Mountain West Farmers Have Received More Than $3 Billion for Crop Losses Since 2001

By Kaleb Roedel

From 2001 to 2022, less than a quarter of the nation’s farms received payments for crop losses, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonpartisan advocacy organization.

The group found that a majority of that money went to large farms growing commodity crops – like corn, soybeans and wheat – in a handful of states. In fact, almost two-thirds of all payments went to producers in just 10 states.

Texas farmers received the largest share – 14% – for a total of more than $23 billion. Farmers in Midwestern states and California made up the rest of the top 10 list.

In the Mountain West, meanwhile, farmers received more than $3 billion during that two-decade span.

Anne Schechinger, an agricultural economist and author of the report, said many payments were for drought, flooding and heat, among other weather-related events.