USDA providing payments to ranchers impacted by drought or wildfire

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that they will be providing payments to ranchers who have been impacted by drought or wildfire.

Ranchers who have approved applications through the 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) will soon be receiving their payments, according to USDA.

The Livestock Forage Disaster Program helps ranchers who have suffered losses due to severe droughts or wildfires.

The ranchers will receive the payments to make up for the increases in supplemental feed costs in 2021, USDA says.

“Producers of grazing livestock experienced catastrophic losses of available forage as well as higher costs for supplemental feed in 2021. Unfortunately, the conditions driving these losses have not improved for many and have even worsened for some, as drought spreads across the U.S.,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

USDA will use certain data from LFP to get payments out quicker to ranchers, Vilsack said.