The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has provided additional flexibility and enhanced disaster recovery assistance delivered by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP); Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); and Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). This was done in response to needs expressed by producers across the U.S. who have experienced significant feed, forage and animal losses due to natural disasters.
The enhancements include an extended deadline of June 2, 2023, to submit notices of loss and applications for payment for 2022. This extension is available to eligible producers nationwide who incurred losses from a qualifying weather event, including wildfires, droughts and blizzards.
LIP and ELAP reimburse producers for a portion of the value of livestock that died because of a natural disaster or for loss of grazing acres, feed and forage. LFP provides benefits for grazing losses due to a qualifying drought or wildfire. ELAP also provides benefits for grazing losses not covered under LFP.
To support program access for counties that currently do not have a 365-day grazing season, FSA is waiving the 30-day time frame for producers to submit a notice of loss for the 2023 ELAP year due to qualifying drought in calendar years 2022 or 2023. Producers now can submit a notice of loss from the date it is apparent, as far back as January 1, 2023, for 2022 eligible losses and 2023 eligible losses that occur before June 2, 2023. For counties that have a 365-day grazing season, producers must have a qualifying drought in the 2023 calendar year to be eligible for livestock, water and feed hauling this year.
All required documentation must be received and on file in the county FSA office by the extended deadline. Producers who already have a 2022 ELAP, LIP or LFP application on file as of the original program deadline, or were placed on an approved register, may revise their application with the newly updated eligible livestock losses.
For more information, contact the local FSA office or visit farmers.gov/recover.