The nonprofit Environmental Working Group, a longtime critic of the federal crop insurance program based in Washington, analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and showed that drought accounts for more crop insurance payouts than any other weather phenomenon and that Texas draws more crop insurance payoutsthan any other state.
Payouts due to drought in Texas rose from an average $251 million per year in the 2000s to $516 million per year in the 2010s and $1.1 billion per year in the first four years of the 2020s, the data showed, rising at more than twice the rate of inflation.
Read more from Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News and Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune here.