WASHINGTON, March 31, 2022 – The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that ranchers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) for forage losses due to severe drought or wildfire in 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021 through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP).

North Dakota US Senator John Hoeven has been pressing USDA officials to provide the assistance as soon as possible and in a way that works for ranchers.

In a press release Sen. Hoeven outlined how the program works:

The Emergency Livestock Relief Program:

· Will make payments based on producers’ 2021 Livestock Forage Program (LFP) application. Payments will be equal to 75% of a livestock producer’s gross 2021 LFP payment.

· No signup is required, and payments will start going out next week.

“We secured this $750 million to help ranchers recover from last year’s historic drought, and the payments come as a needed relief, especially as producers are facing increased costs across the board,” said Hoeven. “That’s why we’ve repeatedly urged USDA to move this program forward and called for payments to be based on LFP applications, which streamlines the process for ranchers. With these payments starting next week, we will continue pressing to get remaining disaster assistance out the door for all of our agriculture producers as soon as possible.”

To be eligible for ELRP, livestock producers must have suffered grazing losses in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks or a D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity during the 2021 calendar year, and have applied and been approved for 2021 LFP. USDA expects to distribute more than $577 million through ELRP phase one. Phase two will begin later this year.

Hoeven worked to secure the $750 million for livestock producers as part of $10 billion in disaster aid, which also includes $9.25 billion in disaster funding to aid row crop producers who suffered losses due to droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other qualifying disasters in calendar years 2020 and 2021. USDA will provide that assistance using existing crop insurance data in a two-phase approach as well, beginning this spring.

Additionally, USDA is expanding the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program (ELAP) to cover above normal costs of hauling livestock to forage. This follows the expansion of ELAP to compensate ranchers for increased costs of hauling feed to livestock, which the department implemented at the request of Hoeven.

Producers should contact their FSA county office or visit farmers.gov for more information.