Measuring and Analyzing Farm Financial Stress

The financial health of the agricultural economy has been excellent for the past few years, especially with farm income reaching record levels. However, the U.S. economy has experienced a recession and a credit crisis. Although the U.S. farm sector has been mostly shielded from the economic downturn, farm financial stress is still possible under current conditions. Are some U.S. farm businesses, especially those with term debt, poised to experience significant financial stress in 2010? We use the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), sponsored jointly by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Agricultural Statistical Service, to help answer this question