Livestock benefits remain available through Farm Service Agency

Over the past couple of months, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices have been taking applications for benefits authorized by implementation late last fall of the Livestock Compensation Program (LCP). This program offers some reimbursement for grazing losses and additional feed costs suffered during declared disaster periods.

For most counties in this area (including Bourbon and Linn), the declared disaster conditions that are most often applicable are the drought declarations for 2005 and 2006. Applicants can be paid for only one year -- the most advantageous one normally being the choice.

Livestock owned and on hand as of Jan. 1 or either 2005 or 2006 creates eligibility for a livestock producer. Most kinds of livestock are eligible including beef animals, dairy, sheep, poultry, and others.

Once eligible livestock numbers have been established, the factor producing a possible payment reimbursement is either grazing loss or increased feed costs. The grazing loss is the most straightforward to substantiate, so this is where we start with applicants. We have found that with the amount of feed raised and harvested by producers themselves, documenting additional feed costs due to the disaster is difficult as there are few records available of either a "normal" year or the "abnormal" year.

Most applicants have found, fortunately, that the grazing loss often allows for the maximum payment under the program without the need to document other feed costs.

So what might the benefits of this program amount to? The legislation based compensation for losses on 42 percent of the corn needed to support an animal unit for one month. An animal unit is based on one beef cow, and the valve of the corn is set at $10.66 per head.

So, if a producer has 50 cows that were on hand January 1 and grazed through the season, the maximum benefit calculates to $533. Calves weighing over 500 pounds as of January 1 and grazed through the season are also eligible at $8 per head maximum benefit.

Though no deadline for filing applications for the LCP has yet been announced, we encourage any interested producers to go ahead and file applications now to avoid any "end of sign up" delays. In looking back to the last year we had a livestock disaster program (2002), Bourbon and Linn Counties had a combined application total of approximately 970 producers. There are no where near that number on file yet as less than 300 total applications have been filed so far.

When an LCP application is filed, some basic information must be provided. The pastures, acres, type, estimated loss, percentage of tree canopy, and fertilizer applied in the disaster year must be provided in order for benefits to be computed. Livestock numbers as of Jan.1 of the disaster year must also be established and documented in some way.

A farm ledger sheet, summary for a lender financial statement, sales receipts for your calf crop, a record book page or inventory from the applicable year, income tax records showing numbers, Farm Management record pages, etc. can all be presented for this needed documentation of numbers.

We are suggesting producers call our office for an appointment, at which time we will review the needed information, and set up a time when a staff member will be available to assist with your application. For questions, or to schedule an office visit, call your local Farm Service Agency office. In Fort Scott, call (620) 223-1880; and in Mound City, (913) 795-2940.