AFBF: Major Disasters and Severe Weather Caused Over $21 Billion in Crop Losses in 2023

Updated crop and rangeland damage estimations for 2023 reveal the significant impact of natural disasters on domestic farm production. The assessment indicates total losses from major 2023 disasters amounting to over $21.94 billion, constituting 23.6% of NOAA’s total economic impact figure, according to American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). Of this total, nearly $12 billion in losses were covered by existing Risk Management Agency (RMA) programs as of February 2024. However, approximately $10 billion in losses were either uninsured through RMA, fell outside policy coverage levels, or did not qualify under existing risk management programs. Link to Farm Bureau report.

Drought, excessive heat and wildfires emerged as the primary contributors, accounting for over $16.59 billion in total crop losses. Additionally, $3.99 billion was attributed to excessive precipitation, flooding and hurricane events, while $1.37 billion was caused by hailstorms.

Of note: The estimates provided by AFBF do not encompass infrastructure damage, livestock losses, complete horticulture crop losses or timber losses associated with the specified weather events. Consequently, these estimates should be considered a minimum baseline, as data for estimating these additional categories is not readily available.

Get Pro Farmer's market news and analysis that isn't available online: sign up here.