Retained Production Income (RPI) is a producer-centered approach to redesigning agricultural finance, RPI examines how credit structures can be redesigned to align repayment with the rhythms of agricultural production. RPI measures success by what farmers keep, not how fast capital exits.

American agriculture is in a structural financial crisis. In agriculture financing, high leverage against appreciating collateral, seasonal operating credit, and contract structures that privatize debt serve lenders and investors while leaving producers and their businesses structurally exposed. The U.S. farm sector carries more than $590 billion in debt (USDA Economic Research Service, 2025). Interest rates on agricultural loans have approximately doubled since 2021, materially increasing the cost of debt service. Working capital available to producers has tightened over the same period.

Fixed repayment schedules force farmers to absorb all price and weather volatility, extracting working capital before farms can stabilize or reinvest—eroding equity, accelerating succession failures, and draining value from rural economies. Financing terms, not interest rates, determine long-term viability.

RPI responds to these structural failures by restructuring capital to align with the rhythms of agricultural production. Retained Production Income represents the share of a producer's income that remains after operating costs and debt service—income that stays under the producer's control for family living, reinvestment, and working capital. RPI treats this retained income as both a financial metric and a design principle: capital should be structured so producers retain income, not just repay debt.

Rather than forcing fixed repayments or extracting value prematurely, RPI enables repayment at the producer's discretion—once operations are strong enough to support it. This approach allows producers to keep significantly more in working capital each year while investors still receive dependable returns. The framework is designed to be compatible with capital structures used by qualified lenders, CDFIs, and public-sector partners.

RPI is the vision of Zach Ducheneaux, former Administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency, whose career has been dedicated to producer-centered farm finance. For research collaboration, methodology questions, or implementation discussions, please contact TIFS at info@tifsinitiative.org.