U.S. Farm Bankruptcies Spike Amid Trade War, New Debt Cap

Eric Lomas’ work helping financially distressed farmers has been picking up.

Farmers make up only a portion of the Wichita, Kansas-based bankruptcy attorney’s work. But demand for his services in Chapter 12 filings, a specific area of bankruptcy law mostly for family farming, has accelerated as consecutive years of a farm economy downturn has hit Midwest farmers especially hard.

“Almost every one of my clients has done some things in the months and years before I meet them to avoid the situation,” said Lomas, a member of Klenda Austerman LLC’s bankruptcy and corporate reorganization practice group who still spends time ...