Livestock Disaster Payments

 Dick Rush, Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Idaho recently announced that USDA has already made $282,482 in disaster payments to Idaho livestock producers as part of two new programs implemented in 2009. Nationally USDA has made more than $175 million in disaster payments to America's livestock producers. USDA leaders have expressed a commitment to rapidly meeting the goals of Congress and to provide farmers and ranchers with timely and effective disaster assistance.  FSA is continuing to make payments to livestock producers for 2008 and 2009 livestock losses. Here’s Executive Director Rush: “It has to be a disaster situation which means a weather event and we have had claims for livestock losses because of weather that’s too hot and weather that’s too cold.” 

 Under the standing provisions of the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill), producers are better able to recover from their losses stemming from 2008 and subsequent disasters. The 2008 Farm Bill provisions replace previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and are funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.

In other words the Livestock Indemnity Program provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who suffered eligible livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality as a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event including hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease, wildfires and extreme heat and cold.