I just found out that there is a bankruptcy provision in place for farmers and fisherman to apply for rather than the normal route of a personal bankruptcy.  Finding this information came as a great relief to me as a farm owner, because I’ve seen the payback stipulations of normal debt restructures under a standard chapter 13 bankruptcy and my income wouldn’t allow me to make the payments.  As a farmer my income isn’t like a person’s that has a normal nine to five job with a steady weekly paycheck, our money comes in groups according to the seasons.  The harvest seasons can be very profitable, but certain other times of year can be very lean.  Chapter 12 bankruptcy for family farmers and fisherman takes into account the seasonal nature of the income when structuring the payment plan so I’ll be able to comfortably make the payments and get rid of my debt without putting my family in danger of going hungry during the less profitable months.  I’ll have to show that I have a history with a “regular annual income” to show that my income is sufficiently stable enough to make the payments, but as long as the majority of our debt has come from things related to farming and at least fifty percent of our annual income comes from farming we should qualify.