Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ERP)

The USDA has been granted funds to assist livestock producers who suffered losses due to drought if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks or a D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity during 2021.

Eligible Producers

 ELRP Phase 1 only includes 2021 LFP participants.

FSA will utilize livestock inventories and forage acreage already reported to determine eligibility and calculate a ELRP phase 1 payment.

Livestock producers who have losses due to drought are eligible for assistance if:

• any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks;

• or a D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity during the applicable year.

Eligible Livestock

Eligible livestock are grazing animals that satisfy the majority of net energy requirement of nutrition via grazing of forage grasses or legumes and include such species as alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/ bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer or sheep.

ELRP Phase 1 payments will be equal to the eligible livestock producer’s gross 2021 LFP calculated payment multiplied by the applicable ELRP payment factor.

The ELRP payment factor will be 90 percent for beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers, and 75 percent for all other producers.

For ELRP Phase 1, eligible livestock producers are not required to submit an application for ELRP; however, they must have the below forms on file determined by FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs. If you are unsure, contact your local FSA office at the contact details above.

• Fact Sheet

• Drought monitor