Livestock Disaster Payments: How ELAP and LFP Work for Drought and Loss

When drought burns up your pasture or a storm wipes out feed you were counting on, USDA has two disaster programs built for livestock producers: the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP). They cover different losses, they stack rather than compete, and the biggest reason producers miss out on both is a simple one: they do not file in time.

Here is how each works, what they pay, and the deadline you cannot afford to blow.

LFP: payments for lost grazing

LFP pays livestock producers for grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire on land you normally graze. When the drought monitor hits certain thresholds for your county, or a wildfire takes out grazing on federally managed land you are permitted to use, LFP kicks in.

The payment can run up to 60% of the monthly feed cost for the covered livestock, for the number of months the qualifying condition lasts. In plain terms, when the grass is gone and you are buying feed to keep animals alive, LFP helps cover a chunk of that feed bill.

To qualify you need to be a livestock producer with grazing losses from a qualifying drought or fire. The drought trigger is tied to the US Drought Monitor for your county, so whether your county qualifies in a given period is not a judgment call, it is a published condition. Your local FSA office can tell you if your county triggered.

ELAP: the catch-all for losses other programs miss

ELAP covers the losses that fall through the cracks of the bigger disaster programs. It provides assistance for losses from disease, adverse weather, or feed shortages that are not covered by other disaster programs, for three groups:

• Livestock producers
• Honeybee producers
• Farm-raised fish producers

The payment varies by loss type, because ELAP covers a wide range: things like the cost of hauling water to livestock during drought, feed transportation, certain grazing losses LFP does not reach, honeybee colony and feed losses, and losses to farm-raised fish. If you took a hit that LFP or the crop programs do not address, ELAP is the program to ask about.

Beekeepers in particular should keep ELAP on the radar, because it is one of the few USDA programs that speaks directly to colony losses.

The deadline that trips everyone up

Both programs run on the same filing rule, and it is easy to miss because it comes after the loss year: applications are due by March 1 of the year following the loss.

• Losses in 2025 had to be filed by March 1, 2026.
• Losses in 2026 must be filed by March 1, 2027.

So if you are taking losses this season, you have until March 1 of next year to file, but do not treat that as breathing room. File as soon as you can document the loss, while records and dates are fresh, because a short-staffed FSA office is slower than it used to be. The programs themselves are running on a rolling basis; the March 1 date is the outside wall, not an invitation to wait.

You can track both programs on our calendar: the LFP page and the ELAP page.

How the two fit together, and with other disaster help

LFP and ELAP are designed to cover different losses, so many producers file for both in a bad year: LFP for the grazing loss itself, ELAP for the water-hauling and feed-transport costs that come with it. They do not double-pay the same loss, but they reach different parts of the damage.

They also sit alongside the crop-side disaster programs. If the same weather event hit crops or non-insured production, look at:

• NAP (Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program) for crops without federal crop insurance. Our NAP crop coverage guide explains it.
• Broader catastrophic disaster relief for major declared events. USDA lists the full disaster program menu at farmers.gov/protection-recovery.
• DMC (Dairy Margin Coverage) if you run dairy, a separate safety net explained in our Dairy Margin Coverage breakdown.

How to file

1. Contact your local FSA office as soon as you have a loss. Our guide to finding your local NRCS and FSA office shows you how.
2. Document everything. Dates, the number and kind of animals, feed and water costs, drought monitor status for your county, and any fire details.
3. Ask which program fits which loss, LFP for grazing, ELAP for the losses around it, and file for both if they apply.
4. File before March 1 of the year after the loss, and ideally long before, while your records are fresh.
5. Keep proof of your normal operation, because payments are based on the livestock you would normally carry and graze.

Frequently asked questions

What does LFP pay? LFP can pay up to 60% of the monthly feed cost for covered livestock, for the months a qualifying drought or fire condition lasts on your grazing land.

What does ELAP cover that LFP does not? ELAP covers losses from disease, adverse weather, or feed shortages not covered by other programs, including things like water hauling and feed transport during drought, plus honeybee and farm-raised fish losses. The payment varies by loss type.

When is the deadline to apply? By March 1 of the year following the loss. So 2026 losses must be filed by March 1, 2027. File as early as you can rather than waiting for the deadline.

Can I get both LFP and ELAP for the same drought? Often yes. They cover different pieces of the loss, LFP the grazing loss and ELAP the surrounding costs, so producers frequently file for both. They do not pay twice for the same loss.

Do beekeepers qualify? Yes. ELAP specifically covers honeybee producers, including certain colony and feed losses, which makes it one of the more relevant USDA programs for beekeepers.

The bottom line

LFP and ELAP are the two disaster programs every livestock producer, and every beekeeper, should know cold before the next drought hits. LFP covers up to 60% of feed cost when grazing is lost to drought or fire; ELAP covers the losses the other programs miss. The whole game is documenting the loss and filing by March 1 of the following year, so start the paperwork the moment the damage is done.

Want to see every disaster and safety-net program you might qualify for? Run our free eligibility checker or browse the deadline calendar.