Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) 2026: Payment rates and how to apply
This is a free guide, not financial or legal advice. FSA decides eligibility and payment amounts. Always verify with your local FSA office. Report an error
The short version
LFP can pay for grazing lost to drought when the U.S. Drought Monitor rates your county D2 (severe drought) or worse during the normal grazing period. FSA’s LFP page showed no 2026 rates as of November 4, 2026. At the 2025 rate, one monthly payment is $24.84 per adult beef cow (60% of a $41.40 monthly feed cost), and a county can qualify for 1 to 5 payments: up to $124.20 a cow.
LFP can also pay for grazing lost when a federal agency closes a permitted allotment because of fire. You apply on form CCC-853 at your FSA county office by March 1 after the year of the loss: March 1, 2027 for 2026 grazing losses.
At a glance
| What it can pay for | Grazing lost to a qualifying drought on native or improved pasture or land planted for grazing, and grazing lost when a federal agency closes managed rangeland because of fire. |
| Payment rate | Drought: 60% of a monthly feed cost per head, times 1 to 5 monthly payments. Fire on federal land: 50% of the monthly feed cost, figured by the day, for up to 180 days. |
| 2026 rates | Not on FSA’s LFP page as of November 4, 2026. The 2025 adult beef cow rate was $41.40 a month, or $24.84 per monthly payment. |
| Deadline | Application by March 1, 2027 for 2026 losses. |
| Form | CCC-853, Livestock Forage Disaster Program Application |
| Where to file | Your local FSA county office. |
| Payment limit | $125,000 per person or legal entity per year. The $900,000 AGI limit applies, with a waiver for producers with at least 75% farm income (form CCC-943). |
LFP payment rates: 2026 not yet published (2025 rates shown)
FSA sets LFP rates once a year from corn prices. An adult beef cow’s monthly feed cost is 30 days of 15.7 pounds of corn a day, priced at the higher of the 12-month or 24-month national average corn price before March 1 of the program year. FSA published the 2025 rates in its May 2025 LFP fact sheet. As of November 4, 2026, FSA’s LFP page and maps page showed no 2026 rates, so this table shows 2025. FSA’s July 2026 LFP fact sheet says rates are announced each April but lists no rates. Ask your FSA office which rate it will use for 2026 losses.
| Livestock | Type or weight | 2025 monthly feed cost | One monthly payment (60%) | Five monthly payments (most per year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef, beefalo, buffalo/bison | Adult cows and bulls | $41.40 | $24.84 | $124.20 |
| Beef, beefalo, buffalo/bison | Non-adult, 500 lb or more | $31.05 | $18.63 | $93.15 |
| Beef, beefalo, buffalo/bison | Non-adult, under 500 lb | $20.70 | $12.42 | $62.10 |
| Dairy cattle | Adult cows and bulls | $107.64 | $64.58 | $322.92 |
| Dairy cattle | Non-adult, 500 lb or more | $31.05 | $18.63 | $93.15 |
| Dairy cattle | Non-adult, under 500 lb | $20.70 | $12.42 | $62.10 |
| Sheep, goats, deer | All | $10.35 | $6.21 | $31.05 |
| Equine | All | $30.64 | $18.38 | $91.92 |
| Elk | All | $22.36 | $13.42 | $67.08 |
| Ostriches | All | $22.77 | $13.66 | $68.31 |
| Emus | All | $21.19 | $12.71 | $63.57 |
| Llamas | All | $15.11 | $9.07 | $45.33 |
| Reindeer | All | $9.11 | $5.47 | $27.33 |
One-payment amounts are rounded to the cent; the five-payment column is figured before rounding. FSA uses the smaller of this feed cost or one based on your grazing land’s normal carrying capacity (see below). Unweaned animals aren’t eligible. FSA’s 2025 table lists alpacas at $9.11, the same as reindeer and well below the 2023 figure of $47.88, so ask your FSA office to confirm the alpaca rate. Source: FSA LFP fact sheet, May 2025.
How the drought triggers work
| Drought Monitor rating in your county | Monthly payments | Per adult beef cow at 2025 rates |
|---|---|---|
| D2 (severe) for at least 4 consecutive weeks | 1 | $24.84 |
| D2 for at least 7 of 8 consecutive weeks | 2 | $49.68 |
| D3 (extreme) at any time | 3 | $74.52 |
| D3 for at least 4 weeks (not necessarily in a row), or D4 (exceptional) at any time | 4 | $99.36 |
| D4 for at least 4 weeks (not necessarily in a row) | 5 | $124.20 |
The rating can be in any part of the county, and the weeks have to fall inside the county’s normal grazing period for your type of pasture, which FSA sets by county and pasture type. LFP is capped at 5 monthly payments for the same livestock in a calendar year. OBBB shortened the first D2 trigger from 8 consecutive weeks to 4 and added the 2-payment level.
