The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) updated three livestock disaster assistance programs to synchronize deadlines and streamline program delivery. The changes take effect for the 2024 program applications for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting applications for ELAP, LFP and LIP until March 1 following the end of the calendar year in which the disaster circumstances occurred. For 2024 program applications, which are being accepted at FSA offices across the nation right now, the deadline to apply for this assistance is March 3, 2025, because March 1 falls on a Saturday.

ELAP Policy Clarification

FSA is clarifying the feed transportation provisions of the program. In 2022, ELAP policy was revised to recognize the impact of adverse weather, including drought, on producer expenses associated with the need to transport feed to livestock, or livestock to new forage resources. To be eligible for assistance, producers must have a loss resulting from the cost to transport livestock feed to eligible livestock for mileage above normal or transport livestock to feed resources outside the adversely impacted area. The policy clarifies what is considered an eligible feed expense under the feed transportation provisions and what is considered eligible documentation for claiming feed transportation expenses. This clarification also provides a program standard for calculating feed transportation costs based on the expected feed needs of eligible animals.

Programs Overview

ELAP provides financial assistance to producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish to assist with the impacts of adverse weather and disease that are not covered by other FSA programs. ELAP also helps dairy producers who incur milk production losses due to H5N1 infections in their dairy herds. LFP provides financial assistance to livestock producers who suffer eligible grazing losses on land impacted by qualifying droughts or are restricted from grazing federally managed lands due to wildfire. LIP provides financial assistance to producers who face livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather or attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government.

More Information

The updates to ELAP, LFP and LIP are detailed in this Jan. 17, 2025, notice in the Federal Register.

Producers who have questions about these program policy changes, including producers who previously submitted ELAP, LFP or LIP applications for 2024, should contact the FSA at their local USDA Service Center for additional information prior to the March 3, 2025, application deadline.

If you’re an orchardist or nursery tree grower whose experienced losses from natural disasters during calendar year 2024, you must submit a TAP application either 90 calendar days after the disaster event or the date when the loss is apparent.

TAP provides financial assistance to help you replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters.

Eligible tree types include trees, bushes or vines that produce an annual crop for commercial purposes. Nursery trees include ornamental, fruit, nut and Christmas trees that are produced for commercial sale. Trees used for pulp or timber are ineligible.

To qualify for TAP, orchardists must suffer a qualifying tree, bush or vine loss in excess of 15 percent mortality from an eligible natural disaster, plus an adjustment for normal mortality. The eligible trees, bushes or vines must have been owned when the natural disaster occurred; however, eligible growers are not required to own the land on which the eligible trees, bushes and vines were planted.

If the TAP application is approved, the eligible trees, bushes and vines must be replaced within 12 months from the date the application is approved. The cumulative total quantity of acres planted to trees, bushes or vines, for which you can receive TAP payments, cannot exceed 1,000 acres annually.

Carroll County was declared a CONTIGUOUS disaster due to drought and excessive heat in crop year 2024, from June 22 through October 22. 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. For this disaster declaration, the application deadline is September 15, 2025. 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 the Farm Loan Team at your Frederick County USDA Service Center at 301-662-1321 or visit fsa.usda.gov.

A video series from NRCS and farmers.gov, Conservation at Work, presents short and easy to understand videos about popular conservation practices. These videos feature producers explaining how an individual practice helps their land and why they are using it.

The videos shine the spotlight on farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners from across the U.S. who explain why they’ve implemented the conservation practices and how they work on their land. They also provide insight into how each practice is helping them protect and improve resources and save time and money.

We’ve got videos showcasing high tunnels, no-till, cover crops, prescribed grazing, and many more. Check out the Conservation at Work video series at farmers.gov/conserve/conservationatwork.