As a reminder, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) has programs available to help producers recover from recent wildfires. The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) can help with the restoration or replacement of fences, including livestock cross fences, boundary fences, cattle gates and wildlife exclusion fences on agricultural land. To get the most benefit from ECP, landowners should contact FSA before rebuilding fences to make sure program requirements are met. For fencing specifications, click here. Currently, Rawlins County is accepting ECP applications through April 9. Sign-up periods for additional counties will be announced soon.
The Emergency Livestock Assistance Program provides eligible producers with compensation for feed and grazing losses. Producers who experience livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality or sell injured livestock at a reduced price may be eligible for the Livestock Indemnity Program. To participate in either program, producers must submit all required forms, including the appropriate documentation for notice of loss or reduced sales to FSA no later than March 1, 2027. For more information, click here.
To increase access to forage for producers impacted by the recent wildfires, FSA also has authorized the emergency use of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres, approving all counties in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to donate grazing rights or haying authority for livestock producers affected by wildfires. Emergency haying and grazing is available until the beginning of the primary nesting season (PNS). The PNS date varies by state. Producers should contact their local FSA office to determine eligibility, availability and stocking rates or to donate emergency haying and grazing rights to producers in need of forage access.
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