The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is set to provide $1 billion in disaster payments to livestock producers affected by drought or wildfire in 2023 and 2024.
The funds will be distributed through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP), offering financial support to offset grazing losses and other impacts driven by prolonged dry conditions and catastrophic wildfires.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will use existing Livestock Forage Disaster Program data to streamline eligibility, payment calculations and disbursements. By utilizing existing records, USDA aims to get relief into producers’ hands faster.
“The Department of Agriculture is stepping up to support livestock producers by expediting disaster payments when drought and wildfires strike,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said. “Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA has the backs of ranchers, and that’s why we are delivering much-needed emergency relief ahead of schedule.”
Payments under this first phase of ELRP will be issued at 35% of the expected amount, due to projected high demand. A second payment may be issued if funds remain after the initial round.
“Two years of drought and wildfire have taken a toll on grazing conditions, hay stocks and operating budgets,” Tracy Tomascik, Texas Farm Bureau associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities, said. “Programs like ELRP are essential to keeping ranchers in business and helping rural economies recover.”
To be eligible for an ELRP payment, livestock producers must have suffered grazing losses in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 level drought for eight consecutive weeks or a D3 or higher level of drought intensity during the normal grazing periods in 2023, 2024 or both calendar years.
Livestock producers with permitted grazing on federally managed lands reduced due to wildfire are also eligible for ELRP, if they applied and were approved for LFP in 2023, 2024 or both calendar years.
This program is the first of two planned rounds of assistance through ELRP. A second round targeting flood-affected producers is expected to be announced later this summer.
Leave A Comment