“[My] pasture's grass is probably half of what it normally is,” said breed stock producer Jordan Cook. “That means we've started feeding hay in July, and normally we don't start feeding hay until October or November, just depending on the year.”
To help offset these detrimental costs, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency announced livestock producers across 64 state counties are eligible to receive drought recovery assistance through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. LFP provides financial assistance to eligible producers who’ve experienced drought during the usual grazing season that resulted in the loss of livestock. The program only pays for a portion of drought-related damage, and the size of payments is determined by the cost of feed and the U.S. Drought Monitor level.

“A load of feed can cost, probably, $8-9,000,” Cook said. “You can’t have that extra cost every month. So, that’s really where the LFP payment does help. ”
According to the FSA, eligible livestock includes alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer and sheep. Meanwhile, eligible producers must:
Another challenge Cook said she’s facing because of the drought is a shortage of available water for her cattle.
“We’re literally hauling water because the ponds are dry,” Cook said. “The diesel and gas it takes to haul water is probably our biggest challenge.”
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