Livestock Indemnity Program

The 2008 Farm Bill includes the Livestock Indemnity Program, which provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have incurred livestock death losses due to a natural disaster, between Jan. 1, 2008, and Oct. 1, 2011.

Losses because of blizzards, disease, extreme cold or heat, floods, hurricanes and wildfires are eligible for LIP.

The USDA's Farm Service Agency advises farmers and ranchers who lose livestock due to adverse weather to compile and document their livestock death losses. Verifiable death loss documentation will not be accepted by the County Office until LIP applications are filed.

Adequate documentation must prove the death of eligible livestock occurred as a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event in the calendar year for which benefits are being requested.

If adequate verifiable proof of death records documentation is not available, a livestock producer may provide reliable records, along with verifiable beginning and ending inventory, as proof of death.

Certifications of livestock deaths by third parties may be accepted by FSA only if verifiable proof of death records or reliable proof of death records along with verifiable beginning and ending inventory records are not available.