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Program Clarification New guidance and clarification was provided to County Offices explaining that transporting water through a hose or pipe is NOT eligible for payment under the ELAP program. Water must be HAULED to be eligible for payment. We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds drought-impacted producers that they may be eligible for financial assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) to cover above normal expenses for hauling water or feed to livestock or hauling livestock to forage or grazing acres as well as cover costs associated with additional feed purchases.
For eligible producers in qualifying counties, ELAP provides financial assistance for:
- the transportation of water to livestock;
- the above normal cost of mileage for transporting feed to livestock; and
- the above normal cost of transporting livestock to forage/grazing acres.*
*Hauling livestock one-way, one haul per animal reimbursement and no payment for “empty miles.”
Eligible livestock include cattle, bison, goats and sheep, among others, that are maintained for commercial use and located in a county where qualifying drought conditions occur. A county must have had D2 severe drought intensity on the U.S. Drought Monitor for eight consecutive weeks during the normal grazing period, or D3 or D4 drought intensity at any time during the normal grazing period. Producers must have risk in both eligible livestock and eligible grazing land in an eligible county to qualify for ELAP assistance.
Transporting Water
For ELAP water transportation assistance, producers must be transporting water to eligible livestock on eligible grazing land where adequate livestock watering systems or facilities were in place before the drought occurred and where water transportation is not normally required. ELAP covers costs associated with personal labor, equipment, hired labor, and contracted water transportation fees. Cost of the water itself is not covered. The ELAP payment formula uses a national average price per gallon.
Transporting Feed/Additional Feed Purchase
ELAP provides financial assistance to livestock producers who incur above normal expenses for transporting feed to livestock during drought. The payment formula excludes the first 25 miles and any mileage over 1,000 miles. The reimbursement rate is 60% of the costs above what would normally have been incurred during the same time period in a normal (non-drought) year. ELAP also provides financial assistance to livestock producers who purchased additional feed to maintain eligible livestock during the drought. Livestock feed losses must not exceed a 150-calendar-day feed cost.
Transporting Livestock
ELAP provides financial assistance to livestock producers who are hauling livestock to a new location for feed resources due to insufficient feed or grazing in drought-impacted areas. As with transporting feed, the payment formula for transporting livestock excludes the first 25 miles and any mileage over 1,000 miles. The reimbursement rate is 60% of the costs above what would normally have been incurred during the same time period in a normal (non-drought) year.
An online tool is now available to help ranchers document and estimate payments to cover feed and livestock transportation costs caused by drought. Download the tool and view the demonstration video.
Reporting Losses
For calendar year 2022 forward, producers must submit a notice of loss to their local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent. Producers should contact FSA as soon as the loss of water or feed resources are known.
For ELAP eligibility, documentation of expenses is critical. Producers should maintain records and receipts associated with the costs of transporting water to eligible livestock, the costs of transporting feed to eligible livestock, the costs of additional feed purchases, and the costs of transporting eligible livestock to forage or other grazing acres.
Additional Drought Assistance
ELAP assistance is also available to producers impacted by wildfire. Contact the local FSA office for more information on ELAP resources for wildfire losses. Additionally, beekeepers can benefit from ELAP provisions and should contact their county FSA office within 15 calendar days of when a loss occurs or is apparent.
FSA is now accepting applications for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) to provide financial assistance to eligible producers for 2022 grazing losses due to a qualifying drought or fire. The deadline to apply for 2022 LFP assistance is Jan. 30, 2023.
More than 200 Texas counties have met the drought severity levels that trigger LFP eligibility for the 2022 program year. For LFP, qualifying drought triggers are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor. A list of LFP eligible counties and grazing crops can be found on the FSA Texas webpage.
More Information
Additional disaster assistance information can be found on farmers.gov, including the Farmers.gov Drought Webpage, Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Farm Loan Discovery Tool.
For questions, or to schedule an appointment to visit the office, please contact the Limestone/Freestone County FSA office at 254-729-2310 Ext. 2
All Applications will be taken by appointments, Please call the Limestone/Freestone County FSA Office to schedule your appointment: 254-729-2310.
