The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture’s Mary Hightower reported that “according to federal court data, 292 Chapter 12 (farm bankruptcy) cases have been filed so far in 2026, nearly 19 percent more than the 246 filed during the first three quarters of 2025. In the third quarter alone, 91 Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings were recorded nationwide.”
“‘The number of Chapter 12 bankruptcies filed this quarter underscores the significant financial pressures facing U.S. agriculture,’ (Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center) said,” according to Hightower’s reporting. “‘However, these filings tell only part of the story. As the NALC DEBT Project demonstrates, the full scope of financial distress becomes clearer when agricultural bankruptcies filed under other chapters of the bankruptcy code are also considered.'”
“The DEBT project, Pittman said, compiles federal bankruptcy data for agricultural operations that have filed under either Chapter 11 or Chapter 12, giving a more complete picture of the scope of the issue,” Hightower reported. “The additional data can help to identify changes over time, geographic patterns, and emerging financial challenges affecting agricultural operations.”
“Nationwide Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings increased 11.5 percent during the first three quarters of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025,” Hightower reported. “According to the most recent federal court data, 7,623 Chapter 11 cases were filed in the first three quarters of 2026, up from 6,838 during the same period in 2025.”
Arkansas Led the Nation in Third Quarter 2026 Farm Bankruptcy Filings
Talk Business & Politics reported that Arkansas “led the nation in farm-related Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings during the third quarter of 2026. The state had 12 Chapter 12 filings in the third quarter, according to a report posted Thursday (Oct. 22) by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA).”
“‘That number is twice the six filings reported in Iowa, the next-highest state,’ said Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC),” according to Talk Business & Politics’ reporting. “‘So far this year, 32 agricultural operations in Arkansas have filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection, highlighting the financial challenges facing the state’s agricultural sector.'”
Brownfield Ag News’ Carah Hart reported that “Pittman tells Brownfield the Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings don’t tell the whole story.”
“‘I would love to know how many farm operators have simply ceased farming, but didn’t declare bankruptcy. They had enough equity and they didn’t need to restructure debt, they just got out of farming,'” he said, according to Hart’s reporting.
Trucking Company Bankruptcies Also Up in 2026
In addition to farm bankruptcies, smaller trucking operations — like those that often move grain and fertilizer around the Corn Belt — are also feeling the financial pinch.
Bloomberg’s Josie Reich, Cailley LaPara, and Dorothy Ma reported that “some 221 trucking companies have filed for bankruptcy so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, extending a three-year spike at sustained levels not seen in decades.”
“Around two-thirds of small US carriers — typically operating 20 or fewer tractors, and oftentimes only just one — report that revenue is either flat or down compared with the year-ago period, according to a survey of hundreds of such companies conducted over the past two months by freight-management firm Truckstop and Bloomberg Intelligence,” Reich, LaPara and Ma reported. “Almost 40% of these operators said that in six months, they expected to be out of trucking or weren’t sure where they’d be.”
Scripps News Group’s Maura Barrett reported that “Stephen Burks, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Minnesota Morris and a former truck driver, said the industry just came through its longest freight downturn since the Great Recession, from late 2022 to late 2025. Diesel arrived just as survivors thought the worst was behind them.”
“‘This could be the straw that broke the camel’s back for any number of reasons for a middle size or smaller truckload firm,’ Burks said,” according to Barrett’s reporting.
