Fresno attorneys say more almond farmers in financial trouble
… Low commodity prices, declining land values, and a tightening credit market have all contributed to increased anxiety for San Joaquin Valley farmers, especially almond growers. In 2024, there were 216 farm bankruptcies nationwide, an increase of 55% from the previous year. Of that number, California had the most with 17 farms falling into bankruptcy. … The decline in land value led to another problem for farmers, a loss of collateral to back up their loans. “With the loss of those large farming entities you have a flood of land on the market and it depressed the land values and so now you no longer have the collateral you need,” said Hagop Bedoyan, a bankruptcy attorney in Fresno. “Lenders like to see more of an equity cushion.” Bedoyan added that lenders not only want farmers to have more equity but they are also requiring farmers to have two sources of water, surface and well water.
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