Lessons from the 1980s Farm Crisis—and Why Arkansas Can’t Afford to Repeat Them

We’ve lived this story before. In the 1980s, Arkansas was hit hard by the farm crisis that swept across rural America. Nearly 300,000 farms nationwide were lost to foreclosure or forced sale—and Arkansas families were among them. My community still carries the scars.

Today, I fear we are walking into a storm we’ve seen before—but this time, we know better.

On the Shoffner Family Farm in the late 1970s. (Left to Right) Mann Shoffner (grandfather), John Shoffner (grandson), BJ Shoffner (great-grandson)

A Familiar Storm on the Horizon

Like in the years leading up to the 1980s collapse, Arkansas farmers are once again being squeezed by forces beyond their control. Debt levels are soaring. Land prices are out of reach for the next generation. Input costs have skyrocketed, but the prices we get for our crops haven’t kept up.

In 2024, net farm income dropped more than 25%. In Arkansas, where agriculture is our top industry, the effects ripple through every small town, school district, and local main street.

Meanwhile, giant agribusinesses and Wall Street investors are buying up farmland like a game of Monopoly. And the same government policies that once told farmers to “get big or get out” (a literal mantra from Nixon's secretary of agriculture) still favor commodity monoculture over diversity, innovation, and community resilience.

What Could’ve Been—And What Could Still Be

Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we were told the only path to prosperity was scale: plant more soybeans, more corn, more rice. Ship it overseas. Borrow big, bet bigger. And when it all came crashing down, small farmers paid the price. Sound familiar?

Wendy Shoffner in 1987 - the first year of operation of Shoffner Farm Research.

But what if we’d taken a different path?

What if Arkansas had invested in specialty crops—high-value vegetables, heirloom rice, fruits, herbs? What if we’d built local processing hubs, food co-ops, and farm-to-school programs instead of relying only on global markets?

We could have protected more farms, created more rural jobs, and kept more money circulating in our own communities. We might have built something more sustainable—something that actually fed our people and our economy.

The good news? It’s not too late.

This Time, Let’s Get It Right

Right now, a new generation of Arkansas farmers—many of them women, Black and brown farmers, and first-time growers—is ready to grow the future. They’re planting climate-resilient crops, experimenting with regenerative methods, and building regional food systems from the ground up.

Two generations on the Shoffner Family Farm: John Shoffner (grandfather) and Maxwell Sullivan (grandson)

But they can’t do it alone. They need capital, land access, infrastructure, and policy that sees them as the future.

We need policymakers that will fight for what farmers need:

• Support specialty crop production and small-scale farms

• Invest in regional food hubs, value-added processing, and rural entrepreneurship

• Protect farmland from corporate consolidation

• Prioritize local supply chains that keep dollars in our towns

• Make Arkansas a national leader in food system resilience

  
  

Arkansas Deserves More Than Survival—We Deserve a Harvest

The 1980s crisis destroyed farms, tore families apart, hollowed out rural communities, and made too many young people believe that the only future was one they had to leave home to find.

We don’t have to go down that road again. We can choose something better.

Hallie Shoffner studies research plot maps during planting.

Let’s build an Arkansas where farming families thrive—not just survive. Where local food isn’t a luxury, it’s a foundation. Where land is held by those who steward it with care, not traded like a stock.

We’ve learned the hard way. Now, let’s act like it.