Producers in Limestone/Freestone Counties are eligible to apply for 2022 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) benefits on small grain, native pasture, improved pasture, annual ryegrass.
LFP provides compensation if you suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land. A copy of your written cash lease will be required or Form CCC-855 Annual Lease Agreement Certification Statement must be completed and signed by lessee and lessor.
County committees can only accept LFP applications after notification is received by the National Office of qualifying drought. You must complete a CCC-853 and the required supporting documentation no later than January 30, 2023, for 2022 losses.
The following surrounding counties have also qualified for drought assistance: Anderson, Falls, Hill, Leon, McLennan, Navarro, and Robertson.
For additional information about LFP, including eligible livestock contact the Limestone/Freestone County USDA Service Center at 254-729-2310 x 2
Limestone/Freestone County was declared a PRIMARY disaster due drought and heat using the Secretarial Disaster Designation process. Under this designation, if you have operations in any primary or contiguous county, you are eligible to apply for low interest emergency loans.
Emergency loans help you recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding and other natural disasters or quarantine.
You have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. You can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses, to a maximum amount of $500,000.
For more information about emergency loans, contact your Limestone/Freestone County USDA Service Center at 254-729-2310 x2 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Producers are reminded to apply for 2023 Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) benefits by September 1, 2022. The September 1, 2022 deadline includes value loss crops (Aquaculture, Christmas Trees, Ginseng, Turfgrass Sod, Nursery, Mushrooms, Floriculture and Propagation Stock Nonornamental Nursery), small grain coverage (OATS and WHEAT Grazing or Haying) and other crops. The deadline for crops planted in the spring is December 1.
Eligible producers can apply for 2022 NAP coverage at their local FSA Office using form CCC-471, Application for Coverage. The service fee for basic NAP coverage is the lesser of $325 per crop or $825 per producer per administrative county, not to exceed a total of $1,950 for a producer with farming interest in multiple counties. Producers interested in buy-up coverage must pay a premium, in addition to the service fee.
Producer meeting the definition of a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher, beginning farmer or rancher or limited resource farmer or rancher will have service fees waived.
The application and service fee must be filed by September 1, 2022 for value loss crops, small grains, and other crops.
More Information
For questions, or to schedule an appointment to visit the office, please contact the Limestone/Freestone County FSA office at 254-729-2310 Ext. 2
In the minds of many, a freshly tilled field is picturesque – cleaned and ordered for the next planting. But we’ve learned from studying soil that heavy tillage isn’t good. When soil is heavily tilled, the stalks and leaves remaining from the previous crop are chopped, disturbing the top several inches of soil. This “fluffing” action allows for better seed placement according to some, but soil scientists say not tilling leads to healthier, more drought-resistant soil.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and other groups recommend producers to not till and leave the stalks and leaves, called residue, in place. By not tilling, soil organic matter is enhanced, increasing water infiltration and reducing erosion. No-till is a conservation practice that leaves the crop residue undisturbed from harvest.
Any tillage causes a flush of organic matter decomposition, resulting in loss of soil carbon. Tillage also breaks up soil aggregates, which are important for water infiltration, providing oxygen to plant roots, and reducing erosion.
Healthy soils cycle water and nutrients more efficiently. And they function better, enabling them to buffer against extreme drought and flooding. Plus, they reduce soil loss into waterways, which can cause problems for water quality.
Good management of field residue can increase efficiency of irrigation and control erosion. No-till can be used for many crops in almost any soil and can save producers labor costs and fuel. It’s a sound investment for the environment and the farm.
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Limestone/Freestone County Committee Meeting: August 16, 2022 at 9:00 A.M. at the Groesbeck USDA Service Center. Meeting are held the 3rd Tuesday of every Month.
- - Questions or if you would need to request an accommodation, please contact Lisa Everman at 254-729-2310 ext. 2 or lisa.everman@usda.gov at least 7 business days prior to the meeting to request accommodations (e.g., an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape – captioning, etc.).
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