Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) to provide benefits to eligible livestock owners or contract growers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions, including eligible adverse weather, eligible disease and eligible attacks (attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law, including wolves and avian predators).

The occurrence of an eligible loss condition in and by itself is not determinative for eligible livestock losses. The livestock owner or contract grower must provide evidence acceptable to FSA that the eligible cause of loss not only occurred but directly caused loss or death.

LIP payments for owners are based on national payment rates that are 75 percent of the market value of the applicable livestock as determined by the Secretary. Rates for contract growers of poultry or swine will not exceed the rates for owners but are based on 75 percent of national average input costs for the applicable livestock.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, enacted Feb. 9, 2018, amended certain provisions related to LIP effective with the 2017 year. Those amendments included:

• Removing the maximum per person and legal entity payment limitation for the 2017 and subsequent program years (as discussed in this fact sheet); and

• Providing for compensation in the event that livestock are injured by an eligible loss condition but not killed, and are sold for a reduced price.

To be eligible for LIP:

• A livestock owner must have legally owned the livestock on the day the livestock died and/or were injured by an eligible loss condition

• An owner’s livestock must have either: (a) died in excess of normal mortality as a direct result of an eligible loss condition, or (b) been injured as a direct result of an eligible loss condition and were sold at a reduced price.

Eligible livestock must:

• Have been maintained for commercial use as part of a farming operation on the day they died; and

• Not have been produced or maintained for reasons other than commercial use as part of a farming operation.

Excluded livestock includes wild, free-roaming animals, and pets or animals used for recreational purposes, such as hunting, roping or for show.

All of the owner’s or contract grower’s interest in inventory of eligible livestock in that county for the calendar year must be accounted for and summarized when determining eligibility.

An owner or contract grower must file a notice of loss within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is first apparent as well as file an application for payment within 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred.

Owners or contract growers may apply to receive LIP benefits at local FSA offices. Owners or contract growers who suffer livestock losses due to an eligible cause of loss must submit a notice of loss and an application for payment to the local FSA office that serves the physical location county where the livestock losses occurred.

• Fact Sheet