The Livestock Disaster Assistance Program Explained

Livestock producers face a different set of risks than crop farmers. They can't insure a calf crop the way a corn farmer insures a bushel yield. USDA addresses this through a suite of livestock disaster programs that compensate producers when weather events cause forage or feed losses, livestock deaths, or related impacts.

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)

LFP is the largest livestock disaster program by dollar volume in most years. It compensates eligible livestock producers in counties designated as drought disaster areas or affected by wildfire on federal grazing land. Payments are calculated based on the number of eligible livestock and the number of months of grazing loss. In severe drought years affecting Texas, Oklahoma, or the Northern Plains, LFP payments can reach hundreds of millions of dollars for a single state.

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)

LIP compensates producers for above-normal livestock death losses caused by eligible adverse weather (blizzards, flooding, extreme cold). Payment rates are set annually based on average market values for different types and ages of livestock.

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP)

ELAP covers losses not addressed by LFP or LIP — including feed transportation costs during drought, losses to honeybee colonies from disease or weather, and farm-raised fish losses. It's a catch-all program for livestock-related losses outside the main categories.

Tracking disaster payments

Livestock disaster payments show up in SubsidyLookup under their respective CFDA program numbers. Because these payments spike in disaster years, they can dramatically increase a state's total in specific fiscal years. Browse state pages and compare year-over-year to see disaster payment effects, or use the year index to identify years with unusually high livestock assistance nationally.