To
provide direct payments to eligible livestock producers who suffered
grazing losses due to drought, hot weather, disease, insect infestation,
fire, hurricane, flood, fire, earthquake, severe storm, or other
disasters during the 2000 crop year. Benefits will be provided to
eligible livestock producers only in those counties where a severe
natural disaster occurred. A county must have been approved as a
primary disaster area under a Secretarial disaster designation or
Presidential disaster declaration after January 1, 2000, and subsequently
approved for participation in the Livestock Assistance Program (LAP)
by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
LAP
provides direct payments to eligible livestock producers who suffered
40 percent or greater grazing loss for three or more months due
to a natural disaster during calendar year 2000. There are no use
restrictions on the benefits received under this program.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: An applicant must meet all of the
following conditions as determined by the approving official: (1)
May not have total annual gross revenue in excess of $2.5 million;
(2) must have grazing land in a county or parish or part of a county
or parish approved for LAP; and (3) suffered a 40 percent or greater
grazing loss for 3 consecutive months during the LAP payment period
approved for the county. An applicant must also be an established
livestock producer who is: (1) Actively engaged in farming; (2)
a citizen of, or legal resident alien in the United States; (3)
a farm cooperative, private domestic corporation, partnership, or
joint operation in which a majority interest is held by the members,
stockholders, or partners who are citizens of, or legal resident
alien of the United States; (4) any Indian tribe or tribal organization
of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act; (5)
any organization under the Indian Reorganization Act or Financing
Act; and (6) any economic enterprise under the Indian Financing
Act of 1974.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: An applicant must meet all of
the following conditions as determined by the approving official:
(1) May not have total annual gross revenue in excess of $2.5
million; (2) payment limitation for 2000 LAP benefits is $40,000
per person as determined according to 7 CFR Part 1439, and 1-PL,
Part 4; (3) be actively engaged in farming with at least 10 percent
of gross revenue derived from production of livestock; (4) must
have grazing land in a county or parish or part of a county or
parish approved for LAP; and (5) suffered a 40 percent or greater
grazing loss for 3 consecutive months during the LAP payment period
approved for the county. An applicant must also be an established
livestock producer who is: (1) Actively engaged in farming; (2)
a citizen of, or legal resident alien in the United States; (3)
a farm cooperative, private domestic corporation, partnership,
or joint operation in which a majority interest is held by the
members, stockholders, or partners who are citizens of, or legal
resident alien of the United States; (4) any Indian tribe or tribal
organization of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act; (5) any organization under the Indian Reorganization Act
or Financing Act; and (6) any economic enterprise under the Indian
Financing Act of 1974.
Credentials/Documentation:
Applicants must certify: (1) Percent of grazing losses for each
type of grazing, number of eligible livestock and date of ownership
during the payment period by livestock type and weight class,
and number of grazing acres that support eligible livestock; (2)
that annual gross revenue is not in excess of $2.5 million; and
(3) derives at least 10 percent of gross revenue from the production
of livestock.
Pre-application
Coordination: None. This program is excluded
from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: Applicants visit the county or
parish Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in the eligible county
or parish to make application, certify eligibility and report
percent of grazing loss, number of grazing acres, and number of
eligible livestock by type and weight on Form CCC-740.
Award
Procedure: LAP 1999 all application data was
uploaded by computer to the FSA national data processing center
in Kansas City, MO on February 25, 2000. Totals were tabulated
to determine if authorized funding would be exceeded. Based upon
the number of applicants and total dollar value of applications,
a national payment factor of .46 was established. This factor
is being applied to all calculated payments before issuance to
the producer. The 2000 LAP factor will be determined at a later
date.
Deadlines:
Sign-up for assistance under the 2000 LAP began January 18, 2000.
Date for ending the sign-up will be determined at a later date.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Unknown at this
time.
Appeals:
Applicants may appeal to the county and State FSA committees and
to the National Appeals Division. Producers' grazing losses in
excess of the maximum grazing loss for the county are not appealable.
Renewals:
Not applicable.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: Formula and matching
requirements are not considered under this program.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Payment is
made by check or direct deposit after determining applicant eligibility.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
There are no reports due for post assistance requirements under
this program.
Audits:
Recipients under these programs are subject to audit by the Office
of the Regional Inspector General, USDA.
Records:
Livestock producers or any other individual or entity receiving
assistance for LAP shall maintain and retain financial books and
records which will permit verification of all transactions for
at least 3 years, following the end of the calendar year in which
assistance was provided.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 12-4336-0-3-351.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $188,167,477; FY 02 est $429,752,000; and FY 03
est $0.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
There is no minimum amount of assistance which may be received
by an individual applicant. The national "person" limit (before
national factoring) is $40,000. In 2001: $10 to $40,000; Average:
$875. For the 2002 LAP unknown at this time.
Payments made under the 1998 and 1999 Livestock Assistance Program
during fiscal year 2001 totaled $188,167,477, which includes very
small adjustments for the 1998 program. Payments for 2001 LAP has
not been determined at this time.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Program is announced through news media and in letters to agricultural
producers in the county. Regulations published in the Federal Register,
7 CFR Part 1439. Agency procedures are listed in Handbook 1-DAP.
LAP Fact Sheet may be located on line at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/pubfacts.htm.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Consult the local phone directory
for location of the nearest county FSA office. If no listing, contact
the appropriate State FSA office listed in the Farm Service Agency
section of Appendix IV of the Catalog or on the WEB at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/edso/.
Headquarters
Office: Department of Agriculture, Farm Service
Agency, Production, Emergencies, and Compliance Division, Emergency
Preparedness and Program Branch, Stop 0517, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-0517. Telephone: (202) 720-7641.
Web
Site Address: http://www.fsa.usda.gov
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Not applicable.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
All producers meeting eligibility requirements may receive assistance
subject to the national payment factor. Applications are non-competitive.
