FACTSHEET • MAY 2023 fsa.usda.gov

Overview

The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides compensation 

to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses 

for covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage 

crop acreage of native and improved pastureland with permanent 

vegetative cover or acreage planted specifically for grazing. 

Grazing losses must occur on land physically located in a county 

experiencing a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period 

for the county.

LFP also provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that 

have covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage 

crop acreage on rangeland managed by a federal agency if the 

eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the federal agency from 

grazing the normal permitted livestock on the manage rangeland 

due to a qualifying fire.

The qualifying drought and qualifying grazing losses, and/or 

notification of prohibition to graze Federal land due to fire, must 

have occurred in the grazing period and crop year. For grazing losses 

on rangeland managed by a federal agency, an eligible livestock 

producer may elect to receive assistance for losses due to drought 

conditions or fire conditions, if applicable, but not both.

LFP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Eligible Counties for Drought

An eligible livestock producer who, as a grazed forage crop 

producer, owns or leases grazing land or pastureland physically 

located in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:

• D2 (severe drought) intensity in any area of the county for at 

least eight consecutive weeks during the normal grazing period 

is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to one 

monthly payment;

• D3 (extreme drought) intensity in any area of the county at 

any time during the normal grazing period is eligible to receive 

assistance in an amount equal to three monthly payments;

• D3 (extreme drought) intensity in any area of the county for at 

least four weeks during the normal grazing period or is rated a 

D4 (exceptional drought) intensity at any time during the normal 

grazing period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount 

equal to four monthly payments; or

• D4 (exceptional drought) in a county for four weeks (not 

necessarily four consecutive weeks) during the normal grazing 

period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to five 

monthly payments.

A map of eligible counties for LFP drought 

can be found at fsa.usda.gov/programsand-services/disaster-assistanceprogram/livestock-forage/index.

Eligible Livestock

Eligible livestock are grazing animals 

that satisfy the majority of net energy 

requirement of nutrition via grazing of 

forage grasses or legumes and include such 

species as alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/ 

bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, 

equine, goats, llamas, ostrich, reindeer or 

sheep.

Within those species animals that are 

eligible include those that are or would 

have been grazing the eligible grazing land 

or pastureland:

• During the normal grazing period for 

the specific type of grazing land or 

pastureland for the county; or

• When the federal agency prohibited the 

livestock producer from having livestock 

graze the normally permitted livestock 

on the managed rangeland due to fire. 

LFP - Livestock Forage Disaster Program

DISASTER ASSISTANCE
FACTSHEET • MAY 2023 fsa.usda.gov

LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM 2

Eligible Livestock must:

• Have been owned, leased, purchased, entered into 

a contract to purchase, or held by a contract grower 

during the 60 days prior to the beginning date of a 

qualifying drought or fire condition;

• Have been sold or otherwise disposed of due to 

a qualifying drought condition during the current 

production year or up to two production years 

immediately preceding the current production year 

if there is a systemic drought condition.

• Have been maintained for commercial use as part 

of a farming operation on the beginning date of the 

eligible drought or fire condition;

• Not have been produced and maintained for 

reasons other than commercial use as part of a 

farming operation including, but are not limited 

to, wild free-roaming animals or livestock used for 

hunting, racing or wagering, or consumption by the 

owner; and

• Not have been livestock that were or would have 

been in a feedlot on the beginning date of the 

qualifying drought or fire as part of the normal 

business operation of the livestock producer 

grower.

Eligible Producers

To be eligible for LFP, persons or legal entities must be 

a U.S. citizen, resident alien, partnership of U.S. citizens, 

a legal entity organized under State law, or an Indian 

tribe or tribal organization defined in the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act that:

• Own, cash or share lease, or be a contract grower 

of covered livestock during the 60 calendar days 

before the beginning date of a qualifying drought or 

fire;

• Provide pastureland or grazing land for covered 

livestock, including cash-rented pastureland or 

grazing land as of the date of the qualifying drought 

or fire that is either:

• Physically located in a county affected by a 

qualifying drought during the normal grazing 

period for the county; or

• Rangeland managed by a federal agency 

for which the otherwise eligible livestock 

producer is prohibited by the federal agency 

from grazing the normally permitted livestock 

because of a qualifying fire.

• Certify that they have suffered a grazing loss 

because of a qualifying drought or fire; and

• Timely file an acreage report for all grazing land for 

which a grazing loss is being claimed.

Payments

FSA will calculate LFP payments for an eligible livestock 

producer for grazing losses because of a qualifying 

drought equal to payment factors of one, three, four or 

five times the LFP monthly payment rate (see table below for payment rates). The LFP monthly payment rate 

for drought is equal to 60 percent of the lesser of either 

the monthly feed cost

• For all covered livestock owned or leased by the 

eligible livestock producer; or

• Calculated by using the normal carrying capacity 

of the eligible grazing land of the eligible livestock 

producer.

Total LFP payments to an eligible livestock producer in 

a calendar year for grazing losses will not exceed five 

monthly payments for the same kind, type, and weight 

range of livestock.

In the case of an eligible livestock producer who 

sold or otherwise disposed of livestock because of 

drought conditions in one or both of the two previous 

production years immediately preceding the current 

production year, the payment rate will equal 80 percent 

of the monthly payment rate.

