Rancher's Resources Quick Links
Gila County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Service Center
County Executive Director
Steven Yazzie
EMail:
steven.yazzie@usda.gov
Program Analyst
Jimenesha Manygoats
Email: jimenesha.manygoats@usda.gov
Farm Service Agency
Navajo/Gila County FSA Office
51 W Vista Dr, Suite 2
Holbrook, AZ 86025
Phone: (928) 524-3214 X100
Fax: (855) 220-1758
2025 FSA Drought Program Updates
2025 FSA Drought Programs
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Livestock Forage Program(LFP)List Item 1
May 2025 Update
The U.S. Drought Monitor triggered 4 months’ worth of payments under the 2025 Livestock Forage Program (LFP).
Gila County is eligible for 4 months’ worth of LFP payments due to the D3 Drought designation that began January 1, 2025. The monthly feed cost for the covered livestock will be calculated by multiplying the monthly payment rate per head times the number of eligible covered livestock. The LFP monthly payment rate for losses due to drought are calculated at 60% of the smaller of either the monthly feed cost for the covered livestock or the monthly feed cost using the normal carrying capacity/AUM’s.
Review and complete the LFP Program Inventory / Mitigated Worksheet for the cattle own/mitigated due to drought and return to the office, along with your 2024 grazing bills, either by FAX, mail, e-mail or drop off at our office (see address above). We will input the information into the program software to prepare the application and the estimated calculated payment information. The LFP deadline is January 30, 2026.
See the LFP - Livestock Forage Disaster Program Fact Sheet for full information.
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Emergency Livestock Assistance Program(ELAP)List Item 2
May 2025 Update
Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) now covers livestock transportation, livestock feed transportation as well as water hauling.
Feed and Livestock Transportation: ELAP feed and livestock transportation will pay for the current year feed transportation miles above normal year miles with a 25-mile reduction per truckload and a maximum of 1,000 miles per truckload. Provide receipts for feed transportation and livestock transportation.
Water Hauling: ELAP will pay for a maximum of 150 days of water hauling during the triggered drought year, this means you will maintain records/logs of water hauling for FY-2025 with dates and gallons hauled and may apply once you have finished hauling water or met the 150-day maximum.
Let the FSA office know if/when you have your information ready and we will proceed with the automated application and generate an estimated payment calculation. The deadline to apply for ELAP is January 30, 2026.
See the ELAP Livestock Assistance Program Fact Sheet for full information.
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Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP)List Item 3
April 2025 Update
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) authorized the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) to provide benefits to eligible livestock owners or contract growers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions, including: eligible adverse weather, eligible disease, and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law, including wolves and avian predators.
In addition, LIP provides assistance to eligible livestock owners that must sell livestock at a reduced price because of an injury from an eligible loss condition.
Owners or contract growers who suffer livestock losses due to an eligible cause of loss must submit a notice of loss and an application for payment to the local FSA office that serves the physical location county where the livestock losses occurred. All of the owner’s or contract grower’s interest in inventory of eligible livestock in that county for the calendar year must be accounted for and summarized when determining eligibility.
An owner or contract grower must file a notice of loss, an application for payment, and supporting documents by March 1 following the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred.
See the LIP-Livestock Forage Disaster Program Fact Sheet for full information.
Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) 2023/2024
Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) 2023/2024
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OverviewList Item 1
May 2025 Update
FSA is issuing emergency relief payments through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program to ranchers who have approved applications through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program for grazing losses due to eligible drought or wildfire in 2023 and/or 2024. Livestock producers can receive payment for one or both years.
Eligibility:
To be eligible for an ELRP payment, livestock producers must have suffered grazing losses in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks or a D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity during the 2023, 2024, or both calendar years; or whose permitted grazing on federally managed lands was reduced due to wildfire.
How to Apply:
To streamline and simplify the delivery of ELRP benefits, eligible livestock producers are not required to submit an application for payment; however, they must have the following forms on file for the applicable program year(s):
- CCC-853, Livestock Forage Disaster Program Application
- Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet
- Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity
- Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable)
- SF-3881, Direct Deposit
- Form AD-1026, Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland (WC) Certification, for the ELRP 2023 and 2024 producer and applicable affiliates
- Form FSA-510, Request for an Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs (if applicable).
