More NE Ga counties added to drought disaster list

Rabun, Habersham, and White counties are added to the list of Georgia counties designated as drought disaster areas. The declaration comes from the US Ag Department and brings to two dozen the number of Georgia counties where farmers are eligible for federal disaster assistance.

From the USDA…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency is now accepting applications in four additional eligible counties for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program to provide financial assistance to eligible livestock producers for 2023 grazing losses due to a qualifying drought. This expands upon a previous announcement of eligibility for twenty Georgia counties. The deadline to apply for LFP assistance is January 30, 2024.

To date, twenty-four Georgia counties have met the drought severity levels that trigger LFP eligibility for the 2023 program year. The four additional eligible counties are Habersham, Rabun, Towns, and White. Previously announced eligible counties are Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Dawson, Decatur, Early, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Miller, Murray, Pickens, Seminole, Union, Walker, and Whitfield. For LFP, qualifying drought triggers are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor. Visit the FSA LFP webpage for a list of eligible counties and grazing crops.

“Many of our livestock operations have faced the damaging impacts of recent drought conditions,” said Arthur Tripp, State Executive Director for FSA in Georgia. “We are excited that livestock producers in four additional Georgia counties will now be eligible to apply for this critical drought recovery assistance. I highly encourage producers in the eligible counties to reach out to their local USDA Service Center to learn if they qualify for LFP or other disaster assistance available through our agency.”

LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage crop acreage of native and improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or acreage planted specifically for grazing. Grazing losses must occur on land physically located in a county experiencing a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county.

Eligible livestock include alpacas, beef cattle, buffalo/bison, beefalo, dairy cattle, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, ostrich, reindeer, or sheep that have been or would have been grazing the eligible grazing land or pastureland during the normal grazing period.

To expedite the application process, producers are encouraged to gather and submit records documenting 2023 losses. Supporting documents may include information related to grazing leases, contract grower agreements, and more.

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