Frio farmers lose $1.8 million per year to natural hazards

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New study identifies US counties, states with largest agricultural losses

A new study has identified the U.S. counties and states with the largest agricultural losses due to natural disasters.

High grocery prices have been a defining economic story in recent years, driven by a combination of factors including pandemic-related supply chain breakdowns and labor shortages. However, an increasingly critical driver of food price inflation has been the impact of natural disasters—such as droughts, floods, and hurricanes—on the nation’s agricultural output, according to the study on behalf of Trace One.

At the local level, the study shows Frio County total expected annual losses of $1,764,170, an expected annual loss per farm of $2,980.

The county’s 592 total farms account for a total agriculture value of $168,709,268.

In April 2025, a devastating weather system massively flooded corn, rice, soybean, and wheat crops in eastern Arkansas, affecting 31 percent of agricultural acreage in the region and inflicting an estimated $99 million worth of damage. Similarly, the agricultural industry in Florida was devastated by a series of historic freezes during the 2025-2026 winter season. Prolonged subfreezing temperatures across several counties caused more than $3.1 billion in agricultural losses to key commodities like sugarcane, citrus, and strawberries, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue a federal disaster declaration to help producers recover.

The increased frequency of natural hazards has created a challenging environment for farmers. However, the effects of climate- and weather-related disasters are not uniform, varying greatly depending on location.

To pinpoint where these events are having the greatest impact on farmers and the nation’s food supply, researchers at Trace One—a company providing AI-powered product lifecycle management (PLM) and regulatory compliance software to brands in food & beverage, cosmetics, and chemicals—conducted an in-depth analysis of the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

According to the study, drought is by far the most common cause of economic loss in the agriculture industry.

Estimates from FEMA show that natural hazards are expected to cause an average of $5.1 billion in agricultural losses annually, with drought being the single largest contributor. Drought alone accounts for more than half of these losses, averaging $2.8 billion per year. The financial impact of drought underscores its threat to farmers, particularly in regions reliant on water-intensive crops.

Other significant contributors to agricultural losses include cold waves, which cause $540 million in annual losses, along with hail ($511 million) and hurricanes ($480 million). Events such as inland flooding, strong winds, and heat waves collectively add hundreds of millions in losses to the yearly toll. While less frequent, disasters like tornadoes, wildfires, and winter weather also contribute economic strain in certain regions.

Natural disasters impacting agriculture vary significantly across U.S. regions due to differing climates and geographic vulnerabilities. Drought is a persistent challenge on the West Coast, particularly in California, as well as the Southwest and parts of the Southern Plains, where water scarcity hampers crop yields and livestock production. Hurricanes have the most severe impact in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, where states like Florida and North Carolina frequently experience storm surges and high winds that devastate crops and infrastructure.

Inland flooding is most problematic in parts of the Midwest, while hailstorms are most damaging in Nebraska and North Dakota, where hail can severely damage crops and livestock operations.

Taken together, California leads the nation in agricultural losses due to natural hazards, with farms in the state incurring an estimated $1.2 billion in losses annually.

This figure dwarfs losses in other states, with drought being the most significant hazard affecting California’s vast agricultural sector. On a per-farm basis, California reports an average loss of $18,522—the highest of any state—reflecting its reliance on high-value crops such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables, which are particularly vulnerable to water shortages.

By comparison, Texas, which ranks second, faces an expected annual loss of $627 million, with droughts again being the primary driver. Iowa ($373 million), Nebraska ($351 million), and Florida ($294 million) round out the top five, each suffering from a combination of droughts, hail, and hurricanes, though with lower total and per-farm losses than California.

The data used in this study is from FEMA’s National Risk Index and the USDA’s Census of Agriculture.

Total farm data was derived using 2022 county data and 2025 state data, the latest available data provided from the USDA. Additionally, researchers identified the worst natural hazard for agriculture in each location, which is the hazard contributing the largest share of the expected annual loss.