Disaster Updates
Tornado Recovery Resources
April 20, 2011
Please visit our blog for a list of recovery resources and links and information on how our Farm Advocacy Program can help farmers in need of assistance.
Programs for Livestock Forage and Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish
Oct. 2, 2009
Programs
- Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)
- Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP)
Deadlines
Farmers must file a loss report within 30 days of the loss. They then have until 30 calendar days after the end of the year in which the loss took place (Jan. 30) to apply for payment. The deadline for reporting and applying for payment for 2008 damages is Dec. 10, 2009. For damages occurring between Jan. 1 of 2009 and the start of the program, damages must be reported by Dec. 10, but the deadline for applying for payment is Jan. 30, 2010.
Links
Farm Service Agency
On September 14, USDA opened applications for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). These programs are part of a set of new standing disaster assistance programs created by the 2008 farm bill, which also includes the Livestock Indemnity Program which was announced in July and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program and the Tree Assistance Program which have not been implemented at this point.
According to the farm Service Agency press release; LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires. The full press release online on the FSA site.
For a short period of time, producers can apply for assistance with damages from between January 1, 2008 and the start of the program on September 14. This is especially important to farmers who may have experienced drought during the 2008 crop year. LFP can provide benefits for reductions in pasture forage due to drought. ELAP can provide benefits for the costs of purchasing supplemental feed due to drought pasture losses, and the additional costs associated with obtaining that feed such as trucking.
We encourage producers to check the Farm Service Agency web site, www.fsa.usda.gov, for more details on the programs, and to visit their local Farm Service Agency office (NC county offices are online here). Please keep in mind that these are new programs and local offices are in the process of training their staff. Please be patient as the new programs come online.
Program for Livestock Losses
July 28, 2009
Program
Livestock Indemnity Program
Deadlines
For losses between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008 farmers must file both a loss report and a completed application for payment by September 13, 2009. For damage between January 1, 2009 and July 13, 2009, damage reports are due by September 13, 2009, and applications for payment are due by January 30, 2010.
Links
FSA Fact Sheet
Farm Service Agency
Details
The US Department of Agriculture has announced specific criteria and a sign up period for the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). LIP is one of five disaster programs authorized in the 2008 farm bill. LIP compensates producers for livestock mortality caused by adverse weather in excess of normal mortality.
The LIP covers a wide range of livestock, including poultry and hogs grown under production contracts. Compensation for livestock mortality will be 75% of the market value of the livestock as determined by USDA. For example, for 2009, the payment for an adult cow will be $695.00. For contract producers, payment will be 75% of the average income loss due to the excess mortality as determined by USDA. For 2009, that rate is $0.21 per bird for broilers, $0.82 per bird for layers. Emu, alpaca and reindeer producers will be pleased to know that their livestock is also covered.
To apply, producers need to file a loss report with their local Farm Service Agency office within 30 days of when the loss becomes apparent or within 30 days of the end of the year in which the loss takes place, whichever comes first. Producers must also file an application to receive payment. Applications are due no later than 30 days after the end of the year in which the damages occurred.
In order for producers to receive payment, losses must exceed average annual losses. A single event may not exceed the annual average even if it is an unusual loss. For instance, if an operation was expected to lose one animal per month in average losses, and an ice storm killed 10 animals, then the loss would not exceed the average at that time. Producers can file multiple loss reports and applications in the year that would have a cumulative total greater than annual average losses, and can document normal losses to increase the eligibility of losses from a weather event.
Producers must also provide documentation of livestock losses. According to the USDA press release, “To be eligible for assistance under LIP, each livestock producer must provide verifiable documentation of livestock deaths. Adequate documentation must be provided that proves the death of eligible livestock occurred as a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event in the calendar year for which benefits are being requested.”
Because the loss must be a direct loss from an adverse weather event, losses caused by equipment failure are not eligible even if that failure is caused by weather. For instance, if lightning strikes a poultry house and damages the computer controller and the curtains or cooling system fails, killing the birds, the losses are not eligible because it is an equipment failure. Drought losses are not eligible for LIP payments because USDA assumes that alternative feed is available. Note that drought losses are eligible for payment under other livestock disaster programs.
The Livestock Indemnity program is unique among the new standing disaster programs in that it does not require participation in risk management programs like crop insurance or the Non-insured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and does not require a federal disaster declaration. This is an important aspect of the program and will increase the range of damages eligible for payment.
Payments are limited to $100,000 per person per year. Producers must also have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $2.5 million to be eligible.
The 2008 farm bill also authorized four other disaster programs. These include the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) for crop losses, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP), and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). The specific criteria for these programs have not been announced, and the sign up period for these programs has not started.
For livestock producers, the LFP provides payment for pasture losses due to fire or drought. The ELAP will provide payment of livestock losses not covered by the other two programs that may (or may not) include losses of purchased feed and purchase of feed to replace lost grazing, depending on the final rule.
We encourage farmers to contact their local Farm Service Agency offices to document both livestock and crop losses. While the specifics of programs other than the Livestock Indemnity program have not been released, farmers can begin the process of documenting losses.
For more information on these and other programs and to find your local FSA office, see the Farm Service Agency web site at www.fsa.usda.gov.
If you have questions and concerns about program eligibility, contact Scott Marlow, Farm Sustainability Program Director at smarlow@rafiusa.org, or phone at (919) 542-1396 x210.
Page Updated 10.28.09