We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
FSA’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land, or fire on federally managed land.
Livestock producers in 42 Montana counties are eligible to apply for 2017 LFP benefits on small grain, native pasture, improved pasture, annual ryegrass and forage sorghum that is produced on dryland acres and used for grazing. Irrigated acres used for grazing or aftermath grazing are not eligible under this program. Eligible livestock include alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer or sheep that have been or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland during the normal grazing period.
County committees can only accept LFP applications after notification is received by the National Office of a qualifying drought based on the US Drought Monitor or if a federal agency prohibits producers from grazing normal permitted livestock on federally managed lands due to qualifying fire.
The following 42 Montana counties met the drought criteria on the U.S. Drought Monitor and are eligible for the 2017 LFP Program: Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Hill, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, McCone, Meagher, Musselshell, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Valley, Wheatland, Wibaux and Yellowstone.
• 1 monthly LFP payment: Big Horn, Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders
• 3 monthly LFP payments: Broadwater, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark and Pondera
• 4 monthly LFP payments: Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Dawson, Fallon, Glacier, Golden Valley, Judith Basin, Liberty, Meagher, Musselshell, Powder River, Richland, Teton, Toole, Treasure, Wheatland, Wibaux and Yellowstone
• 5 monthly LFP payments: Blaine, Custer, Daniels, Fergus, Garfield, Hill, McCone, Petroleum, Phillips, Prairie, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan and Valley.
Producers with grazing land physically located in one of the 42 eligible LFP counties should contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to begin the application process.
Eligible livestock producers must complete a CCC-853 and the required supporting documentation no later than Jan. 30, 2018, for 2017 losses. Required supporting documents may include information related to grazing leases or federal grazing permits, contract grower agreements, documentation to support livestock inventory and more. Note that 2017 acreage reports were required to be filed for all eligible land no later than the final reporting date of Nov. 15, 2017.
Additional Information about LFP, including eligible livestock and fire criteria, is available at your local FSA office or online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
Enrollment Period Underway for Safety Net Coverage in 2018
Montana farmers and ranchers with base acres in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net program may now enroll for the 2018 crop year. The enrollment period, which began on Nov. 1, 2017, will end on Aug. 1, 2018.
Since shares and ownership of a farm can change year-to-year, producers must enroll by signing a contract each program year.
The producers on a farm that are not enrolled for the 2018 enrollment period will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs for the 2018 crop should crop prices, county revenues, or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program. Producers who made their elections in previous years must still enroll during the 2018 enrollment period.
The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in prices or revenues for covered commodities. Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity. For more details regarding these programs, go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.
For more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local FSA office. To find a local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
