(KIWA Staff Photo)
Statewide Iowa (RI) — A new report shows net farm income in Iowa dropped 53% between 2022 and 2024. The study was commissioned by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa State University, and the Iowa Bankers Association.
Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says today’s financial strain differs from the Farm Crisis of the 1980s. Farmers aren’t carrying as much debt and farmland values remain strong — but they are facing a cash flow problem.
The report found that by the end of last year, nearly 20% of large and mid-sized Iowa farming operations were financially vulnerable.
Christopher Pudenz, an Iowa Farm Bureau economist, says the pressure is mounting.
Pudenz says some of the banking approaches used today to help stressed farm operations were developed after the Farm Crisis. He adds that expanding foreign markets helped revive the farm economy in the 1990s.
The USDA has not yet released its final farm income report for 2025. Pudenz says the slight projected increase in net farm income is almost entirely due to booming livestock prices and federal payments.
He also cites an estimate from Iowa State University’s Center for Agriculture Research and Development showing ethanol production will only grow 8% over the next 25 years.
The report shows that since 2021, the cost of producing corn increased 37%, but corn prices today are lower than they were five years ago.
