Recent Press Releases

Washington, D.C. —  Senator John Thune today announced that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for payments through the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) for losses that occurred on or after January 1, 2008. LIP, a permanent disaster assistance program established by the 2008 Farm Bill, provides producers with payments of 75 percent of the fair market value for livestock losses as a result of adverse weather such as floods, blizzards, and extreme heat.

"Permanent disaster relief programs like LIP help producers recover losses more quickly and efficiently than previous ad hoc disaster assistance," said Thune. "LIP and other permanent disaster programs are a safety net that producers in South Dakota can count on when natural disasters strike."

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Thune was instrumental in the writing of the 2008 Farm Bill. An effective and timely permanent disaster program was one of Senator Thune's highest priorities during the farm bill debate. Under previous ad hoc disaster programs, producers would commonly wait for longer than a year for Congress to act on disaster assistance. Earlier this year, Senator Thune joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging USDA to quickly implement rules for LIP and other permanent disaster programs.

The FSA will begin accepting applications for payments on July 13, 2009. Producers should contact their local FSA office for eligibility requirements and application procedures.

For livestock deaths that occurred during 2008, producers have until September 13, 2009 to file a Notice of Loss and submit a LIP application to FSA. For livestock deaths that occurred from January 1, 2009 to July 12, 2009, producers must file a Notice of Loss with FSA by September 13, 2009 and must apply for LIP payments by January 30, 2010. For livestock deaths that may occur from July 13, 2009 to December 31, 2009, producers have 30 days after the livestock death to file a Notice of Loss and must submit a LIP application by January 30, 2010.