On a sweltering early September day in Brookland, Arkansas, more than 400 farmers crammed into the Woods Chapel Baptist Church, their boots still caked with mud from fields left unharvested. It was supposed to be a small meeting with political representatives. Instead, it became a vivid display of rural distress, as growers from across the region abandoned their harvests—an almost unthinkable move in farm country—to demand answers and relief. Their message was blunt: the American farmer stands on the edge of financial ruin, and those in power seem unwilling or unable to help.
The crisis facing Arkansas’s farmers in 2025 is the result of a perfect storm: extreme weather, plummeting crop prices, and international trade policy missteps. According to K8 News and Moneywise, the year began with severe flooding in April, which claimed 10 lives and inflicted $78 million in crop damage. This disaster alone would have been a heavy blow, but it arrived on top of already mounting pressures.
For decades, Arkansas’s agricultural sector has been a cornerstone of the state’s economy, generating $16 billion annually. But as Adam Chappell, a fourth-generation farmer working 2,400 acres of soybeans, rice, and corn in east Arkansas, put it to Farm Journal, "This is the worst agriculture economy of my lifetime." Many of his peers agree, and the numbers back them up. U.S. farm debt is projected to hit a staggering $561.8 billion by the end of 2025, a 3.7 percent increase from last year, according to Newsweek. Meanwhile, Chapter 12 bankruptcies—designed specifically for family farmers—have nearly doubled in just the first quarter of the year.
One of the toughest pills to swallow for Arkansas growers has been the collapse of the soybean market. In 2023, farmers could fetch $13.10 per bushel. Now, thanks in part to President Trump’s ongoing tariff standoff with China, prices are flirting with lows not seen since the pandemic, potentially dipping below $10 per bushel. China, which typically buys half of Arkansas’s soybean crop, has not placed a single order this year, Fortune reports. This loss of a major buyer has left silos full and bank accounts empty.
But it’s not just about prices. Overhead costs for everything from seed to machinery and labor have soared. Immigration raids have sharply reduced the availability of foreign manual laborers, who traditionally fill the lowest-paid farm jobs. Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, told Moneywise, "This year, the labor shortfall in US agriculture will exceed 400,000 jobs. Technology will not fill that need." With fewer hands to help and higher costs at every turn, many farmers are being forced to refinance, take on more debt, or risk losing their land altogether.
Paul McAnally of Southern Bancorp, a local banker, painted a bleak picture: "Where we are needing help is some kind of federal assistance. We started in 2023 and 2024 being off years. Some farmers had to refinance in ’25 for this year to be able to stay in business and right the ship." According to his estimates, up to one-third of Arkansas farmers could face bankruptcy this year. Already, bankruptcies are on the rise, and more farms are expected to hit the auction block by fall.
At the Brookland meeting, the frustration was palpable. John Boyd of the National Black Farmers Association shared his own struggles: "I was turned down by banks for the simple fact of low commodity prices due to the president's tariffs." The Trump administration is reportedly considering another round of farm bailouts, but many smaller farmers see this as a temporary fix at best. As Adam Chappell told Farm Journal, "You can bet your a– the monopolies will get their money. If you think otherwise, you’ve got blinders on." He added, "Wake the hell up. Where do you think that money is gonna go? It won’t go to farmers. It’ll go into suppliers' pockets, the monopolies."
Indeed, a growing chorus of farmers is pointing the finger not just at Washington, but at the agricultural monopolies that control the seed, fertilizer, and chemical markets. Chappell explained, "Seed, chemicals, fertilizer, it’s all in the hands of just a few companies, and they’re the only game in town. You want to fix farming? Start a federal investigation into those corporations. How can they post booming quarterly earnings and pay out fat dividends while farmers can’t pinch a penny to survive?" He described a cycle that has become all too familiar: when corn prices jump, nitrogen prices rise the following year; if soybeans spike, seed costs follow suit. Potash, a key fertilizer, could soon hit $1,000 a ton. "That’s the monopoly problem, plain and simple," Chappell said.
These concerns aren’t just anecdotal. According to a 2024 report titled Cultivating Control, agribusiness lobbying in Washington has surged 22 percent in the past five years, from $145 million in 2019 to $177 million in 2023. Today, agribusiness outspends even the oil, gas, and defense industries on lobbying, as reported by Moneywise. Farmers like Bailey Buffalo, president of the Farm Protection Alliance, see the impact on their bottom lines: "Farmers are literally losing money per acre while Big Agriculture is making hundreds of millions. Any fair-minded person knows the situation is way out of balance."
With banks forecasting that up to 40 percent of farms in some regions could fail in the coming years, the stakes are rising. The potential collapse of family farming isn’t just an economic issue—it’s a matter of national security. If enough American farms go under, the U.S. could become dependent on foreign food systems, a vulnerability that previous administrations have called out in other industries but, as many farmers see it, have ignored in agriculture.
Despite the urgency, many farmers feel their plight is being met with indifference. As Kenneth Graves, chairman of the Arkansas Rice Growers Association, told Newsweek, "We are going over a cliff. I have never seen this kinda look in farmers’ eyes. It’s fear. And it’s based in undeniable facts." The contradiction is hard to ignore: Washington routinely demands accountability and fair markets from other nations, but within its own borders, it allows monopolistic practices to flourish, squeezing family farmers to the brink.
For now, Arkansas farmers continue to seek help from Washington, D.C. They are calling for more than just bailouts—they want meaningful action to address monopolistic control, labor shortages, and trade policies that have left them vulnerable. As Lake City farmer Qualls told Farm Journal, "I really don’t think people understand how bad the situation is. It hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, and even if the government were to step in with a large payment, that may be a temporary band-aid. There’s a lot of little stuff that could happen to help a little bit, but until our markets turn around and our inputs come down, it’s not going to get any better."
Whether Washington will answer that call remains to be seen. But in the meantime, the fate of America’s farmers—and the nation’s food security—hangs in the balance.
