Farm Banks Remain Key Source of Credit for America's Farmers and Rural Communities

Farm banks continued to play a central role in financing U.S. agriculture in 2025, accounting for more than one-third of all farm lending nationwide while maintaining solid capital, profitability and employment levels, according to ABA’s 2025 Farm Bank Performance Report.
 
Banks held nearly $212 billion in farm loans at the end of 2025, representing 35.7% of total agricultural credit outstanding in the United States. The nation’s 1,372 farm banks—defined by ABA as banks whose ratio of domestic farm loans to total domestic loans is equal to or greater than the industry average— accounted for $122 billion of that total and remained a major source of credit for small and micro farms.
 
“Farm banks play an outsized role in supporting farmers, ranchers and rural communities,” said Ed Elfmann, senior vice president, agricultural and rural banking policy. “This report shows they continued to extend credit responsibly in 2025 while maintaining solid capital levels and strong ties to the communities they serve.”
 
Key Highlights

• Strong role in farm lending: Banks provided more than $212 billion in farm loans in 2025, with farm banks accounting for $122 billion, or 57% of all bank farm loans.
• Support for small and micro farms: Banks held more than 1 million small farm loans totaling $71 billion, including over 630,000 micro farm loans worth more than $14 billion.
• Solid capital levels: Tier 1 capital at farm banks increased 7.9%, or $4.4 billion, reaching $59.7 billion in 2025.
• Broad profitability: 98.2% of farm banks were profitable in 2025, with 73.1% reporting higher earnings than the prior year.
• Asset quality continued to normalize: Credit quality weakened modestly in 2025 after several years of historically low delinquency rates, though noncurrent agricultural loans remained low by historical standards.
• Growing rural employment: Farm banks added 2,037 jobs in 2025 and employed more than 76,000 rural America, marking a 23.6% increase in employment since 2015.
• Deep community roots: The median farm bank was 115 years old in 2025, reflecting longstanding ties to the communities they serve.
  

Regional Highlights

• Northeast: The 10 farm banks in the Northeast region reported an 11.7% increase in farm loans from a year ago, rising $173.2 million to $1.65 billion. Agricultural production loans grew 14.7% from a year ago to $134.5 million, while farmland loans increased 11.5% to $1.52 billion.
• South: The 139 farm banks in the South region increased farm loans by 7.02%, or $717.85 million from a year ago, rising to $10.94 billion in 2025. Agricultural production loans increased 2.12% from a year ago, to $2.78 billion, while farmland loans rose by 8.81% to $8.16 billion.
• Corn Belt: The 649 farm banks in the Corn Belt region increased farm loans by 5.80%, or $3.16 billion, from a year ago to $57.69 billion in 2025. Agricultural production loans rose by 6.74% from a year ago to $24.07 billion, while farmland loans rose by 5.13% to $33.61 billion.
• Plains: The 536 farm banks in the Plains region increased their farm loans by 8.30%, or $3.60 billion, from a year ago to $47.02 billion in 2025. Agricultural production loans rose 11.39% from a year ago to $24.05 billion, while farmland loans increased 5.24% to $22.97 billion.
• West: The 38 farm banks in the West region increased their farm loans by 3.40%, or $161.84 million, from a year ago to $4.92 billion in 2025. Agricultural production loans rose by 3.32% from a year ago to $2.05 billion, and farmland loans rose 3.46% to $2.87 billion.  

The 2025 Farm Bank Performance Report examines the performance of 1,372 banks that specialize in agricultural lending and meet ABA’s definition of a farm bank.
 
Read the 2025 Farm Bank Performance Report.
 
Read the 2025 Farm Bank Performance Infographic.