Utah beef and dairy cow producers, as well as owners of sheep, goat, buffalo and beefalo who suffered losses due to drought are eligible for immediate compensation from the newly created Livestock Compensation Program. Livestock owners are encouraged to contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to sign up for the program. Payments are expected as soon as the FSA can process the applications. Instructions on how to apply for aid are also available.

"This is exactly the kind of help Utah cattle and sheep producers have been seeking," said Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food, Cary G. Peterson.

Utah is among seven states where the cash assistance will be made available statewide. Qualifying counties in another 30 states are also eligible for the payments.

Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced on September 19, that approximately $750 million is being made available for the new Livestock Compensation Program. The program is limited to livestock producers in counties that have received primary disaster designation due to drought in 2001 and/or 2002. Utah Governor, Mike Leavitt, and Secretary Veneman announced earlier this year that Utah's severe drought, as well as a cricket and grasshopper infestation, high winds, hail, and frost have qualified the state for state and federal disaster designations.

Sign up will begin Oct. 1 with payments made soon thereafter.
"This program will provide immediate assistance to producers who need it the most," said Veneman. "The Bush Administration continues to use every available tool to provide disaster assistance to America's farmers and ranchers who have been struck by severe drought conditions. This program will particularly help livestock producers who have very few risk management tools available to help during these difficult times."

Veneman said that the cash assistance will be made available statewide in Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina and Utah. Assistance will also be available in specified counties in 30 other drought affected states including California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.

The funding for the program will come from Section 32, a permanent appropriation, that since 1935 has earmarked the equivalent of 30 percent of annual customs receipts to support the U.S. agriculture sector. Payments will be based on standard feed consumption data for each eligible type of livestock. The payment rate is $18 per animal consuming unit, which is indexed against beef cattle. Types of livestock adjusted by these factors are:

Beef Cows $18.00/head
Dairy Cows $31.50/head
Stockers $13.50/head
Buffalo and Beefalo $18.00/head
Sheep $4.50/head

The program announced today is in addition to other programs available to eligible producers that to date total $1.3 billion. On Aug. 12, Secretary Veneman authorized a $150 million feed assistance program to help cow-calf operators in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. On Sept. 9, Veneman authorized emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres nationally to provide relief for farmers and ranchers, which is valued at $100 million. USDA has provided some $54 million for the Emergency Conservation Program to help producers rehabilitate farmlands damaged by natural disasters. The Federal Crop Insurance program provides indemnities for production and revenue losses; and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible producers affected by natural disasters, is expected to provide $250 million.

For more information about this program and other drought and weather-related information, visit USDA's website.