Deadline Approaches for Livestock Producers Seeking Assistance for 2024 Losses

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding producers that the deadline to apply for financial assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) is fast approaching.

The application deadline for the program is Jan. 30, 2025, for losses due to specific adverse conditions that occurred in 2024. This includes dairy producers who have been affected by the rise of H5N1 in cattle. 

To find a service center visit farmers.gov/service-locator.

ELAP Eligible Losses

ELAP provides recovery assistance for: 

• Livestock feed and grazing losses that are not due to drought or wildfires on federally managed lands
• Livestock feed losses caused by an eligible loss condition that resulted in purchased or mechanically harvested feed being destroyed, additional feed purchased above normal, and additional cost of feed delivery
• Losses resulting from the cost of transporting water to livestock due to an eligible drought
• Above normal costs of hauling feed to livestock and hauling livestock to forage or other grazing acres due to a qualifying drought
• Losses resulting from the additional cost associated with gathering livestock for treatment and/or inspection related to cattle tick fever
• Honeybee feed, colony, and hive losses due to colony collapse disorder, eligible adverse weather, and other conditions
• Farm-raised fish feed and death losses due to eligible disease, adverse weather, and other qualifying conditions
• Loss of income when removing dairy cattle from commercial milking due to positive H5N1 test confirmed by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service National Veterinary Services Laboratories

Dairy Farmers Eligible

Eligible adult dairy cattle under this new H5N1 provision of ELAP must be maintained for commercial milk production and be currently lactating. Assistance is available for up to 120 days after the sample collection date for the positive H5N1 test. 

For producers submitting an application for assistance, if the 120-day impact period starts in 2024 and extends into 2025, will need to submit a notice of loss and application for payment by Jan. 30, 2025, for the days impacted in 2024, and then submit a notice of loss and application for payment for the remainder of the 120 days that occur in 2025. 

Producers must submit two applications for payments based on the applicable calendar year losses.

To date, USDA has provided more than $80 million in ELAP assistance to help H5N1-impacted dairy producers offset the cost of lost milk production. As of Jan. 13, 2025, there are active known detections of H5N1 in dairy herds in two states (California and Michigan), though ELAP assistance has reached producers in 16 states who have faced infections at some point during the outbreak.

“The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program provides an important financial safety net, helping our producers rebound from weather and disease impacts that are out of their control and are not part of their operation’s ordinary risk profile,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency. “These events threaten producers’ economic viability, and so it’s important USDA provide support.”

Other ELAP Loss Conditions and Payments

Eligible adverse weather or loss conditions under ELAP include, but are not limited to, blizzards, drought, winter storms, excessive wind, floods, hail (grazing loss only), hurricane, lightning, tidal surge, and tornado. Not all eligible loss conditions are applicable to all categories of ELAP assistance, and producers are encouraged to visit with their county FSA office for more information. 

Payments are based on a percentage of the fair market value of the livestock, honeybees, or fish lost, or the cost of feed and water shortages. Producers are responsible for providing verifiable documentation of losses and the conditions causing the loss. This may include veterinary records, feed purchase receipts, and other supporting documents.