BISMARCK – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released $1 billion in disaster relief for livestock producers impacted by wildfire or drought in 2023 or 2024. According to Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) funding comes as part of the $21 billion in weather-related assistance that he worked to include in the year-end legislation passed by Congress in December. The details of ELRP are as follows:

– This is the first of two assistance programs addressing losses impacting livestock producers. Additional ELRP assistance for other losses, including flooding, will be released later this summer, bringing the total livestock set-aside to $2 billion.

– The Farm Service Agency will use existing Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) data to streamline payment calculations and expedite relief.

– Emergency relief payments are automatically issued for producers who have an approved LFP application on file for 2023 and/or 2024. Producers do not have to contact USDA to receive payments.

Additional information and resources are available to producers on USDA’s website.

“This first round of $1 billion in emergency livestock assistance specifically targets wildfire losses, bringing needed relief to, and aiding the recovery of, ranchers in North Dakota,” Hoeven said.

Hoeven also continues working with USDA to advance the remaining $20 billion in weather-related assistance for losses in 2023 and 2024, following his efforts to advance the $10 billion in market-based assistance. North Dakota producers have since received nearly $565 million under the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program.