Apply Now for Emergency Livestock Relief Program

Davis: Applications are now open for the Emergency Livestock Relief Program for Flood and Wildfire, which is meant to help farmers and ranchers cover part of extra feed costs associated with these types of natural disasters. American Farm Bureau economist Danny Munch says the application for this relief differs from a previous USDA program.

Munch: Unlike the drought version that was announced earlier this year and paid automatically off of livestock forage program payments, this one requires a direct application from farmers to FSA. Payments are going to be based off of USDA standard monthly feed costs, and that'll be 60% of three months of feed for flooding, or 60% of one month of feed for wildfires.

Davis: Munch says about $940 million is available for the program.

Munch: This is the remaining balance back from Congress's $2 billion livestock directive from the American Relief Act of 2025. If estimated demands that USDA receives exceeds available funds, USDA is going to apply a national payment factor at the end of the calculations. So those final payments might be lower than the base calculation. There are payment limits of $125,000 per program year, or $250,000 if more than 75% of your adjusted gross income is from farming.

Davis: If farmers or ranchers think they are eligible, Munch says they should reach out to their local FSA office to learn more by October 31 of this year.

Munch: This is a little different than a lot of the previous programs that have automatically sent applications. You have to file this one to FSA. Applicants must provide livestock inventory as of the disaster date, and if your county is not a pre-approved list, [you must provide] photos, insurance or local declarations that prove you faced that disaster. There's also more information from your local FSA office or farmers.gov to provide a little bit more information. Payments are expected to go out sometime in early 2026 once USDA can estimate demand and pick a final proration amount for those calculations.

Davis: For more information, stay tuned to the Market Intel page on fb.org. Mike Davis, Washington.