(NAFB) – Ranchers and livestock producers may be eligible for financial assistance through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program for 2021 grazing losses due to a qualifying drought or fire.

Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux says, “FSA is here to help offset these economic hardships and help producers rebuild with resilience.”

The deadline to apply for the program is coming up on January 31, 2022. For the 2021 program year, 901 counties in 26 states and territories met drought severity levels that trigger eligibility. More than $473.1 million has been paid, to date, to livestock producers eligible for 2021 funding. For the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, qualifying drought triggers are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The program provides payments to eligible livestock producers and contract growers who also produce forage crops for grazing and suffered losses due to a qualifying drought or fire during the normal grazing period for the county.

Additional disaster assistance information can be found on farmers.gov.