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U.S. Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy filings rose from 216 in calendar year 2024 to 315 in 2025, an increase of 99 cases, or about 45.8%—rounded to 46%. The rise signals more filings under a specific bankruptcy chapter; it does not mean that 315 farms closed or that the figures capture every farm in financial distress.
What increased 46%?
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recorded 315 Chapter 12 cases in calendar year 2025, compared with 216 in 2024. The percentage increase is calculated from those totals: (315 − 216) ÷ 216, or approximately 45.8%, rounded to 46%. The court’s annual bankruptcy filing summary reports the national counts.
Chapter 12 is the Bankruptcy Code chapter for family farmers and fishermen. The headline therefore describes Chapter 12 filings—not every type of bankruptcy involving agriculture, all farms under financial pressure, or all farms that stopped operating.
How the recent trend compares
The increase continued a two-year climb after filings reached a low in 2023. The official calendar-year series shows:
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| Calendar year | Chapter 12 cases |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 276 |
| 2022 | 169 |
| 2023 | 139 |
| 2024 | 216 |
| 2025 | 315 |
Although 2025 was the highest year in this five-year sequence, its total remained below the 2021 and 2022 counts. A one-year percentage increase shows the pace of change from the prior year; it does not, by itself, establish that filings have reached a historic peak.
Where filings were concentrated
An American Farm Bureau Federation analysis, reported by Successful Farming/Farmdoc, counted 121 filings in the Midwest and 105 in the Southeast in 2025. It reported year-over-year increases of 70% and 69%, respectively. Arkansas had 33 filings and Georgia had 27, the highest state counts identified in that analysis. These regional and state figures are attributed to the federation analysis, rather than presented as state-level figures from the U.S. Courts summary. Read the report.
That analysis discussed crop losses, input costs, and tighter livestock margins as context for the regional pattern. Those factors are reported context, not a court finding or a measurement proving why any individual farm filed.
What Chapter 12 counts can—and cannot—tell you
A filing count is a narrow legal measure. Farm Aid notes that Chapter 12 eligibility rules and the role of off-farm employment can leave some financially distressed farm families outside the filing total. The count also does not measure farms that closed without filing. Farm Aid’s explanation of farm-economy indicators discusses these limits.
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- It counts cases filed under Chapter 12. It is not a count of all farm-related bankruptcies under every bankruptcy chapter.
- It does not count every struggling farm. Some distressed families may not qualify for, or use, Chapter 12.
- It does not count every closure. A farm can stop operating without appearing in the Chapter 12 total.
For year-to-year or regional comparisons, use the same calendar-year period and the same chapter of bankruptcy. Keep raw counts separate from percentage changes: where a previous-year count is small, a modest numerical change can produce a large percentage swing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the increase means for farm finances
The rise is a warning sign worth tracking, but it is not a complete diagnosis of farm-sector health. It shows that more cases entered Chapter 12 in 2025 than in 2024. It cannot establish how many farms are insolvent, explain the circumstances of each filing, or show how many operations closed. Those questions require evidence beyond bankruptcy filings.
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