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Hot Topics Relating to Livestock and Forages
Livestock Assistance Grant Program
Livestock Assistance Grant Program
Arkansas Agriculture Department
#1 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas 72205
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing
block grants to states to help livestock producers in 20 states partially
recover forage production losses due to certain drought conditions experienced
during 2006.
The Arkansas Agriculture Department is receiving $2.0
million under this program for distribution to livestock producers in 39
Arkansas counties. A list of eligible counties appears on the right margin of
the attached application form.
The Arkansas Agriculture Department did not select the
Arkansas counties eligible for assistance. The counties were selected by USDA
using data from the Drought Monitor operated by the National Drought Mitigation
Center at Lincoln, Nebraska (http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/
for more information). Only counties that were at drought levels D3 or D4
categories anytime from March 7, 2006 through August 31, 2006 are eligible for
assistance.
Producer Eligibility
To be eligible for the Livestock Assistance Grant Program,
a producer must meet all of the following criteria:
- Suffered livestock forage production losses from
drought during the period of March 7, 2006 – August 31, 2006. Examples of
losses may include: cost of lost forage, supplemental feeding costs, costs
of relocating livestock to new feed supplies, increased feed transportation
costs and the cost of emergency water supplies.
- Owned eligible livestock for commercial use as part of
a farming operation on March 7, 2006.
- Owned the livestock claimed for
compensation by this program for at least 30 days.
Eligible Livestock
The following livestock are eligible for this
program:
- Adult beef cattle older than 2 years old (cows and
bulls)
- Adult dairy cattle older than 2 years old (cows and
bulls)
- Replacement cattle (beef and dairy; heifers and bulls)
- Stocker beef cattle (heifers, steers and bulls)
- Adult sheep
Payment:
- Payments will be made on a per head basis to
compensate eligible producers for drought-related forage losses incurred for
eligible livestock during the period of March 7, 2006 – August 31, 2006.
- Per head payment rates will ultimately be determined
by the total number of eligible livestock claimed by all Arkansas applicants
and will differ for adult cattle, replacement cattle, stocker cattle and
adult sheep based on standard animal units.
- The per head payment rate cannot be determined until
all applications are received and processed.
- An eligible producer cannot receive more than $10,000
in payments under this program.
- Payments cannot exceed actual forage production
losses.
- Because of the number of applications anticipated and
the amount of funds available, payment will likely cover only partial
losses. If payments are claimed for all estimated eligible livestock in all
Arkansas eligible counties, the payment rate will be in the range of $2.15
per animal unit.
Application
Applications for participation in the Livestock Assistance
Grant Program must be submitted on the approved Arkansas Agriculture Department
form and accompanied by a completed Federal Form W-9. All applications must be
postmarked on or before Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Hand delivered
applications must be received by the Arkansas Agriculture Department before the
close of business Wednesday, November 15, 2006. Incomplete and/or unsigned applications
will not be considered. Information provided in the application form will be
subject to on-site verification by livestock inspectors of the Arkansas
Livestock and Poultry Commission (ALPC) or field inspectors of the Arkansas
State Plant Board (ASPB). ALPC and ASPB are agencies of the Arkansas
Agriculture Department.
The University of Arkansas’
Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service county offices, the
Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association and Arkansas Farm Bureau’s county offices.
Application forms and information also are available on the following websites:
Arkansas Agriculture Department (www.aad.ar.gov),
Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association (www.arbeef.org)
and Arkansas Farm Bureau (www.arfb.com
– link Livestock Drought Assistance Grant).
Potential applicants also may
contact the Arkansas Agriculture Department directly at #1 Natural Resources
Drive, Little Rock, AR 72205 or telephone 501-683-4851.
- A self-addressed, metered envelope for return to the
Department at Little Rock will be available where applications are
distributed or when mailed directly from the Department.
Forms
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