All forms are available to download in the Individual FSA Drought Relief Forms section at the link below.
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Producer and Livestock EligibilityList Item 2
Eligible Livestock are the same as those that are eligible for LFP grazing animals that satisfy the majority of net energy requirement of nutrition via grazing of eligible forage grasses or legumes. Livestock eligible must:
- Have been owned, leased, purchased, entered into a contract to purchase, or held by a contract grower during the 60 days prior to the beginning date of a qualifying drought or fire condition;
- Have been sold or otherwise disposed of due to a qualifying drought condition during the current production year or one or both of the two production years immediately preceding the current production year;
- Have been maintained for commercial use as part of a farming operation on the beginning date of the eligible drought or fire condition;
- Not have been produced and maintained for reasons other than commercial use as part of a farming operation (such excluded uses include, but are not limited to, wild free-roaming animals or animals used for racing or wagering, hunting, or consumption by the owner; and
- Not have been livestock that were or would have been in a feedlot on the beginning date of the qualifying drought or fire as part of the normal business operation of the livestock owner or contract grower.
Eligible Producers must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, partnership of U.S. citizens, a legal entity organized under State law, or an Indian tribe or tribal organization defined in the Indian Self-determination and Education Assistance Act that:
- Own, cash or share lease, or be a contract grower of covered livestock during the 60 calendar days before the beginning date of a qualifying drought or fire;
- Provide pastureland or grazing land for covered livestock, including cash-rented pastureland or grazing land as of the date of the qualifying drought or fire that is either:
- Physically located in a county affected by a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county; or Rangeland managed by a federal agency for which the otherwise eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the federal agency from grazing the normally permitted livestock because of a qualifying fire.
- Certify that they have suffered a grazing loss because of a qualifying drought or fire; and
- Timely file an acreage report for all grazing land for which a grazing loss is being claimed.
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Project Timeline Dates to RemimberList Item 3
For Drought and Wildfire:
May 29, 2025:USDA announced ELRP payments to begin livestock producers impacted by drought and wildfires in 2023 and 2024. ELRP Rule published on the Federal Register Farm Service Agency ELRP webpage.
May 30, 2025:The target date for FSA county offices to sign and certify.
For Flooding:
July 23, 2025:The target date to send final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
August 12, 2025: The target date for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance.
August 18, 2025: The target date for sign-up to begin.
FSA Disaster Assistance Program Summaries
List of Services
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Livestock Forage Program (LFP) Fact Sheet PDFList Item 2
The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (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.
Application for payment and required supporting documentation to their FSA office by March 1 following the end of the calendar year in which the grazing loss occurred.
See the LFP - Livestock Forage Disaster Program Fact Sheet for full information.
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Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) Fact Sheet PDFList Item 1
ELAP Provides assistance for the following: What type of livestock losses are covered under ELAP?
• Grazing losses that are not due to drought or wildfires on federally managed lands
• Livestock feed losses caused by eligible loss condition that result in purchased or mechanically harvested feed being destroyed, additional feed purchased above normal, and additional cost of feed delivery
• Losses resulting from the additional cost of transporting water to livestock due to an eligible drought
• Losses resulting from above normal costs of hauling feed to livestock due to an eligible drought
• Losses resulting from above normal costs of hauling livestock to forage or other feeding location and back due to an eligible drought
• Losses resulting from the additional cost associated with gathering livestock for treatment and inspection related to cattle tick fever
How to apply-Producers can apply to receive ELAP assistance at local FSA service centers. The ELAP program year ends December 31st of each calendar year. Producers must submit an application for payment by March 1 after the program year in which the loss occurred. Producers who suffered livestock losses must also submit a notice of loss to the local FSA office that maintains their farm records by the notice of loss deadline.
See the ELAP Livestock Assistance Program Fact Sheet for full information.
