Fri, 30 Sep 2022 08:53:15 CDT
Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is featuring comments from Farm Director KC Sheperd’s conversation with Oklahoma State University Agricultural Economist, Amy Hagerman, talking about disaster programs available to help ag producers get through the drought.
“First and foremost, for any of our forage producers in the state that are grazing livestock, is the Livestock Forage Program,” Hagerman said. “Currently, 76 of our 77 counties have at least one pasture type that is eligible for the LFP program. It is a pretty straightforward program. The payment rate is based on the severity and length of the drought in the county during the growing season that is most important for that kind of grass. So, say your native pasture versus your warm season grasses versus your cool season grasses.”
If producers are interested in applying for that program, Hagerman said they can contact their local FSA office. Their farm should already be on file and the FSA office should be able to see what kind of grasses they have, how many acres, and what their stocking rate is.
“So, they will just need to provide their head of breeding animals that they had as of that eligibility date, and FSA will tell them what that is,” Hagerman said.
Hagerman said producers will also need to provide documentation of how many animals they had to sell because of the drought.
The ELAP Program (Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish), Hagerman said, is another program that can benefit producers during this time.
“I have talked to people who are bringing in hay from 900, 1000, or more miles away to their operation when ordinarily they could buy hay within the state,” Hagerman said.
The ELAP Program, Hagerman said, will help offset part of the transportation cost of bringing that hay into the state.
“Again, this is an FSA-administered program, so they just need to contact their county FSA office to find out what that transportation rate is for their county that they can use to see if that program is worth applying for, for them,” Hagerman said.
Record keeping wise, Hagerman said producers will need to know how many loads of hay they are bringing in from how far away, and how much of the cost of that load is. That will need to be compared to a normal year, she added.
“If you haven’t had to haul hay in a normal year, if you are in a part of the state where they are cutting their own hay, for example, and they are not going to get to do that this year, then that number for normal would be zero,” Hagerman said.
For each program, time and cost limits vary, Hagerman said, so it is important to communicate with your local FSA office and ask questions.
“For the LFP Program, you have to do it by the end of January, so it is within 30 days of the end of the calendar year for the eligibility date,” Hagerman said.
Coming up towards the end of 2022, Hagerman said now is a good time to be thinking about these things.
“Also, you have got to make sure you get your crop reports in with FSA, and again, we are coming into that time of year where crop reports are due, so it is important to get your crop reports in and be up on all of your reporting with FSA,” Hagerman said.
The ELAP program, Hagerman said, is a little more restrictive than the LFP program.
“That one has to be within 30 days of when you see the loss happen, you have to put in a notice of loss,” Hagerman said. “Then you have within 60 days or 30 days of the end of the calendar year- you have to turn in the full application with all the documentation.”
Click the LISTEN BAR below to listen to Amy Hagerman talking about federal disaster programs to help out producers during drought.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
Amy Hagerman Talks Federal Disaster Progams to Aid in Drought
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