Trump Signs Bill Providing Debt Relief to More Family Farmers

President Trump last week signed the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019, a measure that raises the Chapter 12 debt limit from $4.1 million to $10 million. The law will help family farmers struggling with export market disruptions, weather events and declining farm income, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.

“It will help family farmers reorganize after falling on hard times by increasing the debt limit for relief eligibility under the Chapter 12 bankruptcy code,” Duvall said. “While this is a sobering reflection of the current state of the agricultural economy, we are grateful to Congress, the President and his administration for their prioritization of reforming our current bankruptcy laws.”

A recent Market Intel, “Farm Loan Delinquencies and Bankruptcies Are Rising,” looks closely at how deteriorating financial conditions are affecting farmers and ranchers’ abilities to meet their obligations.