FSA NEWSLETTER -- MARCH 2026
 In This Issue:
Hello Oklahoma farmers, ranchers, and agriculture enthusiasts!
Spring is upon us, and as many of us native Oklahomans know, this can be a prime time for both tornadoes and wildfires. Recent wildfires impacted many operations across the state, and we’ve had our first round of severe weather this spring. It’s devastating to witness these losses.
Please keep in mind that FSA offers a suite of disaster assistance programs that can help producers with recovery efforts following natural disasters.
If you’ve experienced any agricultural losses, I encourage you to contact your local FSA office to report those losses. It’s important for livestock producers to maintain accurate records and to provide documentation of any losses. For more details on what type of documentation is needed, please review our Fact Sheet on Verifiable and Reliable Documentation. Many of our programs require livestock producers to have both beginning inventory records and proof of loss records; however, accurate record keeping is imperative for all agricultural producers. Please check in with your county office to ensure you have the most accurate records for your operation to maintain eligibility.
As a reminder, the following deadlines are approaching for FSA programs:
Best regards,
Eddie Fields State Executive Director
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Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist you in your recovery efforts following recent winter storms. Available programs and loans include:
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Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) - provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including winter storms (includes native grass for grazing).
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Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) - offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather.
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Tree Assistance Program (TAP) – provides assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers for qualifying tree, shrub and vine losses due to natural disaster.
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Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) - provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs.
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Emergency Loan Program – available to producers with agriculture operations located in a county under a primary or contiguous Secretarial Disaster designation. These low interest loans help producers recover from production and physical losses due to adverse weather.
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Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) - provides emergency funding for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by natural disasters; includes fence loss.
To establish or retain FSA program eligibility, you must report prevented planting and failed acres (crops and grasses). Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and Risk Management Agency (RMA).
For more information on these programs, contact your County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/disaster.
Livestock inventory records are necessary in the event of a natural disaster, so remember to keep them updated.
When disasters strike, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help you if you’ve suffered excessive livestock death losses and grazing or feed losses due to eligible natural disasters.
For 2025 losses through the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), you must file a notice of loss, provide the following supporting documentation, and application for payment to your local FSA office by March 2, 2026.
You should record all pertinent information regarding livestock inventory records including:
- Documentation of the number, kind, type, and weight range of livestock
- Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts.
For more information on documentation requirements, contact your Oklahoma County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
USDA worked with the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) to design and build a free online easy-to-use Seed and Vendor finder tool to support the producers enrolling in the CRP program, along with other conservation efforts involving native plantings. CBI also partnered with the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) to address the needs of the Native Seed Network and significantly expanded the native seed customer and vendor base.
The seed and vendor finder can be found here: Seed and Vendor Finder
Customers looking for native or introduced species to plant for the conservation projects can easily find vendors across the country that carry that seed or plant using this tool. Currently, CBI has seeded the tool with 600+ wholesale seed and seedling vendors found through an online search from across the country with limited profiles, and 100+ have voluntarily completed full profiles which includes their plant catalogue. The tool is designed for easy uploading of their profile and inventory. It also provides an opportunity for vendors without a website to have an online presence and be found by customers looking for seeds.
Also check out the plant finder tool where you can find suitable plants, including pollinator friendly plants for your area and soil type. The plant finder prototype is only available for 6 states and there is potential to extend it to the entire country.
There were over 10,000 visitors to the site last year, with the current number of unique daily visitors to the tool at over 30 and growing!
All growers/vendors are encouraged to add their business profile and catalog to the tool. They can do this easily by filling out a simple form located here: https://crptool.org/contact/. Once their catalog is online, customers can match their seed/seedlings needs with what they might have available for sale and contact you. This USDA supported tool expands customer outreach to the entire U.S.
Top of page
USDA Oklahoma State Office
100 USDA
Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074
Farm Service Agency State Office: 405-742-1130
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State Executive Director
Eddie Fields
Eddie.Fields@usda.gov
Deputy State Executive Director
Jaramie Karcher
Jaramie.Karcher@usda.gov
FSA Executive Officer
Janlyn Elwood
Janlyn.Elwood@usda.gov
State Committee Members:
Gaye Pfeiffer, Chair
Ian Chapman
Terry Jurgensmeyer
Ronald Justice
Matt Muller
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State Conservationist
Jeanne Jasper
FSA Farm Loan Chief
Larry Daniel
Larry.Daniel@usda.gov
State Office Program Chiefs:
J.D Elwood, Production and Payment Eligibility
Sara Grider, Compliance
Kim Haines, Conservation
Madeline Alewine, Public Relations and Outreach
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