A new report finds that natural disaster impact on US food supply has reached $5.1 billion in annual losses across the country's 1.9 million farms. Drawing on FEMA National Risk Index data and USDA agricultural census figures dating back to 1996, the analysis identifies drought, cold waves, hail, and hurricanes as the dominant drivers of farm-level losses.
Drought alone accounts for more than half of all national losses at $2.8 billion per year. Cold waves, hail, and hurricanes follow at $540 million, $511 million, and $480 million, respectively. The report notes that climate-driven events are increasingly displacing pandemic-era supply chain disruptions as the primary source of food price inflation.
Regional exposure varies sharply. California carries the heaviest burden, with $1.2 billion in estimated annual losses and a per-farm average of $18,522, the highest in the nation, driven largely by high-value, water-sensitive crops. Fresno County ranks first nationally at $244 million in expected annual losses. Texas, Iowa, and Nebraska follow with $627 million, $373 million, and $351 million in statewide losses, respectively.
