Drought and Livestock Assistance
On Aug. 29, Tallahatchie County reached D3 level (Extreme Drought) on the national drought monitor, activating LFP (Livestock Forage Program) and allowing eligible livestock producers with pastures in Tallahatchie County to receive assistance in an amount equal to three months of payment compensation for loss of grazing.
FSA will calculate LFP payments at a rate equal to 60% of the monthly feed cost determined by the size and type of livestock that a producer owns and maintains on pasture located in Tallahatchie County. When D3 level stays in some part of a county for four weeks, then a fourth month of livestock feed compensation is triggered. This happened the week of Sept. 26.
As of this week’s drought monitor reading, Tallahatchie is no longer in D3 (Extreme Drought), so there will not be any feed compensation added for this grazing period.
Eligible livestock must have been owned during the 60 days prior to the beginning date of the qualifying drought. The livestock must have been maintained for commercial use as part of a farming operation on the beginning date of the drought (June 28, 2024) or have been sold or otherwise disposed of due to the qualifying drought condition during the 60-day period. Livestock that are maintained for reasons other than commercial use as part of a farming operation are not eligible for LFP.
To enroll in LFP, a livestock owner must have reported their 2024 grazing acres to FSA. If the grazing acres were not reported by the July 15, 2024, deadline, a late filed acreage report may be submitted with a fee.
To receive benefits for each head of livestock owned by a producer, there must be enough grazing acres reported to FSA to maintain the number and type of livestock that are submitted to FSA on the LFP application. If the grazing acres available to a producer are not sufficient to support the herd size claimed, then payments will be reduced proportionate to the normal carrying capacity of the acres and type of grazing available during the drought period.
The Tallahatchie FSA office is accepting applications for livestock forage assistance from qualifying livestock owners. The deadline for assistance for any 2024 LFP is Jan. 29, 2025. After that date, no application will be accepted.
