Sign-Up for livestock compensation program ends soon

Sign-up for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Livestock Compensation Program will end on Dec. 13.

Tim Kelley, executive director for the Missouri Farm Service Agency, said Farm Service Agency county offices have received applications from 36,268 livestock producers and paid out over $50.6 million in benefits.

“There may still be eligible producers who have not signed up,” Kelley said. “They only have three weeks do so. I encourage them to visit their county office and sign up as soon as possible.”

Kelley said USDA carefully considered livestock numbers in areas suffering from drought and designed the program so livestock producers in these areas could have access to much-needed direct payments, and avoid liquidation of livestock foundation herds.

Program sign-up began on Oct. 1 for producers with livestock headquarters operations physically located in counties that have received a secretarial primary disaster designation for drought between Jan. 1, 2001 and Sept. 19, 2002. Kelley said all 114 counties in the state are eligible for the program. Counties named as contiguous counties are not eligible for the program.

Eligible livestock include beef and dairy cattle, buffalo and beefalo, sheep and goats. The producer must have owned the livestock on June 1 and for a period of at least 90 days.

“The June 1 date could have occurred any time during the 90-day period — at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end,” Kelley said.

Program payment rates are based on standard feed consumption data for each eligible type of livestock and are index against beef cattle. The payment rates are: beef cattle is $18 per head; dairy cattle $31.50 per head; buffalo and beefalo $18 per head; and sheep and goats $4.50 per head.

Producers are subject to $2.5 million gross income limit, and payments are limited to $40,000 per person.