Wildfire Livestock Losses Will Qualify for Financial Help

Livestock producers who lost animals in the central plains’ wildfires may qualify for the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). An Oklahoma State University Extension report says the LIP program provides assistance to producers who’ve experienced abnormal livestock deaths due to a number of different conditions, ranging from adverse weather, certain disease outbreaks, or animals reintroduced into the environment by the government. The wildfires in northwestern Oklahoma more than qualify as an adverse weather-related loss. LIP payments are made by calculating 75 percent of the fair market value for the affected livestock, as determined by the Commodity Credit Corporation. Producers need to file a notice of the livestock losses directly to their county FSA offices. In order to be eligible for the program, growers must have had legal possession of the livestock, with the deaths happening no later than 60 days from the ending date of the disaster. Livestock must have been utilized for commercial use as part of a farming and ranching operation on the day they died. There are exceptions to which animals are covered on different operations, and producers should check with their local FSA offices for more information.