Livestock Forage Disaster Program

The objective of LFP is to provide financial assistance from the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund (Trust Fund). The Secretary of Agriculture (henceforth the Secretary) has the authority to use sums from the Trust Fund to provide compensation to livestock producers who suffered grazing losses due to drought or fire. For drought, the losses must have occurred because of a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or is planted to a crop planted specifically for grazing covered livestock. For fire, LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses on range land managed by a Federal agency if the eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the Federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed range land because of a qualifying fire. Eligible grazing losses must have occurred on or after January 1, 2008, and before October 1, 2011. The eligible grazing losses must occur within the same calendar year for which benefits are being requested. ATRA provides extending benefits to livestock producers for grazing losses due to drought and wildfires on Federal lands through September 30, 2013, subject to appropriations.