Crop and livestock insurance payouts were substantially higher in the Great Plains and Mountain regions, according to data from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service’s 2022 Census of Agriculture. Over the period from 2017 to 2022, insurance payouts in these regions were mostly driven by losses from weather-related events.
According to U.S. Federal Crop Insurance Program historical cause of loss data from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), producers in the Great Plains States of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Oklahoma experienced substantial losses from drought over the period from 2017 to 2022. Of the acreage in that region covered by crop insurance, 58 percent received payouts because of drought loss. Excessive moisture also contributed to production challenges and associated payouts in the Great Plains, and 19 percent of insured acres received payouts because of that issue. In the Mountain Region—Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada—producers received drought-related payouts for 73 percent of covered acres.
A combination of losses from drought and, separately, low temperatures resulted in higher insurance payments across the Nation in 2022. After adjusting for inflation, the national average crop and livestock insurance payment for 2022 was $52,819 per operation. This was up 41 percent from the $37,388 average payment per operation in the 2017 census but down 19 percent from the record high of $65,088 in 2012, underscoring the fluctuating dynamics of weather-related insurance payments. The number of operations receiving payment also rose in 2022, to 107,409 (6 percent of the U.S. total) from 103,060 operations (5 percent) in 2017. For more information, see the USDA, Economic Research Service topic page Crop Insurance at a Glance and the Farm Income and Wealth Statistics data product.
