USDA FSA livestock indemnity program
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EmailLivestock indemnity is available for some farm animal losses
Recent weather conditions have contributed to production stress sand increased death loss on some Michigan livestock operations. The MSU Extension Animal Agriculture Team wants to be sure all producers are aware of USDA programs that may offer assistance to producers with animal loss situations.
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. Qualifying loss may include 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 the USDA Farm Service Agency (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.
Eligibility of Livestock Owners for the 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: died in excess of normal mortality as a direct result of an eligible loss condition, or been injured as a direct result of an eligible loss condition and were sold at a reduced price.
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 their local FSA office that serves the physical location of the county where the livestock losses occurred. 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.
For more information on qualifying animals loses, refer to the full LIP document. Producers should visit their local USDA Farm Service Agency office as soon as possible to report any possible LIP qualifying livestock loss.
For additional cattle management resources, visit the Michigan State University Beef Team website.
