The Real Reason Family Farms Are Going Bankrupt—And It’s Not What You Think

When people ask why so many American family farms are going under, the default answers are predictable: markets, tariffs, interest rates.
And while all those factors do add pressure, they’re not the root cause.

Here’s the hard truth:
The real reason so many farms are going bankrupt is because of decisions made by the previous generation—financial choices that made sense back then, but just don’t hold up in today’s economic environment.

The Problem Is Generational—and It's Getting Worse

Right now, agriculture is in the middle of one of the largest wealth transfers we've ever seen.
The next generation is stepping up to take over operations…
But they're not prepared. Not even close.

Why?

Because they’re not inheriting a system.
They’re inheriting financial chaos.

There’s no playbook.
No structure.
No real understanding of what the numbers look like—just a lot of hope and crossed fingers that somehow, things will work out.

The 3-Stage Scramble of the Next Generation

This is the painful reality we’ve seen again and again working with hundreds of operations inside Legacy Farmer:

1. First, they scramble just to figure out where the heck the operation stands financially.
   Bank accounts, debt loads, cash flow, expenses—none of it is clear or organized.
   
   
2. Next, they do everything they can to keep the ship afloat.
   The farm is already taking on water, but they’re expected to keep it running—often with zero training.
   
   
3. And finally, they’re forced to clean up decades of financial decisions they didn’t make.
   They inherit the mess and bear the burden of fixing it.
   
   

We’ve Lived It, Too

This isn’t theory.
We’ve lived it.
I watched my parents and grandparents deal with it.
And now, I work with hundreds of farm families who are in the middle of the same storm.

If you’re in this position—or you see it coming—there’s one thing you need more than anything: a financial playbook built for today’s reality.

Because hope and hustle aren’t a strategy.
And your future deserves more than just surviving year to year.