News Update
Sept. 14, 2009

USDA Announces Implementation of Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that producers may begin applying for benefits under the provisions of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). These permanent disaster programs, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, replace previous ad-hoc disaster assistance programs and are funded through the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund.

“These programs ensure that producers who have suffered agriculture losses receive the critical disaster assistance needed to remain financially solvent and help them continue on in their operations,” Vilsack said.

LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. For drought, the losses must have occurred on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or a crop planted specifically for grazing for covered livestock due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the specific type of grazing land in the county. For fire, LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses 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.

Eligible livestock under LFP include beef cattle, alpacas, buffalo, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, poultry, reindeer, sheep and swine. For losses due to drought, qualifying drought ratings are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor located at www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html.

ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically LFP, the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE). ELAP is being implemented to fill in the gap and provide assistance under other conditions determined to be appropriate.

For both programs, producers must have suffered losses that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011. There is a total $100,000 limitation per crop year that applies to payments received under ELAP, LFP, LIP or SURE. For the 2008 crop year, the $100,000 limitation is per “person” as defined and determined under payment limitation rules in effect for 2008. For crop years 2009 through 2011, the $100,000 limitation applies to payments received, both directly and indirectly, by a person or legal entity. Furthermore, individuals or entities are ineligible for payment under ELAP or LFP for 2008 if their average Adjusted Gross Income for 2005, 2006 and 2007 exceeds $2.5 million. For 2009 through 2011, an average adjusted gross nonfarm income limitation of $500,000 applies and is determined using the three taxable years that precede the most immediately preceding complete taxable year (for 2009, the applicable years are 2005, 2006 and 2007).

For more information or to apply for ELAP or LFP and other USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster assistance programs, please visit your FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov.

— Release provided by USDA.

Unique Partnership Promotes Conservation through Ranching

A group of respected ranching and conservation organizations have come together to form a unique broad-based coalition to enhance ranching practices that consider important conservation issues throughout the West. The Coalition for Conservation through Ranching is a new multi-stakeholder partnership between national conservation-minded groups that share an interest in promoting open space for ranching and healthy landscapes. The recently signed agreement marks the beginning of the unique relationship.

Steering committee members of the coalition include the Public Lands Council (PLC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Family Farm Alliance (FFA) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Other organizations that have joined the coalition at this time are the American Farmland Trust, the American Forage and Grassland Council, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Society for Rangeland Management, the Wild Sheep Foundation, and the Wilderness Society. The Bureau of Land Management serves as an advisor to the group.

“Cherished iconic western landscapes depend upon productive partnerships between ranchers and conservationists. The Coalition for Conservation through Ranching will promote solutions that will keep western landscapes healthy and in the process benefit working ranches, wildlife and other natural resources,” says Dan Grossman, Rocky Mountain Regional Director, EDF.

“Intact working ranches that are managed with wildlife in mind can help support habitat for grassland birds, mammals and fish, all of which face uncertain prospects without the large spaces they need to survive. By working together we can encourage ranching practices that ensure the preservation of wildlife, and develop incentives that help ranchers to do so,” says Martha Kauffman, Managing Director WWF Northern Great Plains Program.

The coalition formed by six leading ranching and conservation organizations will support ranching on public and private lands in the West that is conducted in an ecologically sustainable way.

“Maintaining a sustainable business environment and keeping ranchers on public lands allows our Western landscapes to remain open for wildlife habitat and recreational use and also provides for conservation efforts that might not otherwise occur,” says Skye Krebs, President of PLC and rancher from Ione, Ore. “Together, the members of this coalition share a common interest in supporting working ranches and healthy landscapes.”

“As cattlemen, we rely on healthy land to produce healthy livestock. And one of the biggest gauges we can use to judge the health of our land is the co-existence of wildlife alongside of our livestock,” said Gary Voogt, NCBA president and rancher from Marne, Mich. “America’s farmers and ranchers are always looking for ways to increase efficiencies and build upon existing stewardship practices to keep our land and animals healthy and continue providing safe, high-quality food for America’s families. By bringing together leaders from industry and the environmental community, we can help further these goals in a way that benefits our nation’s land, animals and citizens.”

This collaborative conservation effort will provide for a more efficient use of resources, increased outreach opportunities, and a holistic approach to problem solving. It will also help to increase the understanding of complex issues between ranching and conservation and provide a forum to discuss the interaction between natural resource management and ranching.

The coalition will work on common ground issues which may include a pro-grasslands agenda, including grassland research projects, specific species conservation projects, and climate change including raising the awareness of the important role of grasslands on carbon sequestration, as well as other issues of common interest.

— Release provided by NCBA.

Checkoff Funding Beef Education, Promotion at State Fair

The Kansas Beef Council (KBC) and Kansas CattleWomen are among commodity groups cooperating this week on the Agriland exhibit in the Pride of Kansas Building at the Kansas State Fair. Thousands of students, teachers and parents are expected to tour the interactive display, designed to give consumers an accurate picture of how their food is produced. Participants can learn the art of milking a cow, hear more about the healthfulness of food or climb into the saddle of a mock horse and feel what it’s like to herd cattle. There also are scales that show people if they weigh as much as a bushel of corn or a baby calf.

KBC will host a “What’s for Dinner” Beef Cook-Off Saturday, Sept. 19, in the Domestic Arts Building on the state fairgrounds at Hutchinson, Kan. The checkoff-funded event will demonstrate how easy it is for consumers to make beef the centerpiece of a quick, healthy meal. Eight finalists will present healthy and convenient salads, kabobs and stir-fry featuring beef.

— Release provided by KBC.

Forage Management Cup Receives Major New Agricultural Sponsorships

Additional funding will allow the 22nd Forage Management Cup contest taking place Sept. 29 to offer more high school students who are 4-H or FFA members prizes and scholarship opportunities.

This contest takes place annually during the World Dairy Expo, in Madison, Wis. The Forage Management Cup is designed to increase participating students’ awareness and knowledge of efficient forage production, forage management practices and forage utilization.
Contest coordinator Kris Mahoney from the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, expects more than 70 teams to compete for prizes, including the famous Forage Management Cup awarded to the highest-scoring team. A laptop computer will be awarded to the highest-scoring individual student. High-scoring students become eligible for the contest’s scholarships and plaques. 

This contest’s strong focus on forage production knowledge offers sponsors an opportunity to encourage students to explore agricultural careers. Scholarships, presented to the highest-scoring winners, are intended to assist them in becoming strong supporters of good agronomic procedures. Sponsors hope student participants will learn how profitable forage production and solid crop management benefit both producers’ profitability and our nation’s rural environment.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.