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FSA is updating the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payment rate to support livestock producers in the Midwest who have lost cattle to the extreme heat and humidity experienced this summer. To help indemnify ranchers to reflect a trend towards higher cattle weights in feedlots, the 2023 LIP payment rate for beef calves over 800 pounds will increase from $1244 per head to $1618, an increase of $374.
LIP provides benefits to livestock owners and some contract growers for livestock deaths exceeding normal mortality from eligible adverse weather events, certain predation losses and reduced sales prices due to injury from an eligible loss. Indemnity payments are made at a rate of 75% of the prior year’s average fair market value of the livestock.
The updated LIP payment rate is effective immediately and will be applied retroactively starting Jan.1, 2023, for all eligible causes of loss including excessive heat, tornado, winter storms, and other qualifying adverse weather. Producers who have already received LIP payments for 2023 losses will receive an additional payment, if applicable, commensurate with this updated rate. For details on eligibility and payment rates, review the LIP fact sheet.
FSA recognizes that an annual update of LIP payment rates does not account for the volatile nature of livestock markets and is further exploring flexibilities to establish more current payment rates.
More Information
On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and Loan Assistance Tool can help producers and landowners determine program or loan options. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners should contact their crop insurance agent. For FSA and NRCS programs, they should contact their local USDA Service Center.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers two programs that have specific safety net benefits for producers of honeybees and honey. The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) assist producers when disasters impact honey production or damage or destroy colonies, hives or honeybee feed.
NAP is designed to reduce financial losses when natural disasters result in lower yields or crop losses, including honey. NAP coverage is equivalent to catastrophic insurance, meaning it covers up to 50 percent of a producer’s normal yield (must have at least a 50 percent loss) at 55 percent of the average market price. The 2018 Farm Bill reinstates higher levels of coverage, from 50 to 65 percent of expected production in 5 percent increments, at 100 percent of the average market price. Producers of organics and crops marketed directly to consumers also may exercise the “buy-up” option to obtain NAP coverage of 100 percent of the average market price at the coverage levels of between 50 and 65 percent of expected production.
The NAP service fee 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 interests in multiple counties.
You must apply for NAP coverage by Dec. 31 prior to the year for which you’re seeking coverage.
ELAP covers colony losses, honeybee hive losses (the physical structure) and honeybee feed losses in instances where the colony, hive or feed has been destroyed by a natural disaster or, in the case of colony losses, because of Colony Collapse Disorder. Colony losses must be in excess of normal mortality.
Both the NAP and ELAP programs require you to report the number of colonies you have in production to FSA by Jan. 2, 2024. You must notify FSA within 30 calendar days of changes in the total number of colonies or when honeybees are moved to another county.
For both programs, you must notify FSA within 15 calendar days of when a loss occurs or from when the loss is apparent. To learn more about programs for honey and honeybee producers, contact your Dallas/Tarrant County USDA Service Center at 214-231-4015 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
With harvest approaching and football season kicking off, it's a great time for producers to work on their own field goals. For the next several weeks, we'll be looking at conservation practices through the lens of football.
In some ways, being a farmer or rancher is like being a coach. You assess the landscape, develop a strategy, cultivate a team, and refine your tactics each season as you find the plays that work. All the while, your fans here at Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are proud to support and cheer you on, winning season after winning season.
First Quarter
One of the first and most important steps is to develop a game plan. Ask yourself: What's working well? What could be improved? How can you best navigate your opportunities and challenges to reach your goals?
Our conservation experts can help you answer all those questions. We'll meet with you, walk your land with you, and help develop a conservation plan customized to match your field goals. This tailored gameplan will help you develop a playbook for many successful seasons.
Second Quarter
No successful farmer goes it alone; you're going to need to recruit a winning team. But if you create the right conditions, you'll attract the most talented players nature can provide. Practice makes perfect, and we'll discuss some tried and true practices that will attract a deep bench of soil microbes, pollinators, beneficial insects, and other key players. With the right team, you'll grow like never before.
Halftime Report
Stay tuned while we check in with experts to provide play-by-play commentary of key moments, identify the most valuable players and offer advice for avoiding unforced errors and fumbles. Then it is time to take what you’ve learned, make mid-game adjustments and lead your team to victory in the second half.
Third Quarter
You've found your stride and things are growing well, but there's always room for a bit more optimization and improvement. We'll highlight practices that will elevate your team to the next level, help you thrive with fewer inputs and less waste, and grow more by doing less.
Fourth Quarter
By following your conservation gameplan, adopting soil health practices, optimizing your inputs, and reducing your waste, you'll enjoy a strong home field advantage for many seasons to come. Unlike in football, your team will always stick around and grow stronger with each passing season. You will bank the benefits of conservation and enjoy the resiliency and productivity of healthy soil.
No matter which of these goals you are looking to accomplish on your farm, experts from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) are available to help you accomplish them. For more information on how NRCS, FSA and RMA can help you kick this next growing season through the uprights, contact your local service enter by visiting farmers.gov/service-locator.
The Farm Loan team in Ellis County is already working on operating loans for spring 2024 and asks potential borrowers to submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants.
FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year.
Microloans are a simplified loan program that will provide up to $50,000 for both Farm Ownership and Operating Microloans to eligible applicants. These loans, targeted for smaller and non-traditional operations, can be used for operating expenses, starting a new operation, purchasing equipment, and other needs associated with a farming operation. Loans to beginning farmers and members of underserved groups are a priority.
Other types of loans available include:
Marketing Assistance Loans allow producers to use eligible commodities as loan collateral and obtain a 9-month loan while the crop is in storage. These loans provide cash flow to the producer and allow them to market the crop when prices may be more advantageous.
Farm Storage Facility Loans can be used to build permanent structures used to store eligible commodities, for storage and handling trucks, or portable or permanent handling equipment. A variety of structures are eligible under this loan, including bunker silos, grain bins, hay storage structures, and refrigerated structures for vegetables and fruit. A producer may borrow up to $500,000 per loan.
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