History of Federal Drought Relief Programs

Federal drought relief has had an increasingly important role in the 20th century in contrast to earlier years when the Government assumed no responsibility. A variety of programs has been used, especially in the severe drought years of the 1930s, 1950s, and 1980s. Beginning in the 1930s, Federal aid emphasized emergency loans, purchases, and subsidies. Since 1974, the Government has often used direct disaster payment programs, which have greatly increased expenditures. Federal crop insurance, which has existed for, 50 years, has never played a major role, but proposals in the next farm bill may require participants in commodity programs to buy crop insurance