FSA’s 2026 maps lag the new rule. FSA notes on its LFP maps page that the 2026 eligibility maps do not yet use the OBBB drought thresholds, and that the maps will reflect them once its process is updated. If your county had D2 for 4 to 7 weeks in a row, ask your county office how those weeks will be counted.
To check a county yourself, the U.S. Drought Monitor site has an FSA Livestock Forage Disaster Program Eligibility Tool, hosted by the National Drought Mitigation Center. Pick your state and county, type in the start and end of the grazing period for your type of pasture, and it reports which of the drought triggers the county met between those dates, including the 4-week D2 trigger. It does not fill in the grazing period, so get those dates from your FSA county office first. The tool calls its results estimates and says FSA confirms eligibility.
How FSA figures the payment
For drought, the monthly payment is 60% of the smaller of two monthly feed costs: one for the covered livestock you own or lease, and one based on the normal carrying capacity of your eligible grazing acres (your acres divided by FSA’s normal carrying capacity for that pasture type in your county, times the adult beef cow feed cost). That monthly payment is multiplied by the number of monthly payments your county reached. If you sold or otherwise disposed of livestock because of drought in one or both of the two prior years, the rate is 80% of the normal monthly payment.
Worked example
A hypothetical ranch runs 200 adult beef cows on 2,000 acres of owned and leased native pasture in a county that reached D3 for 4 weeks during the 2026 grazing period, which is 4 monthly payments. At 2025 rates:
| Step | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| One monthly payment per cow | 60% × $41.40 | $24.84 |
| Four payments on the herd | 200 × $24.84 × 4 | $19,872.00 |
| If FSA’s normal carrying capacity were 12 acres per animal unit | 2,000 ÷ 12 = about 166.7 animal units, fewer than 200 cows, so FSA uses it: (2,000 ÷ 12) × $24.84 × 4 | $16,560.00 |
| If the ranch also sold cows because of drought in 2024 or 2025 | 80% × $16,560.00 | $13,248.00 |
The 12 acres per animal unit is only for the example: FSA sets the carrying capacity for each pasture type in your county. The dollar figures will change when FSA posts its 2026 rate. FSA decides the eligible head count and the number of payments.
Fire on federally managed rangeland
If a federal agency bars your permitted livestock from a grazing allotment because of fire, LFP can pay 50% of the monthly feed cost, figured as a daily rate, for the livestock on your federal permit. It runs from the day the agency closes the allotment to the end of your lease or 180 days, whichever comes first, and for no more than 180 days in the calendar year. For the same federal rangeland you can take drought or fire assistance, not both.
Who qualifies
- Livestock: grazing animals kept for commercial use: beef and dairy cattle, beefalo, buffalo and bison, water buffalo, sheep, goats, deer, elk, equine, alpacas, llamas, emus, ostriches and reindeer. You must have owned, leased, bought or contracted to buy, or contract-grown them during the 60 days before the drought or fire began.
- Not covered: livestock that were or would have been in a feedlot, unweaned animals, animals kept for hunting, racing or your own table, wild free-roaming animals, yaks, poultry and swine.
- Land: native or improved pasture with permanent cover, or land planted specifically for grazing (not corn or sorghum stalks), that you own or lease in the county with the qualifying drought. Cash-rented pasture counts. Drought losses on CRP acres don’t count, and irrigated land counts only if drought left it without surface water to irrigate that year.
- Leases: if you rent someone else’s pasture on a rate-of-gain basis (paid by the pounds the animals put on), you are not an eligible producer for LFP on that land.
- Records: a timely acreage report (FSA-578) for the grazing land you claim. There is no crop insurance or NAP requirement for LFP.
- Payment eligibility: LFP is limited to $125,000 per person or legal entity per year. The $900,000 average AGI limit also applies; starting with the 2026 program year, it can be waived if at least 75% of your average gross income comes from farming, ranching or forestry, including agri-tourism, direct-to-consumer sales and certain equipment sales. To ask for the waiver, you complete form CCC-943 (75% of Average Gross Income from Farming, Ranching or Forestry Certification), and a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent verifies it.
How to apply
- Watch your county’s drought level during the grazing season. LFP Trigger Watch counts the weeks at each level from the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor, and the Drought Dashboard shows your county’s current rating.
