SEEKING ASSISTANCE HOW TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL DROUGHT ASSISTANCE AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROCESS
by Katie Roberti, CCA Director of Communications with assistance from the California Farm Service Agency State Office
With much of California currently facing extremely dry conditions, on March 5, 2021, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack declared “50 California counties as primary natural disaster areas due to a recent drought.” The eight remaining counties in California were deemed as “contiguous disaster counties,” putting farmers and ranchers in all counties of the state under a natural disaster designation. “A Secretarial disaster designation makes farm operators in primary counties and those counties contiguous to such primary counties eligible to be considered for certain assistance from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met,” Secretary Vilsack said in the letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom designating the drought. Unfortunately, droughts are not new to California, and many producers may have applied for assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) FSA during the last dry spell just a few years ago. While the process of applying for drought aid may be familiar, it is essential to remember that there are many important deadlines and requirements to keep aware of to be eligible for payments. This feature helps provide a reminder of the application process for obtaining assistance and outlines the FSA programs relevant to cattle producers. Should you have any further questions about FSA programs, contact your local county office(s) as they will be able to best assist you. Not sure how to get in touch with 12 California Cattleman June 2021
your county office? Visit https://www.calcattlemen.org/ drought to find contact information for your location. 1.
What drought assistance programs are available for cattle producers through FSA? There are three FSA programs most used by cattle producers, Jacque Johnson, California FSA Office State Executive Director, explains below. The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): Provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who have covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage crop acreage (native and improved pasture land with permanent vegetative cover) that has suffered grazing losses due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county. LFP also provides payments to eligible livestock owners or contract growers that have covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage crop acreage on rangeland managed by a federal agency if the eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to a qualifying fire. The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP): Provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock. It covers losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including blizzards, disease
