Direct disaster payments have been criticized as inefficient and inequitable. In this article, the impact of weather and climate, as well as economic and political variables, on crop disaster payments is analyzed using county level data from four states in the southeastern United States. The results of panel data analysis suggest that weather and climate variables explain most of the crop disaster payments at the county level while socioeconomic and political variables do not, suggesting that advancements in weather and climate forecasts could be helpful in budgeting.