Ever since people have learned to grow plants and care for livestock, farming has proved to be one of the most difficult occupations in which to make money. Because farming is so dependent on natural conditions, it’s inevitable that it is often filled with hardship. In today’s global economy, and in the face of changing environmental factors, farming has become a harder way to make a living than ever before. If you are struggling to support your farm, you are not alone. With the help of Behm Law Group Ltd., you can decide whether filing for Chapter 12 bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, is the right choice for you, and work through the process with our guidance and support.
Chapter 12 bankruptcy is specifically designed to treat the financial conditions of a family farmer. Like Chapter 13 and Chapter 11, this process reorganizes your debts into a manageable repayment plan overseen by a bankruptcy trustee. This allows you to keep your company and property stabilized until your debts are repaid under adjusted or modified loan terms. If you have a difficult few years, Chapter 12 can be a critical option for keeping your family farm running.
The problem many farmers have struggled with in the last twenty years is a lack of demand. Farmers can grow more corn and soybeans than ever before thanks to GMOs and pesticide technology. While crop demand increased with production until recently, it has now started to drop in comparison with the supply ratio. Due to this, farmers are seeing decreasing income in response to the time, hard work, and cost of crop production.
Reflecting the difficult times farmers are currently facing across the country, Minnesota has seen a rapid increase in the number of Chapter 12 cases, especially during the spring growing season. Spring is the time of year when income from the previous season is most important to be able to get a new crop in the ground and established for the coming months. If you have struggled to make ends meet in the previous year and have seen a decrease in demand for your supply, you may be facing an even lower return in this new season.
This cycle starts to resemble a spiraling out of income and a loading on of debt for farmers. A demand for crops that cannot match the supply grown causes a lower income for farmers. This lower income prevents them from paying necessary costs-of-living and farming expenses, and results in more debt, more loans taken out, and in the long term, a higher risk of bankruptcy.
Despite this negative cycle we are currently seeing for Minnesota farmers, the possibilities that Chapter 12 bankruptcy offers are a silver lining that, not only allows farmers to keep their businesses running and resolve debt, but also provides a long-term solution for unbalanced supply and demand. To learn more about how filing for Chapter 12 bankruptcy in Mankato, MN, can help farmers with unmanageable debt, contact Behm Law Group Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.
