Livestock assistance sign-up ends Nov. 17

Nevada Daily Mail

The Vernon County FSA is reminding local producers that there are just a few more days to go, and the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) is still accepting applications for the Livestock Assistance Grant Program to assist with partially recovering forage production losses due to certain drought conditions. Applications must be postmarked on or before Friday, Nov. 17.

"To date, we have received over 5000 applications from producers seeking assistance for over 390,000 head of livestock and expect to receive more in the coming days," said Fred Ferrell, director of MDA. "We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing funding to 30 of our counties that suffered the most forage loss."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in late August funding to help agricultural producers deal with the drought. The package included a $50 million state block grant program to aid livestock producers suffering from the effects of the 2006 drought. As part of this program, Missouri was allocated $2.7 million to distribute to producers.

Applications for the grant program are available online at www.mda.mo.gov, under "Drought Information," from the Farm Service Agency offices located in Vernon County, and University of Missouri Extension offices. Eligible livestock owners must have had their livestock located within the 30 counties identified for the program. The counties are: Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Camden, Cass, Cedar, Christian, Cooper, Dade, Greene, Henry, Hickory, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, McDonald, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Newton, Pettis, Polk, Ray, St. Clair, Saline, Stone and Vernon. Eligible livestock include: adult beef cows, adult dairy cows, adult sheep ewes, adult goat does, adult equine mares, adult elk cows and adult bison cows.

All applications must be mailed to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 630, Jefferson City, MO 65102. No applications will be accepted via fax or e-mail. No late applications will be accepted.

Local FSA representative Jawan Thompson said in a press release, "Even though the payment on this program may be small, we encourage all eligible producers to send in the application as it only takes a few minutes to complete.

"Due to the severity and magnitude of the hay and pasture losses these past two years, many livestock producers are requesting reasonable assistance from their congressman and in past livestock programs, eligibility for additional assistance may be tied to your participation in the first livestock program."

Producers with questions regarding the application or the program are encouraged to contact MDA at (573) 526-4727 or via e-mail at lagp@mda.mo.gov, or contact the Vernon County FSA office at 102 W. Allison, Nevada, (417) 667-8137.