Credit unions stand with farmers as agriculture faces a financial reckoning
As the nation celebrates National Agriculture Week, American farmers are navigating one of the toughest financial stretches in a generation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts net farm income will decline 2.6% in inflation-adjusted terms in 2026, extending a multiyear squeeze that has pushed row-crop producers toward breakeven—or past it. In this environment, the financial partner a farmer chooses can mean the difference between weathering a bad season and losing the operation altogether.
That is precisely where credit unions are stepping up. As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions return every dollar earned to the people they serve through lower loan rates, reduced fees, and reinvestment in local communities. For farmers facing volatile commodity prices and rising input costs, that cooperative structure is not just a nice philosophy—it is a competitive advantage.
The American Farm Bureau Federation reports that crop margins have been at or below breakeven for multiple consecutive years, working capital has eroded, and Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies are climbing. Government payments now account for a significant share of producers’ bottom lines, yet many operations still cannot close the gap between expenses and revenue.
Rooted in the land since day one
Several credit unions were founded specifically to serve agricultural communities, and that mission continues to shape how they lend. Town & Country Credit Union in Minot, N.D., has financed farm operations since 1939 and ranks as the third-largest NCUA-insured agriculture lender in the country. It offers everything from operating lines of credit and livestock financing to grain-storage loans, products tailored to Northern Plains farming. The credit union also partners with the Bank of North Dakota and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to connect producers with state-backed disaster and beginning-farmer programs.
Jason, a Town & Country member since 2016 who farms and ranches in the region, captures the relationship simply: “The people that represent Town & Country are also small business people. They’re in agriculture. So, they have a finger on the pulse of what’s really happening out there. They feel the pinch when agriculture is in a pinch.”
In western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, WESTconsin Credit Union carries forward a legacy that began in 1939 as the Menomonie Farmers Credit Union. Today, it provides farmland, equipment, and livestock financing with repayment schedules structured around seasonal cash flow, a flexibility that reflects decades of understanding how dairy, grain, and beef operations actually run.
More than a loan: the full-service difference
What sets agricultural credit unions apart is the breadth of support surrounding the loan itself. Town & Country, for example, bundles crop insurance, farm property and liability coverage, and multi-peril protection through its in-house insurance agency—giving members a single point of contact for both financing and risk management. When the Farm Financial Stability Loan Program became available through the Bank of North Dakota late last year, the credit union’s ag lending team quickly connected eligible members with those funds.
Similarly, WCCU Credit Union in Wisconsin offers agricultural lines of credit designed to bridge the cash flow gaps inherent to farming. Members can draw only what they need, when they need it, and pay down balances as receivables come in—a structure that keeps interest costs low during the months between planting and harvest.
Why the credit union difference matters now
The cooperative model is especially vital during downturns. Because credit unions answer to members rather than outside investors, they can hold the line on rates, restructure payments, and keep working with a producer through a tough stretch. The depth of that commitment shows in the numbers: of North Dakota’s 36 credit unions, ten rank among the top 39 nationwide in agricultural loan concentration, and five are among the 15 largest ag lenders in the state—competing head-to-head with banks many times their size.
Nationally, the NCUA reports that federally insured credit unions now hold $2.43 trillion in total assets and serve nearly 145 million members. As the farm economy grinds through a prolonged margin squeeze, that scale—paired with a mission that puts people before profit—positions credit unions to absorb shocks that would send other lenders retreating.
