Nearly 6,000 producers and cattle industry representatives attended the 2011 National Cattlemen's Beef Association Convention in Denver. Colo. to glean the most up-to-date information pertaining to the complex industry that is livestock production.
By Brenda Carlson, regional public affairs specialist, USDA-Farm Service Agency
As most of the U.S. was rocked by record-setting winter storms, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) was on hand at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) annual conference in Denver, Colo. to inform livestock producers of available disaster assistance programs.
Gone are the days when federal disaster assistance for livestock producers required an act of Congress — literally. With passage of the 2008 Farm Bill, several permanent disaster assistance programs were enacted meaning USDA could be immediately responsive to the needs of producers suffering livestock and forage losses.
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), one of these disaster assistance programs, provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires.
"This is turning out to be a tough winter for many ranchers and farmers, and learning about our FSA programs is an important step for producers to take,” said FSA Administrator Jonathan Coppess. “We need producers to document the number and kind of livestock that have died as a direct result of these winter storms and timely notify their local FSA office of these losses. There may be situations where producers are transporting feed to their livestock. Producers should document these additional costs."
Although drought-related, another disaster assistance programs available to livestock producers is the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), which provides financial assistance to producers who suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire and requires producers to obtain a policy or plan of insurance for the grazed forage crop under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA), or file the required paperwork and pay the administrative fee by the applicable state application closing date for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).
Attending the NCBA convention and providing livestock producers with important program eligibility information, like the Risk Management Purchase Requirement (RMPR) for LFP means producers will return home, contact their local FSA office, complete applicable steps to insure program eligibility and in return receive timely program assistance and benefits when they need it most.
Colorado FSA state office employees were available during the three-day conference to provide eligibility, application and general program information to the estimated 6,000 people registered.
The annual convention of producers involved in the cattle industry, provides an educational opportunity for FSA to reach out to a segment of producers who may or may not have a historical knowledge of FSA programs. Although FSA programs are often thought to be intended for row crop producer, the fact is, the agency offers many programs designed to meet livestock producers’ specific needs.
During the convention, producers who visited with FSA staff, inquired about other agency programs including the Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) which now provides for hay storage facilities and direct and guaranteed farm credit assistance available to cover ownership and operating expenses associated with livestock production.
The 2012 NCBA Convention will be Feb. 1-4 in Nashville, Tenn. and FSA will be available to provide the latest in federal farm program information.