FSA will calculate LFP payments for eligible livestock 

producers for losses suffered because of a qualifying 

fire on federally managed rangeland for which the 

producer is prohibited from grazing the normally 

permitted livestock. The payment begins on the first 

day the permitted livestock are prohibited from grazing 

the eligible rangeland and ending on the earlier of the 

last day of the federal lease of the eligible livestock 

producer or the day that would make the period a 180 

calendar-day period. The payment rate is 50 percent 

of the monthly feed cost for the number of days the 

livestock producer is prohibited from having livestock 

graze the managed rangeland because of a qualifying 

fire, not to exceed 180 calendar days.
FACTSHEET • MAY 2023 fsa.usda.gov

LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM 3

Payment Limitation

The Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill) 

established a maximum annual per person and legal 

entity payment limitation for LFP (without regard to any 

other program) of $125,000. 

Therefore, for 2019 and subsequent program years, 

no person or legal entity, excluding a joint venture or 

general partnership, may receive, directly or indirectly, 

more than $125,000 total in payments under LFP. The 

average adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation relating 

to limits on payments for persons or legal entities, 

excluding joint ventures and general partnerships, with 

certain levels of AGI will apply. Specifically, a person or 

legal entity with an AGI (as defined in 7 CFR Part 1400) 

that exceeds $900,000 will not be eligible to receive LFP 

payments.

Direct attribution provisions apply to LFP. Under direct 

attribution, any payment to a legal entity will also be 

considered for payment limitation purposes to be a 

payment to persons or legal entities with an interest in 

the legal entity or in a sub-entity. To learn more, visit 

the Payment Eligibility and Payment Limitations fact 

sheet at fsa.usda.gov/payment-limitations.

Enrollment

Eligible livestock producers who are also producers of 

grazed forage crop acreage must provide a completed 

application for payment and required supporting 

documentation to their FSA office within 30 calendar 

days after the end of the calendar year in which the 

grazing loss occurred.

Contract growers must include a copy of the grower 

contract and any other supporting documents required 

for determining contract grower eligibility.

Supporting documents must show evidence of loss and 

that grazing land or pastureland is owned or leased.

If a loss of grazing was due to a fire that the eligible 

livestock producer was prohibited by the federal agency 

from having livestock graze the normal permitted 

livestock on the managed rangeland due to a fire 

supporting documentation received from that federal 

agency must be provided.

FSA will use data provided by the applicant to 

determine eligibility for program benefits. Without 

all required supporting documentation and data, the 

application will not be able to be approved and benefits 

cannot be provided.

 

For More Information

This fact sheet is for informational purposes only; other 

eligibility requirements or restrictions may apply. To 

find more information about FSA disaster assistance 

programs, visit farmers.gov or contact your local FSA 

office. To find your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/

service-center-locator.
LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM 4

LIVESTOCK PAYMENT RATES

KIND TYPE WEIGHT RANGE

PAYMENT RATE PER HEAD

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Beef Adult Bulls, Cows $29.34 $31.89 $31.18 $47.29 $58.12

Non-Adult 500 pounds or more $22.01 $23.92 $23.38 $35.47 $43.59

Less than 500 pounds $14.67 $15.94 $15.59 $23.64 $29.06

Dairy Adult Bulls, Cows $76.29 $82.91 $81.07 $122.95 $151.12

Non-Adult 500 pounds or more $22.01 $23.92 $23.38 $35.47 $43.59

Less than 500 pounds $14.67 $15.94 $15.59 $23.64 $29.06

Beefalo Adult Bulls, Cows $29.34 $31.89 $31.18 $47.29 $58.12

Non-Adult 500 pounds or more $22.01 $23.92 $23.38 $35.47 $43.59

Less than 500 pounds $14.67 $15.94 $15.59 $23.64 $29.06

Buffalo/

Bison

Adult Bulls, Cows $29.34 $31.89 $31.18 $47.29 $58.12

Non-Adult 500 pounds or more $22.01 $23.92 $23.38 $35.47 $43.59

Less than 500 pounds $14.67 $15.94 $15.59 $23.64 $29.06

Sheep All $7.34 $7.97 $7.79 $11.82 $14.53

Goats All $7.34 $7.97 $7.79 $11.82 $14.53

Deer All $7.34 $7.97 $7.79 $11.82 $14.53

Equine All $21.71 $23.60 $23.07 $34.99 $43.01

Elk All $15.85 $17.22 $16.84 $25.54 $31.39

Reindeer All $6.46 $7.02 $6.87 $10.42 $12.80

Alpacas All $24.17 $26.27 $25.68 $38.95 $47.88

Emus All $15.02 $16.32 $15.96 $24.20 $29.75

Llamas All $10.71 $11.64 $11.38 $17.26 $21.21

Ostrich All $26.01 $31.97

NOTE: A grazing animal is defined as those species of livestock that, from a nutritional and physiological perspective, satisfy 

more than 50 percent of their net energy requirement through the consumption of growing forage grasses and legumes, 

regardless whether or not they are grazing or are present on grazing land or pastureland. Unweaned livestock are not 

considered a grazing animal and are ineligible for LFP.

The LFP monthly payment rate for losses because of a qualifying drought is calculated at 60 percent of the smaller of the 

monthly feed cost payment rate per head in the table above or the monthly feed cost based on the normal carrying capacity 

of the eligible grazing or pastureland acres.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

FACTSHEET • MAY 2023