Tight margins, high interest rates and elevated input costs will create headwinds through the rest of 2025 and into 2026

Elevated interest rates, rising input costs, increasing family living expenses, softening land values and tightening margins are creating a challenging financial environment for Iowa farmers heading into the back half of 2025.

Yet despite multiple headwinds, many producers remain on solid financial footing, thanks to smart decisions made earlier this decade — namely building working capital during the stronger economic years of the early 2020s.

Angie Treptow, senior vice president of retail operations and customer experience for Farm Credit Services of America/Frontier Farm Credit, said farmers should continue to focus on maintaining that resilience as economic uncertainties persist. She ...