More MN farmers facing foreclosure, mediation

More Minnesota farmers are on the verge of foreclosure this year than the last three years combined. State ag leaders attribute the spike to soaring diesel prices and tariff impacts. But as Fox 9's Emily Pofall reports from rural Kanabec County, there's a state program working to save struggling farms. Peter Ripka comes from generations of farmers. I grew up on the farm. He, at one time, owned 700 acres, farming corn, soybeans, hay, and cattle. His farm now is a fraction of that. So I used to have dairy, and now I just have beef. In 2018, a bad back injury and a volatile market left him on the verge of foreclosure. Then you just become depressed, and depression can lead to other things that can just compound everything. At risk of losing his farm, he found the Farmer Lender Mediation Program. Where do you think you'd be if it wasn't for the program? I guess probably still in debt. Passed into state law in the 80s, the program requires banks to enter mediation with farmers before foreclosing. It doesn't take any rights away from the bank, but it slows the process down and gives them an opportunity to work together. And it works. State Department of Ag data shows 90% of farmers using the program, like Ripka, ultimately avoid foreclosure. That success is vital, especially now. It's a tough part in his life, trying to figure out how to survive. The Minnesota Farmers Union says more farmers have gone to mediation so far this year than the last three years combined. It's one of the hardest things I open every month is the mediation report. Ag Commissioner Tom Peterson attributes the spike to increased input costs. Diesel is up 40% from one year ago. Fertilizer is up 15 to 20%. Equipment costs, tariffs, loss of markets. There's just one thing after another, really a lot of uncertainty is what our farmers are facing right now. Uncertainty isn't unfamiliar to Ripka. The changing weather, the changing climate, all things he's learned to live with. If costs keep spiking, though, the earning a living gets tougher. Hope other farmers know that farmer lender mediation is there, at least save the farm. The Trump administration just allocated $8 billion to help farmers offset the high price of diesel during harvest. The Ag Commissioner says they desperately need it. Farms are shrinking around the country. Minnesota's lost 2% of its farms in the last two years. In Ogilvie, Emily Pofall, Fox 9.