Foreclosures accounted for 22% of all farm sales.

A survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture also found an increase in farm purchases by non-farm residents and a decline in credit financing of farmland purchases. While foreclosures accounted for more than one-fifth of farmland transfers, voluntary sales and estate sales were responsible for another 57%. Transfers among family members made up 14%. Although this was the first year that the farm real estate survey sought foreclosure information, another USDA survey showed an upward trend in foreclosures, with 3.8% of all farmers in bankruptcy last year, up from 0.75% in 1983.