FSA Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)
The recent snow storms certainly brought some much needed moisture to the area but did catch many livestock producers at an inopportune time with calving and lambing underway.
If anyone did lose livestock during these storms, there is a program through FSA called the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) that may help. LIP is available for producers who have had livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions such as adverse weather, disease, and attacks by animals reintroduced to the wild by the federal government. LIP payments are equal to 75 percent of the average fair market value of the livestock. LIP also provides assistance to eligible livestock owners that must sell livestock at a reduced price because of an injury from an eligible loss condition.
Contact your local FSA office to discuss the program if you have losses and want to find out if you would qualify. Make sure to document what animals you lost and have verifiable documents showing your numbers (sale barn/sale receipts, vet records, calving books, etc) and also take pictures of livestock lost.
Owners or contract growers who suffer livestock losses due to an eligible cause of loss must submit a notice of loss and an application for payment to the local FSA office that serves the physical location county where the livestock losses occurred. All of the owner’s or contract grower’s interest in inventory of eligible livestock in that county for the calendar year must be accounted for and summarized when determining eligibility. An owner or contract grower must file a notice of loss within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is first apparent as well as file an application for payment within 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred.
ND Dept. of Agriculture’s Soil Health Cover Crop Program
Farmers or ranchers who are planning to plant cover crops at some point during the upcoming growing season may want to take a look at the Soil Health Cover Crop Program available through the ND Department of Agriculture.
The Soil Health Cover Crop Grant Program was funded by the 67th Legislative Assembly. As a conservation program, the program’s primary goal is to protect and enhance soil health statewide. In particular, the program is targeting cropland areas impacted with alkaline soils (saline areas).
The cost share to eligible producers under this program is based on a lottery system. To be eligible, producers must plant the cover crop by August 31 and then complete an online application by October 1. Successful applicants can receive a cost share payment up to $15 an acre with a 50-acre cap per applicant per year.
Because of the lottery based approach to this program, it would be difficult to plant cover crops banking on cost share but if you are already planning to seed cover crops regardless of any cost share, it might be worth throwing your name in the hat. For further details on the program, please call Jason Wirtz at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at 701-220-1628 or email at jwirtz@nd.gov.
Williams County Soil Conservation District 