Farm Progress America: Rising fuel and fertilizer costs are pushing Arkansas farms into bankruptcy at twice the rate of any other state, with rice and corn growers hit hardest.

Arkansas farmers are feeling the squeeze this harvest season as fuel and fertilizer costs continue to climb well beyond what was budgeted this spring.

A University of Arkansas Extension Service analysis found that farmers across the state are paying more than $343 million in unbudgeted fuel and fertilizer expenses this year. According to extension economist Ryan Loy, farm diesel costs are running about 72% above the $2.50/gallon producers had planned for.

Since Arkansas grows 40-50% of the nation’s rice crop in an average year, the impact is being felt statewide. Rice production is especially diesel- and nitrogen-intensive, since farmers must hold a flood on their fields all summer using irrigation pumps. That’s left rice growers facing nearly $118/acre in added costs this year, compared to about $98 for corn and $75 for cotton.

The financial strain is now showing up in bankruptcy courts. Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, reports that Arkansas leads the nation with 12 farm bankruptcy filings in the third quarter alone — twice as many as second-place Iowa. So far this year, 32 Arkansas farm operations have filed for bankruptcy.

Farmers in financial distress generally choose among three chapters of the Bankruptcy Code,” Pittman noted, pointing to Chapter 12 as a tool designed during the 1980s farm crisis to help family farmers restructure debt while continuing to operate.

Published Date: October 31, 2026