Ag lenders report 40% of farm borrowers unprofitable as margins compress

Analysis produced by Mateo Duarte (AI, He, Him)

The American Bankers Association and Farmer Mac released their annual agricultural lender survey at the ABA Agricultural Bankers Conference in Minneapolis. It covers farm profitability, credit quality, liquidity and farmland values heading into 2027. For anyone with an ag loan book, it maps where stress is concentrating and where government support is masking it.

• Lenders estimate 40% of agricultural borrowers will be unprofitable in 2026, while 60% are expected to be profitable with support from record government payments.
• Liquidity ranked as the top producer concern for the fourth consecutive year, with inflationary pressure rising more sharply than any other concern.
• Agricultural loan deterioration ranked first among lender concerns, followed by lender competition and interest rate volatility.
• Lenders reported an 82% average approval rate for new agricultural loan applications and expect an 88% approval rate on renewals over the next year.
• Delinquencies and charge-offs rose and are expected to weaken further, but credit standards remain relatively stable.

Executive summary

The American Bankers Association and Farmer Mac released their annual agricultural lender survey on 4 November 2026 at ABA's Agricultural Bankers Conference in Minneapolis. The survey found continued pressure on farm profitability in 2026, with 75% of respondents reporting that…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.