Why more Illinois farmers are filing for bankruptcy
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye in Sangamon County, Illinois, on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. Brian Mackey/Illinois Public Media
Illinois farmers are filing for bankruptcy at a rate that's climbed for three years running — a trend that echoes the 1980s farm crisis, which is part of what led to Farm Aid's founding in Champaign-Urbana.
Tara Sun, a graduate student at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism who reported on the numbers for Capitol News Illinois, breaks down the data behind the rise. Kevin Semlow of the Illinois Farm Bureau and Gary Asay, a hog and grain farmer and crop insurance agent in Osco, Illinois, talk through what's driving it: falling crop prices, an unsteady export market, and rising land costs that now account for roughly half of farmers' total expenses.
The conversation also covers what options farmers have before bankruptcy, a state legislative effort called the Family Farm Preservation Act, and how bankruptcy for a farm differs from bankruptcy for a household.
Discussed
- Capitol News Illinois: "A Real Farm Crisis:" Illinois Farm Bankruptcies Rise for 3rd Straight Year
- Iowa State University, Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation: A Review of Farm Bankruptcy
Guests
Tara Sun
Graduate student, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism
Kevin Semlow
Director of governmental affairs and commodities, Illinois Farm Bureau
Gary Asay
Farmer — Osco, Illinois
Crop insurance agent
