USDA CONTINUES IMPLEMENTATION OF FARM BILL DISASTER PROGRAMS
News Date September 15, 2009
Producers may now begin applying for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), permanent disaster programs established in the 2008 Farm Bill. These programs, along with the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), will serve as a replacement to the standard practice of ad hoc disaster assistance.
LFP, which provides payments for livestock grazing losses due to drought or fire, is eligible for livestock producers of beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine. ELAP is an emergency assistance program for certain losses not covered by the other disaster programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill. Available to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish, ELAP is for losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions.
Producers seeking to use either program must have suffered losses that occurred on or after January 1, 2008, and October 1, 2011. For more information on these USDA disaster programs, including new payment limitation restrictions beginning for the 2009 crop year, please visit your Farm Service Agency county office or www.fsa.usda.gov . (Contact: David Hickey)