US Edition
Midwest Farm Economies Suffered While some Sun Belt States Kept Rolling in Early 2025
MIDWEST AND SUN BELT STATES, JUL 11 – Midwest farm bankruptcies rose sharply in early 2025 due to high costs and low crop prices while Sun Belt states saw modest agricultural economic growth, USDA data shows.
- Despite Southern gains, the Midwest’s farm sector faltered, with Nebraska and Iowa experiencing a 6.1% GDP drop, and Arkansas seeing a near-record number of farm bankruptcies, Stateline’s analysis shows.
- Amid rising input costs, economists said, small farms face bankruptcy worsened by climate-driven transport and fertilizer price spikes, according to Ryan Loy.
- Data show national farm bankruptcies at record levels, with South Carolina growing 1.7%, Florida 1.4%, Alabama 1%, and North Carolina and Arkansas each 0.8%, according to Stateline’s analysis.
- Consequently, the USDA reported nearly 54 million Americans live in food deserts, with the Annie E. Casey Foundation finding the South hosts most of these areas.
- Experts say, Southeastern’s poultry and egg profits outpace Midwest row crops, with divergence expected to last as prices for meat and eggs rise while row-crop prices fall, Sawadgo said.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Commentary: Food Near Me – The Ironic Tragedy of Rural Food Deserts
The idea of a food desert would have seemed impossible to us, growing up so close to all the earth can provide. As kids, we’d walk with our dad to bring the cows in from the pasture, and watch as they gave milk that became dairy products for other families. Each spring, he’d plant crops that by fall seemed plentiful enough to feed and fuel all the world. Imagine my surprise years later to learn food deserts were right down the road. Somehow, we’…
Ottumwa Courier
Midwest farm economies suffered while some Sun Belt states kept rolling in early 2025
Global clashes and trade wars hammered Midwestern states’ agricultural economies early this year, while a continuing boom in Southeastern states’ housing and tech jobs kept their economies humming along.
In the first quarter of 2025 there were almost twice as many bankruptcies as in 2024. High costs and interest rates pressure family farming operations in the U.S. The White House claims that...
Farm economy remains key priority for MSGA during D.C. Hill Visits
A unique blend of veteran Minnesota soybean advocates and fresh faces traveled in July 2025 to Washington, D.C., for the American Soybean Association’s (ASA) summer Hill Visits. Some of Minnesota’s farmer leaders, like George Goblish and Bob Worth, walked around the halls and chambers of the House and Senate buildings with a familiar ease. But for others, like Raymond DeMars and Rebecca Sip, who both represented Minnesota as last year’s class of…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 69% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