- Call your FSA county office when your county reaches a trigger, and ask which grazing period applies to your pasture type.
- Gather records: your acreage report (FSA-578), grazing leases or permits, proof of land ownership, and your livestock inventory (head of each kind and weight, and where they grazed). For fire, bring the federal agency’s closure notice.
- File form CCC-853 by March 1 after the year of the loss (March 1, 2027 for 2026 losses). If FSA doesn’t already have them, it will also ask for AD-2047 (customer data worksheet), CCC-902 (farm operating plan), CCC-941 (AGI certification), AD-1026 (conservation compliance), CCC-901 if you operate as an entity, and SF-3881 for direct deposit.
Common mistakes
- Assuming it’s automatic. The Drought Monitor makes your county eligible; the payment still needs your CCC-853 application by March 1.
- Treating FSA’s 2026 map as final. FSA says the maps don’t yet reflect the 4-week D2 rule. Ask your office.
- Counting on last year’s rate. The 2025 rates here are a guide until FSA posts 2026 rates, which follow corn prices.
- Skipping the acreage report. FSA needs a timely FSA-578 for the grazing land you claim.
What to do
If your county is in D2 or worse now: note the weeks and call your FSA county office to confirm the normal grazing period for your pasture type. Ask: “Which weeks of drought count for my native pasture this year?”
If your county met a trigger in 2026: file CCC-853 before March 1, 2027, and bring your acreage report, leases and herd numbers.
If you sold cattle early because of drought: keep the sale records. They matter for LFP’s 80% rule in the next two years and for the drought livestock tax deferral.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 2026 LFP payment rates?
FSA had not posted 2026 LFP rates as of November 3, 2026. The 2025 monthly feed cost was $41.40 per adult beef cow, $31.05 per non-adult beef animal of 500 pounds or more, $20.70 under 500 pounds, $107.64 per adult dairy cow, and $10.35 per sheep or goat. Each LFP monthly payment can be 60% of that feed cost, so $24.84 per adult beef cow at the 2025 rate.
How much does LFP pay per cow?
At the 2025 rate, one monthly payment is $24.84 per adult beef cow (60% of $41.40). A county can qualify for 1 to 5 monthly payments depending on how severe the drought got, so $24.84 to $124.20 per cow, subject to the carrying-capacity limit, the payment limit and FSA’s 2026 rate once it is posted.
What triggers LFP?
Your county must be rated D2 (severe drought) for at least 4 consecutive weeks, or D3 or D4 at any time, during the normal grazing period for your type of pasture. Longer or deeper drought can qualify for more monthly payments, up to 5.
When is the LFP deadline for 2026 losses?
File form CCC-853 with your FSA county office by March 1, 2027 for 2026 grazing losses.
Is there a payment limit for LFP?
Yes: $125,000 per person or legal entity per year. The $900,000 average AGI limit also applies; starting with 2026 it can be waived if at least 75% of your income comes from farming, ranching or forestry and a CPA, attorney or enrolled agent verifies it.
Related programs
- ELAP: hauling water and feed in a drought, which LFP doesn’t cover.
- LIP: livestock deaths from eligible weather or federally protected predators.
- Drought livestock sales: if drought forced extra sales, the tax on the gain may be deferred.
- All disaster programs, with a table to find the right one for your loss.
Sources
- Drought tiers, the 60% and 80% rates, feed cost and carrying capacity, fire on federal land: 7 CFR 1416.207
- Eligible producers and rate-of-gain leases: 7 CFR 1416.203; covered livestock: 7 CFR 1416.204; eligible grazing land, CRP and irrigated land: 7 CFR 1416.205
- 2025 payment rates: FSA LFP fact sheet, May 2025
- Rates announced each April (the sheet lists no rates), the 75% income exception and form CCC-943: FSA LFP fact sheet, July 2026
- Current triggers, March 1 deadline and forms: FSA LFP program page; application: CCC-853; 2026 eligibility maps and the OBBB note: FSA LFP maps
- County eligibility tool, its triggers and what it asks you to enter: National Drought Mitigation Center, FSA Livestock Forage Disaster Program Eligibility Tool, checked November 12, 2026
- OBBB change: Public Law 119-21, sec. 10401; rule: Federal Register final rule, July 9, 2026 (91 FR 42313)
- Payment limits: 7 CFR 1400.1; AGI waiver: 7 CFR 1400.504
Regulation links go to the eCFR. Rules checked November 3, 2026; FSA’s LFP page rechecked for 2026 rates November 4, 2026.