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Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Fact Sheet PDFList Item 3
LIP Provides assistance to eligible livestock owners or contract growers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by an eligible adverse weather event, eligible disease, and attacked by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by law, including wolves and avian predators. In addition, LIP provides assistance to eligible livestock owners that must sell livestock at a reduced price because of an injury from an eligible loss condition.
All of the owner’s or contract grower’s interest in inventory of eligible livestock in that county for the calendar year must be accounted for and summarized when determining eligibility. See FY-25-LFP- NGCO-LFP Program Inventory/Mitigated Worksheet below.
How to apply- Producers can apply to receive LIP assistance at local FSA Service Centers. The LIP program year ends December 31st of each calendar year. Producers must submit an application for payment by March 1 after the program year in which the loss occurred.
See the LIP-Livestock Forage Disaster Program Fact Sheet for full information.
Individual FSA Drought Relief Forms
Customer Data Worksheet
The Customer Data Worksheet enables you to update your information with the USDA, including your contact and demographic information.
Payment Enrollment Forms
USDA payments are generally directly deposited with your bank. Farm Service Agency customers can fill out the Payment Enrollment Form to set up or change your direct deposit for USDA payments.
Farm Operating Plan
The Farm Operating Plan Form is used to collect information that is used by FSA to determine eligibility for payments. Form 902(i) is for individuals. Form 902(e) is for entities such as general partnerships, joint ventures, Indian Tribes, corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts, estates, charitable/tax-exempt organizations, public schools, city/county/state-owned entities, or other similar entities.
Member's Information Form
If you are a legal entity, a Member’s Information form (CCC-901) is used to collect member names, contact information and tax identification numbers.
Income and Tax Information
To participate in many programs, you can’t have an adjusted gross income of more than 900,000. To certify this, you file the Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information Form each year.
Acreage Reports
The deadline to report your grazing acreage is July 15th, 2025. After that date there is a $31 late filing fee for each farm number. Producers to provide updated copies of their land documents to ensure the FSA has the correct acreage reported. If under reported it can possibly pay out a lower benefit amount. If over reported it can over pay a benefit amount which could trigger a collection notice.
Navajo/Gila County LFP Program Inventory Worksheet
The Navajo/Gila County Livestock Forage Program-FY 2025 Inventory Worksheet provides up-to-date livestock owned/mitigated due to drought inventory information. Completed and return to the FSA office, along with your 2024 grazing bills so that the FSA Office can prepare the application and the estimated calculated payment information.
The Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resources, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification Form is used to certify that an individual, legal entity, or joint operation is a member of a one or more of these specific producer groups.
- CCC-860-Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resources, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification Form
- CCC-860-Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resources, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification Instructions
Conservation Compliance
Producers self-certify compliance by filing the Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification Form when enrolling in USDA programs. If unsure if an AD-1026 is filed for your land, contact a Farm Service Agency (FSA) representative at the local USDA Service Center. Once the form is accurately completed and filed, it remains effective, unless changes to the agricultural operation occur and/or new activities arise which change the previous self-certification (for example, the intent to bring new land into production or install new drainage structures). The form is not specific to a particular crop. It covers all land that a producer farms.
Livestock Forage Disaster (LFP) Program Application Worksheet
The Livestock Forage Disaster (LFP) Program Application Worksheet is used by livestock producers to gather information and supporting documents needed to apply for program benefits for livestock grazing losses that occur due to drought or grazing losses due to fire on rangeland managed by a federal agency. This form is for reference use only. The producer must contact their FSA County Office for the computer-generated print out.
Emergency Loss Assistance (ELAP) for Livestock Application Worksheet
The Emergency Loss Assistance (ELAP) for Livestock Application Worksheet is used by livestock producers to gather information and supporting documents needed to apply for ELAP program benefits for eligible livestock as described in the ELAP Livestock Assistance Fact Sheet. This form is for reference use only. The producer must contact their FSA County Office to determine eligibility.
FSA Apply Now Packets
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) Apply Now Eligibility Packets include many of the eligibility forms needed to participate in USDA programs. Specific programs also have program applications and may have additional program eligibility forms that need to be completed. Contact your local FSA Office for assistance.
