Staff Reports
American farmers are getting squeezed from every side right when they need relief the most. New surveys and government forecasts this spring show fertilizer and diesel prices have jumped so high that many producers cannot afford to plant or run their equipment. The result: rising farm bankruptcies, record farm debt forecasts, and real risk to crop yields and the food supply chain.
New Data Shows Farmers in Crisis: Fertilizer Prices, Diesel Spikes, and Bankruptcies
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s April fertilizer survey landed like a punch in the gut: roughly 70% of farmers report they cannot afford all the fertilizer they need. At the same time, farm diesel prices have surged by about 45‑46% since late winter, making fieldwork, hauling, and irrigation far more expensive. Those shocks are already showing up in the courts — Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies climbed 46% year over year, with 315 filings in 2025. Add the USDA Economic Research Service projections of record farm debt and near‑record production expenses for 2026, and the map looks bleak for small and mid‑size operations.
Why This Matters for Food Supply and Consumer Prices
When farmers cut back on fertilizer or delay spring work, yields fall. Lower yields mean tighter supply and higher grocery prices. This is not speculative: survey results and forecasts point to many producers planning to reduce inputs or take fewer acres. That’s a direct path to smaller harvests and more volatility in food prices for American families. Worse, the farms most at risk are often the ones serving local markets and regional supply chains — the places where families count on steady access to meat, dairy, and vegetables.
Policy Blunders and Half‑Measures Have Made Things Worse
Washington hasn’t exactly been a calm harbor. Tariffs on agricultural inputs and disruptions tied to foreign hostilities pushed input costs higher, and while the administration did announce a $12 billion bridge payment package last winter and adjusted some import rules, those one‑time fixes look thin against rising debt and persistent price shocks. Meanwhile, federal crop insurance and subsidy rules still tilt toward the biggest operations, concentrating aid where it’s least needed and leaving small and beginning farmers exposed. The House passed a new farm bill package this spring, but producers say it preserves the status quo more than it fixes it.
What Congress and the Administration Must Do — And Fast
There are practical steps that can and should happen now. Congress and the Senate should move emergency, targeted relief to help farmers buy essential fertilizer and cover fuel costs without rewarding corporate consolidation. The administration, led by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, should keep pushing to remove trade barriers on inputs and speed approvals that boost domestic fertilizer and energy supplies. Crop insurance needs real reform so smaller farms get a fair shot. Farm groups from the American Farm Bureau to the National Farmers Union are calling for help — it’s time Washington stops talking and starts delivering solutions that save family farms and protect the food supply.
