Agricultural News
Documentation a Key to Using Livestock Indemnity Program for Winter Storm Death Losses
Fri, 11 Feb 2011 5:33:14 CST
Francie Tolle, executive director of the Oklahoma Farm Service Agency (FSA), today issued a reminder to livestock producers throughout the state that FSA programs may be available to assist them. Many are dealing with harsh winter weather, which is causing serious harm to livestock and forage due to heavy snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures.
"This is turning out to be a tough winter for many farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma and learning about our FSA programs is an important step for producers to take," said Tolle. "We need producers to document the number and kind of livestock that have died as a direct result of these winter storms and timely notify their local FSA office of these losses. There may be situations where producers are transporting feed to their livestock. Producers should document these additional costs."
The Livestock Indemnity Program can be very useful to producers that may be dealing with some death loss due to the winter storms. Clay Burtrum, who is on the Payne County FSA Committee, writes us in an email that "This program will pay for losses of cattle due to storm or other major weather events. The program is very strict on how to produce VERIFIABLE RECORDS, etc. The best thing for producers to do is to take pictures, notes, and have a neighbor verify or a vet. The most important thing to do would be to contact the local FSA office for more information."
FSA administers several programs that help producers recover from livestock deaths that are beyond normal mortality rates, losses of purchased and/or harvested forage, and with the additional costs of providing or transporting feed. Among the key programs are the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). For livestock death losses to be eligible under LIP, producers must file a notice of loss with their local FSA office within 30 calendar days from when the loss is apparent to the producer.
Fact sheets for these two programs can be dowloaded- click here to go and get them.
Tolle also encouraged producers to use Hay Net on the FSA website (Click here for the Haynet website) an online service that allows producers with hay and those who need hay to post ads so they can make connections. Hay Net is a popular site for farmers and ranchers who have an emergency need, such as the one caused by the current wintry conditions. Individual ads can be posted free of charge by producers who complete a simple online registration form the first time they use the site.
"We encourage all who have suffered a disaster due to the recent cold weather and blizzards to read the fact sheets and visit with their local FSA county office staff so they get a quick start in the recovery process," added Tolle.
Farm Service Agency has offices throughout Oklahoma; local offices are listed in the United States Government section of the phone book or can be found by clicking here.
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