According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm sector equity is forecast to rise to $3.92 trillion in 2026, a 2.9% increase over 2025.
Farm sector equity, or wealth, is the difference between farm sector total assets and total debt.
The USDA said that farm sector assets are expected to increase 3.2 percent to reach $4.54 trillion in 2026, while farm sector debt is expected to increase 5.2% to reach $624.7 billion in 2026. After adjusting for inflation, farm sector equity, assets, and debt are forecast to increase in 2026 by 1.0 percent, 1.3%, and 3.2%, respectively, the USDA noted.
Farm real estate assets, land and its attachments, are forecast to be $3.77 trillion in 2026, a 3.8% rise from 2025. That represents 83% of total farm sector assets, USDA said.
Non-Real Estate Assets
The agency said that non-real estate assets include the value of investments and other financial assets, crop and animal inventories, purchased inputs, and machinery/vehicles. USDA said that non-real estate assets are expected to remain relatively stable from 2025 to 2026.
According to the USDA, total farm sector debt is forecast to increase in 2026 over 2025 with increases forecast for both real estate and non-real estate debt.
Farm real estate debt is expected to reach $404.3 billion in 2026, a 4.8-percent increase from 2025. Farm non-real estate debt is expected to reach $220.4 billion in 2026, a 6% increase in nominal terms and a 4.0-percent increase in inflation-adjusted dollars.
USDA said that farm sector solvency is forecast to continue to worsen in 2026, with debt forecast to grow at a faster rate than assets.
The agency noted that solvency measures the ability of a farm or ranch operation to satisfy its debt obligations when due. Popular measures of solvency include the debt-to-asset ratio and debt-to-equity ratio, the agency said. The debt-to-asset ratio is forecast to increase from 13.49 percent in 2025 to 13.75% in 2026.
The farm sector’s liquidity is forecast to decline in 2026, measured by key metrics such as working capital, the USDA said.
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