Drought and Related Farm Bill Programs

Drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation that can have substantial impacts on agricultural production, resulting in reduced dryland crop yields and increased water application rates on irrigated crops. Drought can also reduce stream flows and lead to less snowpack, affecting available water supplies. Drought can occur throughout the United States but is most prevalent in the western half of the country, where most counties have experienced an average of at least 10 nonconsecutive weeks per year of severe, exceptional, or extreme drought from 2000 to 2023 as measured by their historical precipitation, evaporation, and transpiration patterns. Some counties in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon have experienced 30 or more weeks of drought on average from 2000–2023. Some counties in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina experience severe, exceptional, or extreme drought conditions on average in at least 10 weeks per year.

The Farm Bill has authorized several programs designed to reduce risks posed by drought, including the Federal Crop Insurance Program; the Emergency Conservation Program; the Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Program; and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. These programs provide relief to farms and ranches experiencing drought. In addition, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides assistance to farm operations to conserve water and for other conservation measures. Some EQIP assistance is targeted toward water-conserving efforts in drought-prone regions through the WaterSMART Initiative, a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation.