U.S. farm bankruptcies rise as trade war drags on

[TomSea]

U.S. farm bankruptcies rise as trade war drags on

EVANSVILLE, Ind., Sept. 30 (UPI) -- As the trade war with China drags on, many of America's farms are going bankrupt.

The number of farmers falling behind on loans and filing for bankruptcy has jumped since the trade dispute began in spring 2018, according to industry statistics. And farms of all types and sizes continue going out of business.

"Many farmers and ranchers are reaching their breaking point," said Matt Perdue, the government relations director at the National Farmers Union. "The consensus is that this is going to lead to a lot of exits and more consolidations."

Read more at: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/09/30/US-farm-bankruptcies-rise-as-trade-war-drags-on/7151569609436/?utm_source=onesignal

This is the tough part of the trade war, maybe their story is overblown but it's already been reported that there are problems, we must confront and challenge China.

I think we have some sort of program enacted to help the farmers financially.

[thackney]

This is the tough part of the trade war, maybe their story is overblown but it's already been reported that there are problems, we must confront and challenge China.

I think we have some sort of program enacted to help the farmers financially.

A friend farmer, in his late 40s, told me this past year was the first time he was ever able to sell rice direct to Mexico instead of hauling to the mill in Freeport, Texas.

[berdie]

I think we have some sort of program enacted to help the farmers financially.

Yes we do. Plus there is crop insurance that most farmers carry.

[jmyrlefuller]

The problem can be summed up in two words -- low prices.

Nearly all commodity prices have been low since about 2014, said John Newton, the chief economist at the American Farm Bureau.

Prices tend to cycle up and down in agriculture and short periods of low prices are typical. Farmers try and plan their businesses around these cycles, banking money during years of plenty to survive years with less.

The problem with this particular low cycle is that it's lasted longer than usual.

In other words, they're taking a correlation and trying to assign a causation.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

In other words, they're taking a correlation and trying to assign a causation.

This is just a case of throwing sh-- against the wall to see what will stick.

The author is basing its assessment on a single year comparison of Chapter 12 bankruptcies filings, those for farm families, which rose 13% from prior year.

Here's a historical record, a much more accurate way to look at it.



One can easily see that Obama's years in 2010-12 easily surpass the current 2019.

And here's an article less than a year ago which noted the small amount of bankruptcies happening.

Chapter 12 Bankruptcies Lower Across Farm Country
https://www.fb.org/market-intel/chapter-12-bankruptcies-lower-across-farm-country

If in print, this article is worth just to be used as toilet paper.

[Wingnut]

Rain on the scarecrow blood on the plow