– Stan Smith, PA, Fairfield County OSU Extension
Drought conditions are not expected to ease soon.
The most recent release from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than 77% of Ohio is experiencing drought conditions with “extreme drought” in about a 25% of the state and 18 Ohio counties seeing D4, or “exceptional drought” conditions. Forecasts suggest these conditions are likely to worsen before getting better. In response, Ohio State University Extension, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Ohio Department of Agriculture are extending assistance to agricultural producers through a variety of programs and opportunities. Following is a partial listing of opportunities Cattlemen may explore.
Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): This program provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses due to drought on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or that is reported on the FSA-578 with initial intended use of grazing. See this fact sheet on LFP and contact your local FSA office for application details.
Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP): This program provides emergency assistance to eligible producers for losses resulting from the cost of transporting water to livestock and hauling livestock to forage or other grazing acres due to a qualifying drought. See this fact sheet on ELAP and contact your FSA office for application details.
Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool: FSA has developed an on-line disaster assistance discover tool which allows producers to learn the USDA assistance programs which might fit their operation due to this year’s drought. This tool can be accessed at: https://www.farmers.gov/protection-recovery/disaster-tool
Ohio Department of Agriculture establishes Ohio Hay Directory: ODA recently announced the creation of a hay directory to benefit livestock producers affected by the current drought. Producers having forages for sale may post their offerings on the site, and producers needing forage can find available supplies listed there for sale. Follow this link to the Ohio Hay Directory.
For reference the OSU Extension Beef Team maintains a compendium of previously published articles on Addressing Feed & Forage Shortages.
Also see OSU Extension’s Resources for Ohio’s farmers to navigate challenging issues
Find a comprehensive listing of available assistance in the posting on the OSU Farm Office blog.
With the forecast not favorable for conditions to ease anytime soon, continue to visit beef.osu.edu for the latest on drought management consideration and drought relief programs.