PRESS RELEASE
Southern University and A&M College
Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center
Contact: Bridget Udoh
(225) 771-5714
bridget_udoh@suagcenter.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLOODING Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Farmers
BATON ROUGE, LA, 6/10/2011-Farmers and ranchers should be aware that the 2008 Farm Bill created a program called the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP). ELAP is administered by the Farm Service Agency.
ELAP, as it is commonly called, will provide assistance to producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish for losses caused by adverse weather, such as the recent flooding of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. This would include flooding due to seepage, back water flooding and the Morganza Spillway; however, the program would not cover losses between the mainline levee and the river.
Assistance would be provided for eligible losses of purchased or produced (harvested) feed for livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish, and for physical losses of game fish and baitfish that are not covered under other programs such as the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payment Program (SURE), Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). Physical losses on catfish and crawfish are not eligible for this program. The program pays for qualifying grazing losses and for transporting feed to stranded livestock. In order to qualify, a producer must have had either Crop Insurance or Noninsured Assistance Program coverage on all crops on the farm, including hay fields, but excluding pasture that is grazed. This applies to every commodity on every farm in the United States that the producer has interest.
Producers who have eligible losses must file a notice of loss at their Parish FSA Office no later than 30 days after the loss was apparent to them and file an application for payment no later than January 30, 2012. Producers must also provide FSA with verifiable documentation for all losses for which compensation is requested. For example, if a producer had purchased hay that was flooded, they must provide a copy of a purchase receipt. For livestock, producers must provide a breakdown of livestock by kind, type and weight range. Notes must be kept on when the pasture was inaccessible and when it became available for grazing. If only a portion of a field was flooded, they must be able to show on a map what was flooded. Also, the producer must certify the acreage and show a share in the pasture. If the pasture is rented or leased, and it has not been certified by the livestock producer in prior years, a copy of the rental or lease agreement must be provided.
This is a National program with a $50,000,000 allocation. After signup, all application information must be sent to Washington to determine if a factor of payments is necessary; therefore, it is anticipated that payments cannot be issued until around March or April, 2012.
Producers are reminded to file a notice of loss no later than 30 days after the loss is apparent. In the case of pasture, this will usually be within 30 days after the pasture becomes available for grazing.
Please contact your local Farm Service Agency office for more details about this program.
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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call toll-free at 866-632-9992 (English) or 800-877-8339 (TDD) or 866-377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or 800-845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
