Nearly 1 out of 5 farm government loans delinquent

Farmers are struggling to pay back their loans after years of low crop prices, with farm delinquencies rates in Kansas and the nation the highest they have been in at least nine years. But Kansas delinquency rates are holding up better when compared to national numbers that show one in five direct loans in the Farm Service Agency are now delinquent.The delinquency rates for direct loans at the Agriculture Department's Farm Service Agency in Kansas this January was 11.3 percent, compared to 9 percent for the same month a year ago, said David Schemm, the agency's executive director in Kansas. When crop prices were faring better in 2015, the Kansas delinquency rate fell to 6.9 percent in January 2015.