Reminder to Apply for Livestock Indemnity Payment

Producers who have suffered a potentially eligible loss of livestock between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 13, 2009, have until Sept. 13, 2009, to provide notice of the loss to the local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office.

"These payments are extremely important as sheep producers restock from the difficult winters in 2008 and 2009," commented Peter Orwick, executive director for the American Sheep Industry Association. "We want to make sure that the Sept. 13 date does not slip by."

The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) is designed to provide assistance to livestock producers for livestock deaths that result from disaster. LIP compensates livestock owners and contract growers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather, including losses due to hurricanes, floods, blizzards, disease, wildfires, extreme heat and extreme cold. Eligible losses must have occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2008, and before Oct. 1, 2011.

Values established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's market news and the FSA for sheep are $130 for rams, $82 for all ewes and $102 for lambs lost.

After July 13, 2009, producers have 30 days after the apparent death of the livestock to file a notice of loss to the FSA office.

<< Back