News

Farm bankruptcy cap increases approved by House

The U.S. House recently passed bipartisan legislation to increase bankruptcy limits for farmers.

The Family Farm Relief Act, co-sponsored by Iowa Representatives: Dave Loebsack, Abby Finkenauer, and Cindy Axne; Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin; Minnesota’s Collin Peterson; and Dusty Johnson of South Dakota; would ease the process of reorganizing debt through Chapter 12 bankruptcy rules.  It also increases the debt limit from $3 million to $10 million

The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union support the measure.  AFBF president Zippy Duvall says updating Chapter 12 bankruptcy eligibility to the current scale and credit needs of U.S. agriculture is a necessity and the bill will ultimately help family farmers and ranchers keep farming.

A similar bill in the Senate has been introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, among others.