Mountain West Farmers Have Received More Than $3 Billion for Crop Losses Since 2001

Sep 13, 2023

By Kaleb Roedel

From 2001 to 2022, less than a quarter of the nation’s farms received payments for crop losses, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonpartisan advocacy organization.

The group found that a majority of that money went to large farms growing commodity crops – like corn, soybeans and wheat – in a handful of states. In fact, almost two-thirds of all payments went to producers in just 10 states.

Texas farmers received the largest share – 14% – for a total of more than $23 billion. Farmers in Midwestern states and California made up the rest of the top 10 list.

In the Mountain West, meanwhile, farmers received more than $3 billion during that two-decade span.

Anne Schechinger, an agricultural economist and author of the report, said many payments were for drought, flooding and heat, among other weather-related events.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.