There is a new blog post out at the Southern Plains Perspective. Read below! The Southern Plains Perspective is authored by Clay Pope- who farms with his wife Sarah and is a contractor for the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub in the area of outreach.
This has not been a fun summer weather-wise. We all know that story…heat domes, flash droughts, record temperatures and heat indexes. It has just been nasty.
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog asking if we were thinking enough about how to deal with the extreme conditions impacting the region (you can find it here). The main thrust of this piece was how we need to give some serious thought into getting ready for whatever Mother Nature throws our way, be it heat, cold, rain or drought. However, sometimes you get hit by the impact of natural disasters no matter what you do. Luckily, USDA has several programs to help producers deal with the impact of these events—and it just so happens that they recently updated one program designed to help livestock producers to better reflect current trends in the industry.
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that it is updating the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payment rate to better assist Midwest livestock producers that have lost cattle to the extreme heat and humidity that impacted the region this summer. To help indemnify ranchers to reflect a trend towards higher cattle weights in feedlots, the 2023 LIP payment rate for beef calves over 800 pounds will increase from $1244 per head to $1618, an increase of $374.
In a statement released earlier this month, FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said that “The recent heat domes plaguing many parts of the country have proven to be unsurvivable for some animals and temperatures are not expected to let up any time soon. This is one of the latest, many examples of how a changing climate is creating immediate challenges for farmers and ranchers, and we’re finding that our emergency relief programs need to adapt accordingly. Given these circumstances and the trend towards higher weights in feedlots, it became clear that USDA’s Livestock Indemnity Payment rates were not reflective of the true market value for cattle. This change will better indemnify the investments producers have in the livestock they raise, and we will continue to find flexibilities where possible to help
The updated LIP payment rate is effective immediately and will be applied retroactively starting Jan.1, 2023, for all eligible causes of loss, not just those due to excessive heat. This will also include tornados, winter storms, and other qualifying adverse weather events. Producers who have already received LIP payments for 2023 losses will receive an additional payment, if applicable, commensurate with this updated rate.
LIP provides benefits to livestock owners and some contract growers for livestock deaths exceeding normal mortality from eligible adverse weather events, certain predation losses and reduced sales prices due to injury from an eligible loss. Indemnity payments are made at a rate of 75% of the prior year’s average fair market value of the livestock. For more information you can check out the press release from FSA concerning this change here or contact your local USDA Service Center.
