Eligible livestock producers affected by floods and wildfires in 2023 and 2024 will have access to approximately $1 billion in disaster recovery benefits under the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP), according to an announcement from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. The support is intended to offset increased supplemental feed costs resulting from these disasters. Sign-up for the program begins on September 15, with a deadline for applications set for October 31, 2025.
“We are providing continued support for livestock producers whose livelihoods and way of life have been disrupted by catastrophic floods, wildfires, and poor forage conditions in 2023 and 2024. Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is standing shoulder to shoulder with America’s farmers and ranchers, delivering the resources they need to stay in business, feed their families, and keep our food supply strong,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This announcement builds on the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) and the historic levels of assistance we have rolled out over the last few months, once again proving that this administration is working as quickly as possible to get help out the door and into the hands of livestock and dairy producers. USDA will continue to put farmers first and ensure they have the relief they need to weather storms and build for the future.”
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has identified eligible counties that experienced qualifying flood or wildfire events during 2023 or 2024. Producers in these areas do not need to submit additional documentation regarding the disaster event; a list of approved counties can be found at fsa.usda.gov/elrp. Producers outside these counties may still apply but must provide evidence that their location was affected by a qualifying disaster event. FSA county committees will review such applications.
The ELRP program covers several types of livestock including cattle, bison, goats, sheep, alpacas, deer, elk, emus, equine animals such as horses or donkeys, llamas, ostriches, reindeer, buffalo, beefalo, and dairy cattle—criteria similar to those used in other FSA programs like the Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
Assistance related specifically to wildfires applies only on non-federally managed land where participants did not already receive aid through LFP or previous rounds of ELRP funding distributed earlier this year.
Payments under ELRP are calculated based on monthly feed costs using formulas from existing programs: up to 60% of one month’s feed costs for wildfires or three months’ costs for floods. There is an annual payment cap of $125,000 per producer across related programs; however, eligible applicants may request an exception increasing this limit up to $250,000 by submitting form FSA-510.
The USDA maintains a public web page detailing updates about disaster assistance rollout at https://fsa.usda.gov/. Producers seeking more information can also contact local FSA offices or manage records through their account at https://farmers.gov/.
The FSA continues its role in supporting agricultural operations through various credit programs and conservation initiatives administered nationwide via state offices.
