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Livestock Forage Program

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The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who have covered livestock and produce grazed forage crop acreage that has suffered a loss of grazed forage due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county.

The LFP also provides payments to eligible livestock owners or contract growers who are producers of grazed forage crop acreage on rangeland managed by a federal agency if the eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to a qualifying fire.

An eligible livestock owner or contract grower who, as a grazed forage crop producer, owns or leases grazing land or pastureland physically located in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:

  • D2 (severe drought) intensity in any area of the county for at least eight consecutive weeks during the normal grazing period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to one monthly payment
  • D3 (extreme drought) intensity in any area of the county at any time during the normal grazing period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to three monthly payments
  • D3 (extreme drought) intensity in any area of the county for at least four weeks during the normal grazing period or is rated a D4 (exceptional drought) intensity at any time during the normal grazing period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to four monthly payments
  • D4 (exceptional drought) in a county for four weeks (not necessarily four consecutive weeks) during the normal grazing period is eligible to receive assistance in an amount equal to five monthly payments

The LFP grazing season in North Dakota starts on April 15. A number of counties are in D3 now, so LFP payments will be very likely this year. In 2020, only Burleigh, Oliver and Morton counties qualified for a one month payment. In 2017, more than $61 million in LFP was paid to North Dakota producers.

Eligible livestock are grazing animals that satisfy the majority of net energy requirement of nutrition via grazing of forage grasses or legumes and include such species as alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer and sheep. Within those species, animals that are eligible include those that are or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland:

  • During the normal grazing period for the specific type of grazing land or pastureland for the county
  • When the federal agency prohibited the livestock owner or contract grower from having livestock graze the normally permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to fire

To help calculate your LFP payments use the NDSU Livestock Forage Disaster Payments Calculator.

Contact your Farm Service Agency office for further information. Or visit the USDA's LFP website.

- Ron Haugen, NDSU Extension Farm Management Specialist