2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program Payments to be Distributed Soon

Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 -- 10:00 AM

(Wisconsin Ag Connection) The U.S Department of Agriculture announced that ranchers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program for forage losses due to severe drought or wildfire in 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021 through the Farm Service Agency's new Emergency Livestock Relief Program.

According to the Wisconsin Ag Connection, as part of the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, which was signed into law last September, $10 billion in assistance is being made available to agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021.

Additionally, the funding targets $750 million to provide assistance to livestock producers for losses incurred due to drought or wildfires in calendar year 2021. ELRP is part of FSA's implementation of the Act. For impacted producers, USDA will leverage LFP data to deliver immediate relief for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021.

LFP is an important tool that provides up to 60 percent of the estimated replacement feed cost when an eligible drought adversely impacts grazing lands or 50 percent of the monthly feed cost for the number of days the producer is prohibited from grazing the managed rangeland because of a qualifying wildfire.

FSA received more than 100,000 applications totaling nearly $670 million in payments to livestock producers under LFP for the 2021 program year.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.