Farm Aid’s Sept. 26 Virginia Beach concert comes as U.S. family farmers face rising bankruptcies, fuel and fertilizer costs, pressure on immigrant farm labor and data-center competition for land. Farmer Heath Cutrell says the strain recalls the 1980s crisis.
In 2025, 315 family farmers filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which lets them restructure debt and keep farming. The American Farm Bureau Federation said the total remained modest but rose 46% from 2024, marking a second consecutive annual increase. Federal data show the USDA lost about 27% of its staff—roughly 24,000 employees—in the 14 months after the Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network was created to help farmers navigate financial difficulties. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised $90 million to promote a resilient family-farm system.
Cutrell told Billboard diesel had exceeded $6 a gallon and fertilizer prices were at record highs. According to the report, the U.S. war against Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to oil shipments, pushing oil prices higher. Farm Aid co-director Jennifer Fahy said immigration-enforcement fears can keep workers from showing up, putting harvests at risk. Farmers also fear data-center development could reduce available farmland and affect local water supplies and electricity rates.
