Des Moines Register
By the time Stan Deardeuff talks with farmers who are struggling to stay afloat financially, the longtime Iowa Mediation Service counselor says they re usually resigned. They ve been in this soup for a while, unable to stave off years of growing debt, says Deardeuff, who has worked with farmers a step away from bankruptcy since the 1980s farm crisis.
There s also regret. They have a connection to the land. And they feel like maybe they re letting someone down, the next generation that wanted to farm, Deardeuff said.
Iowa had more distressed farmers for counselors like Deardeuff to see last year. Despite $2 billion in government assistance, more Iowa farmers filed for bankruptcy in 2020 than at any time in the past decade, recently released figures show.