How to document Livestock Compensation Program eligibility

My younger daughter recently completed her master's and has since found employment with an engineering firm. Consequently, she recently needed to move out of her apartment in Lincoln and relocate. It was clear, then, that we needed to rent a truck and go get to work! I really had not forgotten, but had the awareness reinforced that moving is definitely work. We packed, loaded, and then hit the road with our load.

Now that we are in the process of enrolling livestock producers for benefits of the Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), I will also attempt to offer in this column some "rubber meets the road" basics. Not moving anything (thank goodness), but attempting to accomplish program enrollment by the most direct route possible.

The LIP is intended to reimburse producers for death losses due to disaster conditions. Our most likely instance of this sort of loss was last winter's ice conditions. However, we do not have a disaster designation for this time frame in eastern Kansas for the ice (Vernon and Bates Counties are contiguous to declared counties so do have this option), so losses during this time are not covered by the program.

Most of the designations that we do have involve drought -- not a condition that normally causes significant death losses. So, there are very few instances where this program might benefit area producers.

The LCP, on the other hand, is designed to produce eligibility from grazing losses or the need to feed above average amounts of feed and hay due to the designated disaster conditions. Drought, then, is the primary cause for this loss. We have drought disaster declarations for both 2005 and 2006 in this area.

Due to the complexities of the LCP, the most straightforward and "documentable" way to achieve eligibility is to notate grazing losses for one of the applicable years. The livestock payment made in 2006 through the State Department of Agriculture must be deducted from any 2006 payment, so some producers may want to file for 2005 instead.

If no eligibility is computed from grazing losses, then documenting the use of above normal amounts of feed and hay can be used to qualify for the program. This added process involves much more needed documentation to establish both the average and the increased feed use.

We plan to use this process only when needed.

What is needed to file an initial application?

1. Livestock numbers as of Jan. 1, 2005, and Jan. 1, 2006, identified as adult animals, or non-adults over 500 pounds;

2. Location of the livestock and the grazing as well as acres;

3. The type of grazing (i.e. native pasture, fescue, brome, etc.);

4. Your share of the applicable livestock; and

5. Estimated grazing loss for each type of grazing.

Benefits for this program represent 61 percent of value of corn needed to maintain the specific livestock for 30 days. For example, the payment rate for a beef cow is $10.66 per head. For a dairy cow the rate is $27.72. All 500 pound-plus calves compute to $8 per head.

We have additional information in a fact sheet and some other informative handouts. These can be picked up at our offices or mailed at your request. Since the application process does normally take some time, we are asking that interested producers call ahead for an appointment so that a time can be reserved to complete your application.

No enrollment deadline has yet been announced.

CRP ALERT! It has come to our attention that there might be some confusion about which CRP contracts expired this year due to the contract extension efforts made last summer. Contracts expiring clear through 2010 were included in that effort last year -- not just ones immediately expiring. If you did not get a letter recently notifying you that a contract has ended, then your contract is likely in force for some years longer. Contact your local FSA office if you have a question about your contract(s).

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