Severe floods and wildfires in 2023 and 2024 created major obstacles for livestock growers across the country. These disasters upended forage conditions, damaged infrastructure and sharply raised feed costs, leaving farmers and ranchers with mounting expenses at a time of already pressured margins.
In both years, wildfire activity scorched nearly 11.5 million acres nationwide. The most severe event came in March 2024, when five fires tore through the Texas Panhandle where over 1.1 million acres were burned, hundreds of structures and fences destroyed and more than 7,000 head of cattle killed.
At the same time, unprecedented floods swept across much of the country. In 2023, California was hit hard by atmospheric rivers, while in 2024 hurricanes Helene and Milton inundated the Southeast. Persistent rains also flooded the Northeast and Midwest, washing out roads, cutting off feed supplies and damaging cropland.
For livestock producers, the economic consequences were swift and severe. Transportation costs soared as washed-out infrastructure delayed feed shipments. Replacement feed was more expensive and harder to find, with crop failures adding to shortages. Dairy and beef operations alike saw reduced performance: lower milk yields, lighter calf weaning weights and ration imbalances caused by sudden shifts in feed quality. These cascading effects underscore why Congress carved out specific funding for disasters that fall outside the reach of the Livestock Forage Program (LFP).
How the Program Works
ELRP-FW provides compensation for increased supplemental feed costs caused by qualifying floods or wildfires occurring on non-federally managed land. Unlike the drought portion of ELRP, which used existing LFP records to automatically deliver payments, this program requires farmers to apply directly using form FSA-970.
Payments are based on USDA’s standard monthly feed cost estimates per animal unit. For flood-related losses, assistance covers 60% of three months of feed costs. For wildfires on non-federal land, assistance equals 60% of one month of feed costs. These rates reflect the longer recovery needed for flood-damaged land compared to land burned by fire.
Eligibility
Eligibility is broad but clearly defined. To be eligible, farmers must have owned, leased, purchased or been under contract to raise eligible livestock on the start date of the qualifying disaster. They must also demonstrate that the disaster event led to increased supplemental feed costs.
Covered livestock include beef and dairy cattle, beefalo, buffalo, bison, sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, deer, reindeer, elk, equine, ostriches and emus. Livestock in commercial feedlots, auction facilities or operations that buy and resell animals without sharing in the production risk are not eligible.
FSA has already confirmed qualifying floods and wildfires in many counties using disaster declarations, weather data and economic reports. In these counties, growers will not need to supply event documentation. For counties not pre-approved, farmers can still qualify by providing acceptable evidence such as photos, insurance documents or local/state emergency declarations.
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