The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting disaster assistance program applications from farmers and ranchers who suffered livestock, honeybees, farm-raised fish and other losses due to natural disasters.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reopening the application period for two disaster assistance programs in response to statutory changes made by Congress earlier this year.

“When disasters hit, help is as close as your USDA service center,” Bill Northey, undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said. “After any catastrophic event, an eligible producer can walk into any one of our local offices and apply for help.”

Sign up began Monday, June 4.

FSA will accept new applications for losses for calendar year 2017 or 2018 filed under the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) or Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). Farmers and ranchers who already submitted applications and received decisions on their applications for these years do not need to file again, but they can reapply if they have additional losses or if their application was disapproved because it was filed late.

  • Removing ELAP’s $20 million fiscal year funding cap, enabling FSA to pay farmers’ and ranchers’ 2017 applications in full and their 2018 applications as soon as they are approved.
  • Removing the per-person and legal entity annual program payment limitation of $125,000 for LIP for 2017 and future years. (The income limitation applies as it did before, meaning farmers and ranchers with an adjusted gross income of more than $900,000 are not eligible.)
  • Changing LIP to allow farmers and ranchers to receive a payment for injured livestock that are sold for a reduced price due to an eligible event. Previously, the program only covered financial loss for livestock death above normal mortality.

Farmers and ranchers interested in LIP or ELAP should contact their local USDA service center.

Provide verifiable and reliable production records and other information about their operation.

Drought, wildfires and other disasters continue to impact farmers and ranchers, and LIP and ELAP are two of many programs available through USDA to help producers recover. Learn more at https://www.usda.gov/disaster.