Hurricane Milton was one of 27 major weather/climate disasters to impact the U.S. in 2024. Plenty of farm operations were impacted by these disasters. | NOAA
If it seemed like there were a lot of extreme weather events in the last year, it’s because there were. According to NOAA, the U.S. was impacted by 27 different billion-dollar weather/climate disasters in 2024. Many of these natural disasters directly affected agriculture operations. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has released its latest crop and rangeland damage estimates. Findings show total losses to crops and rangeland (including apiculture/beekeeping) from extreme weather and wildfire events in 2024 exceeded $20.3 billion.
How do the crop losses break down by category? Farm Bureau reports drought, excessive heat, and wildfires led to the majority of losses (more than $11 billion). Flooding and hurricanes were next at $6.7 billion. Damage from hail accounted for $1.2 billion in losses. Freezes and frost events resulted in $854 million in damages. Tornadoes and excessive wind events led to $291 million in crop losses.
Keep in mind, AFBF crop loss estimates do not include infrastructure damage, livestock losses, timber losses, and some others associated with the selected causes of loss. This differs from ag loss estimates performed by other institutions. For example, University of Florida ag economists recently released their initial ag production losses report from Hurricane Milton. They estimated ag production loss values between $190.4 million and $642.7 million. The estimates included animals and animal products, as well as infrastructure and equipment.
Check out the following infographics to see which states suffered the worst crop losses from extreme weather in 2024, losses by crop type, losses by weather type, and more.
2024 Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | NOAA
2024 Disaster Crop Production Loss Estimates | American Farm Bureau Federation
Total Crop Losses from 2024 Major Disasters and Severe Weather | American Farm Bureau
Total Crop Losses from 2024 Hurricane- and Flooding-Related Cases | American Farm Bureau Federation
Total Crop Losses from 2024 Drought- and Heat-Related Causes | American Farm Bureau Federation
Farm Bureau’s Crop Loss Report Methodology
According to AFBF, its analysis leverages USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) crop insurance data to estimate total crop losses as if all acreage was fully insured at 100% coverage. New for 2024, the AFBF report was “expanded to incorporate indemnities from all weather-related causes of loss, rather than limiting the assessment to states experiencing NOAA-designated billion-dollar disasters or those included in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s presidential disaster list. This broader approach captures weather-related crop losses across all states, providing a more comprehensive picture of the economic impact on U.S. agriculture.”
To see more details from AFBF’s Market Intel report on crop losses in 2024, visit fb.org.
