Farmer bankruptcies down in 2021, American Farm Bureau reports

AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - The country is seeing fewer family farm bankruptcies than in recent years, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau.

Local farmers said they are able to sell their products for more, but other prices are going up, too. The American Farm Bureau said in 2020, there was a near-record number of farm bankruptcies.

In 2021, that number was down by about half. On top of that, last year was the first time in 10 years that there were fewer than 300 filings.

“While we are getting more for our products, and that’s always a helpful situation, farmers are still going to have to be very careful about what they spend on the input side with fertilizer and feed,” said Augusta County Farm Bureau President Bradley Dunsmore.

Dunsmore said he thinks income will continue to increase, which is good news for local farmers.

“Just because commodity prices have gone higher, it doesn’t mean there aren’t still challenges for farmers. We’ve seen on the income side our prices get higher, but we’ve also seen those expenses greatly increase, especially when you talk about fertilizer,” he said.