filings under both Chapter 12, the section of bankruptcy law designed specifically for family farmers and fishermen, and Chapter 11, a broader business reorganization chapter that can also be used by agricultural businesses. The website is available here and includes an interactive map and updated data.
The initial data covers filings from January 2021 through June 2026 and identifies 1,401 agricultural bankruptcy filings nationwide. Of those, 1,200 were Chapter 12 filings and 201 were Chapter 11 filings tied to agricultural operations.
The organizations say looking at both chapters provides a more complete view of financial distress and restructuring in agriculture.
Why Chapter 11 Filings Matter
Historically, farm bankruptcy tracking has focused largely on Chapter 12 because that chapter is specifically designed for family farmers and family fishermen with regular annual income. Chapter 12 allows eligible agricultural operations to reorganize debt while continuing to operate and includes provisions tailored to farm finances, including flexible repayment options and treatment of certain farm debts.
But agricultural businesses may also file under Chapter 11, especially if they do not qualify for Chapter 12 or if their size, business structure or financial circumstances make Chapter 11 a better fit. Like Chapter 12, Chapter 11 can allow an operation to continue doing business while it restructures debt and develops a repayment plan.
The DEBT project also highlights regional differences in bankruptcy filings. California recorded the most total filings in the dataset, with 95 agricultural bankruptcies, including 22 Chapter 11 cases and 73 Chapter 12 cases. Arkansas followed with 83 total filings, while Georgia and Iowa each had 82.
Among the top states by total filings, Iowa had the highest number of Chapter 11 cases, with 26, followed by California with 22 and Texas with 12.
The data is mapped by filing location. Each filing location is represented by the number of Chapter 11 or Chapter 12 case IDs there, with cases categorized by chapter. NASDA and NALC note the counts are a snapshot as of June 2026 because PACER is a live docket system and bankruptcy cases can move between chapters after filing.
“A goal of our memorandum of understanding with the National Agricultural Law Center was to expand collaboration to inform agricultural policy and education,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said in a news release. “The DEBT project accomplishes exactly that by providing better data and a more complete picture of the economic conditions U.S. farmers are facing.”
When an entity appeared in both a bankruptcy filing and as a USDA Farm Service Agency program recipient, SAS, an analytics company and longtime NASDA partner, used that match as an indicator the filing was connected to an agricultural operation.
NALC Director Harrison Pittman said the project is an early step toward building a stronger national picture of farm financial conditions.
“DEBT is a first step in gaining a definitive, foundational picture of agricultural bankruptcy filings in the U.S. from 2021 onward,” Pittman said in the news release. “We look forward to collaborating with NASDA and other partners and stakeholders in building on this foundation.”
What The Data May Still Miss
The organizations caution the Chapter 11 data may not capture every agricultural operation that filed under that chapter because not all farms participate in USDA Farm Service Agency programs. Still, they say combining Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 filings provides a more complete view than Chapter 12 data alone.
The data could help farmers, attorneys, policymakers, researchers, lenders and others track changes over time, identify geographic patterns and spot emerging financial pressure points in the farm economy. For states with higher filing totals, the data may also offer a starting point for deeper analysis of the financial conditions facing producers and agricultural businesses.
