Sullivan Independent News - USDA Holding Signup For Livestock And Crop Disaster Programs

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Farm
USDA Holding Signup For Livestock And Crop Disaster Programs
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Mar 26, 2008, 14:57:00

The Franklin County Farm Service Agency (FSA) director, Sheria Yancey, announced her office is currently taking applications for the Livestock Compensation Program and Crop Disaster Program.
LCP compensates livestock producers for grazing losses occurring between Jan. 1, 2005 and Dec. 31, 2007 due to a natural disaster.
Yancey stated, “Franklin County was declared a disaster area in the years of 2005, 2006 and 2007 due to drought.”
Producers will need to have their livestock numbers they had on hand on Jan. 1, 2005 and Jan. 1, 2006 and kept until at least Apr. 16 of that year.
Non-adult beef cattle must have been 500 pounds on Jan. 1, and you must have kept them to Apr. 16 of that year to be counted. The 2007 disaster year has been added recently.
The start date of the declaration is Apr. 4, 2007. Livestock numbers on hand Apr. 4, 2007 will be the numbers needed to make application. The non-adults will be counted if they are 500 pounds on Apr. 4, 2007.
Sheep, goats, pasture raised swine, buffalo, beefalo, equine used for farming purposes, and poultry on pasture are also eligible. Producers must choose only one year to apply for benefits.
CDP provides benefits to farmers who suffered quantity and quality losses to 2005, 2006 or 2007 crops from natural disasters. Producers who incurred qualifying losses in 2005, 2006 or 2007 must choose only one year to apply for benefits.
Producers may apply for benefits for losses to multiple commodities as long as the losses occurred in the same crop year. Only producers who obtained crop insurance coverage or coverage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for the year of loss will be eligible for CDP benefits.
Producers must have suffered quantity losses in excess of 35 percent to be eligible for CDP.
The FSA Office at 1004 Vondera Ave., Union, is currently taking applications to sign up for any of these programs. Currently no ending date for enrollment has been announced. Call the office at 636-583-2303, ext. 2, for a time to enroll.
More information about LCP and CDP is available in a fact sheet titled, Agricultural Assistance Act of 2007, found on FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov, click on Disaster Assistance Programs.