Sign-up is now underway for the second phase of the USDA Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP), available through local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices.

“Producers will have until Oct. 31 to apply for assistance,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam.

ELRP Phase Two focuses on producers who suffered livestock losses due to qualifying floods and wildfires in calendar years 2023 and 2024.

“It provides approximately a billion dollars to help producers offset that increased supplemental feed cost that they had due to flooding and wildfires,” Beam said.

What to Know About Eligibility and Documentation

So, what should producers know about eligibility and documentation requirements for this latest round of ELRP? Beam outlined the following:

“To help streamline program delivery, the FSA has determined eligible counties for qualifying floods and wildfires for the years 2023 and [20]24. For losses in these counties, livestock producers are not required to submit additional documentation for the flood or wildfire.”

A list of approved counties is available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/elrp.

“For losses in counties not listed, livestock producers can still apply for ELRP for those years, but must provide supporting documentation to demonstrate they experienced a qualifying flood or wildfire,” Beam added.

Examples of acceptable documentation include:

“Photographs documenting impacts to livestock, land, or property; insurance documentation; emergency declarations; press releases or news articles; or any other documentation that may be determined acceptable by your county committee.”

Phase Two of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program covers the same livestock as those included in the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP).

“If you qualify for LFP with your species, you will qualify for ELRP,” Beam said.

Producers must also submit documentation to support eligible livestock inventories as of the beginning date of a qualifying disaster.

“Livestock producers can receive assistance for one or both years—2023 and 2024—and for multiple disaster events, if applicable,” he said.