“A Difficult Decade.” New Studies Show Iowa Farmers Expected to Face Years of Low Returns, Skyrocketing Health Care Costs

DES MOINES, IA – Iowa farmers are facing yet another blow, as a new Corn Impact Study warns they could face “a difficult decade” of low profitability. Rising corn production, falling prices, and shrinking demand are squeezing family farms, while policy decisions from out-of-touch politicians in Washington — from costly tariffs to skyrocketing health care costs and attacks on rural hospitals — and back at home are making the lives of Iowa farmers even harder.

According to Iowa State Extension, the price of corn in Iowa has fallen from $6.86 per bushel in 2022 to under $4 today — roughly the point where most farmers only break even. Without stronger demand, the study warns prices could remain depressed for years, putting added pressure on small and mid-sized family farms and making it harder for younger Iowans to stay in agriculture. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is sending billions to bail out farmers in Argentina. If that weren’t bad enough, D.C. politicians are once again kicking the can down the road on year-round E15.

This pressure is already hitting Iowa farms hard. In the first half of 2025, Iowa farmers filed the second-largest number of farm bankruptcies nationally — already twice as many as 2024 and the most since 2021. Adding in reckless trade policies that limit exports and rising health care expenses, many farmers are being pushed to the brink.

More than one in four farmers get their coverage through the Affordable Care Act, and decisions by D.C. insiders to end enhanced ACA subsidies is driving premiums up, taking even more out of already-tight farm budgets — and even forcing some farmers to choose between health care or insuring the farm.

“Iowa farmers are working harder than ever, but too many are barely breaking even,” said candidate for governor Rob Sand. “Falling prices, rising health care costs, and record farm bankruptcies are putting families and workers across our state under unsustainable pressure. Yet insiders in Washington and Des Moines are playing political games while our farmers pay the price. It’s time our leaders start standing up for farmers and putting Iowa first.”