Producers in 14 Montana Counties May Be Eligible for 2017 Drought Disaster Assistance

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Montana reminds producers affected by the recent drought that disaster assistance programs are available.As of July 6, 2017, the following 14 Montana counties have met the extreme drought (D3) criteria on the U.S. Drought Monitor and are eligible for disaster assistance programs: Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, Garfield, McCone, Petroleum, Phillips, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sheridan, Valley and Wibaux.These 14 Montana counties recently met qualifying drought ratings that ‘trigger’ eligibility for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). Eligible pasture types may include long season small grains, native pasture, improved pasture, annual ryegrass or 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. (Click here for Montana map of 2017 LFP counties as of this week.)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.Applications are required for 2017 losses. The LFP application and supporting documentation for 2017 losses must be submitted by January 30, 2018; however, 2017 acreage reports are required to be filed for all eligible land no later than the final reporting date of November 15, 2017. Acreage reports filed after that date will not be accepted which will result in ineligibility for the 2017 LFP program. Required supporting documents may include information related to grazing leases or federal grazing permits, contract grower agreements, documentation to support livestock inventory and more.Producers with grazing land physically located in one of the nine eligible LFP counties should contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to begin the application process.Livestock producers may also be eligible for assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) which covers the additional cost of transporting water to eligible livestock when the drought directly impacts water availability during the normal grazing period. The ELAP program also provides assistance to Honeybee producers that have additional feed purchase costs when a county reaches the D3 status at any time during the program year.In addition, the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters and for carrying out emergency water conservation measures in periods of severe drought. ECP is available by producer request and pending funding availability.Compensation is also available to producers who purchased coverage through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), which protects non-insurable crops against natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses or prevented planting.USDA also authorized emergency grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres in certain CRP land in Montana. Producers must contact FSA for written approval prior to beginning any emergency grazing. Emergency grazing is authorized to begin immediately and extends through Sept. 30, unless conditions improve. Producers must work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop a modified conservation plan that is site specific, including the authorized grazing duration to reflect local wildlife needs. FSA State Committees will monitor emergency grazing implementation at the local level to mitigate adverse impacts on nesting areas and established CRP vegetation.Eligible CRP participants can use the acreage for grazing their own livestock or may grant another livestock producer use of the CRP acreage. There will be no CRP annual rental payment reductions assessed for acres grazed.For more information, contact the local FSA office Information can also be obtained online at disaster.fsa.usda.gov.