Available Livestock Programs

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

USDA Risk Management Specialist Jo Lynne Seufer would like to remind livestock producers in all counties of Washington, Oregon and Idaho that the Livestock Risk Protection program for fed cattle, feeder cattle and swine and the Livestock Gross Margin program for swine began sales for the 2015 crop year on July 1. Seufer explains about LRP coverage.

SEUFER: The participation in this program is gaining a lot of interest because this is a risk management tool that will protect the downward price risk for when a producer will market those feeder calves or steers.

With this tool producers can lock in prices posted on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

SEUFER: Not based on actually what they will get for their actual steers, but have a price mechanism tool that will act as another risk management strategy in their entire risk management plan.

The LGM program provides protection against the loss of gross margin - the market value of livestock minus feed costs. LRP and LGM do not cover such perils as mortality, condemnation, physical damage, disease, individual marketing decisions, local price deviation, or any other cause of loss. Sales for the LRP and LGM programs will continue through June 30, 2015. For more information producers should contact their local livestock insurance agent.

That’s Washington Ag Today.

I’m Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.