No water means no feed for cattle.
Extreme drought conditions in the northern portion of our area have triggered federal assistance for farmers and ranchers that started Saturday, May 1st.
The Livestock Forage Disaster Assistance Program, or LFP for short, is designed to provide financial assistance to farmers and ranchers in drought-stricken areas.
Counties in extreme drought conditions, or D3, automatically are eligible for this assistance. in the Black Hills Region, this includes Meade, Butte, Harding, Perkins and Ziebach county.
James Neill, Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency for the USDA, talked in detail about what triggers this assistance.
“The way that the livestock program works, it’s triggered based upon a D3 anywhere in the county.” Neill explained, “So, if you look at the drought monitor right now you’re going to see Meade County specifically right north by 212 and Faith and mud Butte area is where that D3 line is up by. That triggers the entire county for eligibility for LFP.”
A county can also be eligible if it remains in severe drought conditions, or D2, for up to 8 weeks. Pennington county is currently in the running based upon those parameters.
“Let’s say its December, you still have time in order to take advantage of that eligibility because its good for the entire year.”
If you’re looking to find out about assistance in your area, you can click HERE
The drought map is updated every Thursday, and so assistance can trigger for new areas if the drought expands into new counties through this year. with the current long range forecast, that looks like a distinct possibility as we head into late spring.
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