After a Disaster: What to Do Right Now

🚨Need to act now? Skip the walkthrough. Emergency Triage. What to Do First →

The situation: You've just experienced a disaster, drought killed your pastures, wildfire burned your rangeland, a blizzard killed cattle, flooding destroyed fences and infrastructure. You're dealing with immediate losses and you need to know what help is available and how to access it fast.

The first 48 hours

If you haven't already:

Photograph and document everything. Dead livestock (before disposal), damaged fences, burned land, destroyed infrastructure. Use your phone. Include dates. You'll need this documentation later and it's easier to capture now.
Call your local FSA office. Tell them what happened and that you need to file notices of loss. If you can't reach your local office, call the national FSA hotline: 1-877-508-8364.
Save every receipt from this point forward. Emergency feed, water hauling, temporary fencing, trucking, hired labor, anything you're spending because of the disaster. These are your documentation for ELAP claims.

That's the immediate priority. The rest of this walkthrough covers what programs are available and how to access them over the coming weeks.

File early

Most disaster programs require you to file a notice of loss with FSA. For LIP, ELAP, and LFP, the notice and application are due March 1 after the calendar year of the loss; other programs, like TAP (90 days) and ECP, have shorter windows. You can supplement your documentation later. Getting the notice on record early is the most time-sensitive thing.

📅See every USDA filing deadline, missing one can cost your entire claim. Deadline Calendar →

For drought, LFP eligibility starts once your county has been in D2 (severe drought) for 4 consecutive weeks, or reaches D3 or worse, during the normal grazing period on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Check your county's status at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.

🌡️Check your county’s drought status and disaster designations right now. Drought Dashboard →

Programs that apply to your situation

There are at least six federal disaster programs, and most producers only know about one or two. Here's what each one covers:

LIP: Livestock Indemnity Program

What it includes: Livestock deaths caused by eligible disaster events (blizzard, wildfire, flood, earthquake, etc.) and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law (such as wolves, grizzly bears, and eagles).

What it can pay: Up to about 75% of the market value of the dead animal at the time of death (up to 100% for kills by those federally protected predators, for losses on or after January 1, 2026).

What you need to do: File a notice of loss with FSA. Provide documentation of the deaths, veterinary records, photos, purchase receipts, brand inspection records. You need to prove both the number of animals lost and that the disaster caused the deaths.

ELAP: Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish

What it includes: Losses and costs that aren't covered by other disaster programs. For cattle ranchers, this typically means:

Costs of hauling water during drought
Costs of hauling feed to livestock
Costs of relocating livestock due to a disaster
Feed and grazing losses from events such as blizzard, flood, or wildfire on non-federal land (in a drought, ELAP does not pay for the feed itself; lost grazing goes through LFP)

What it can pay: Part of the extra cost the disaster imposed on your operation. For example, if hauling water during a qualifying drought costs $4,000 more than normal, ELAP can reimburse 60% of that difference: $4,000 × 0.60 = $2,400 (90% for beginning, veteran, limited-resource, and underserved producers). FSA figures payments from its own rates and limits, so the payment may not match your receipts.

What you need to do: File a notice of loss with FSA. Document every extra expense with receipts.

LFP: Livestock Forage Disaster Program

What it includes: Grazing losses due to drought (when your county is D2 for 4 consecutive weeks, or D3 or worse, during the grazing period) or fire on federally managed rangeland that you have a grazing permit for.

What it can pay: Up to 60% of FSA's estimated monthly feed cost per head, for 1 to 5 months depending on drought severity and duration, limited by your normal carrying capacity. FSA's 2025 monthly feed cost for adult beef cattle was $41.40 per head, so LFP could pay $24.84 per head per month. Ask FSA for the current year's rate.

What you need to do: File with FSA. Have your grazing records available (normal stocking rate, pasture acreage). Drought designations are tracked automatically through the U.S. Drought Monitor, you don't need to prove the drought, just that it affected your operation.

ECP: Emergency Conservation Program

What it includes: Restoring farmland and conservation practices damaged by natural disasters. For ranchers, this typically means: repairing fences destroyed by fire or flood, restoring water systems, removing debris, and reseeding burned or flood-damaged pastures.

What it can pay: Up to 75% of the cost to restore the damage.

What you need to do: This one is through FSA but involves an assessment of the damage. Contact FSA as soon as possible. ECP funding can run out in heavily affected areas.

EQIP: for rebuilding better

If your disaster destroyed infrastructure you were going to replace anyway, this might be the time to apply for EQIP to rebuild with improved conservation practices. New fencing, better water systems, and improved grazing infrastructure can all be funded through EQIP. The disaster creates both the need and the opportunity.

Crop Insurance / PRF

If you carry Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) insurance, there is no loss claim to file. Indemnities are calculated from your grid's rainfall index for each insured interval, not from your own forage loss; confirm the status with your agent. PRF can stack with LFP and other disaster programs.

You can stack all of these for the same event

This is the part most producers miss. A single disaster can trigger payments from multiple programs simultaneously:

Example. Drought on a 1,000-acre cattle ranch:

LFP can pay for lost grazing (eligibility triggers with D2+ for 4 consecutive weeks in the grazing period; you still need to apply)
ELAP can reimburse part of water hauling and feed or livestock transport costs (in a drought, not the feed itself)
LIP can cover documented livestock deaths
ECP can help restore damaged water systems or fences
PRF insurance may pay an indemnity if you carry it and your grid's index falls below your trigger
EQIP can help fund upgraded infrastructure as you rebuild, if funded

What that can add up to, if eligible. Say the ranch runs 100 adult beef cows and the county is in D3 for 4 weeks during the grazing period. That is 4 monthly LFP payments: 100 cows × $24.84 × 4 = $9,936 (FSA's 2025 rate; the carrying-capacity calculation can lower it). If hauling water cost $4,000 more than normal, ELAP can reimburse 60%: $4,000 × 0.60 = $2,400. Together: about $12,336, before any LIP, ECP, or PRF payments. Run your own numbers in the LFP calculator.

These are separate programs with separate applications. Filing for one doesn't trigger the others, you need to apply for each one individually.

Timeline after a disaster

When	What to do
Day 1–3	Document everything. Call FSA. File notices of loss.
Week 1	Visit FSA office to complete paperwork for LIP, ELAP, LFP
Week 2	Contact FSA about ECP for infrastructure damage
Week 2–4	Gather receipts, records, and documentation to support claims
Month 1–2	File EQIP application if you're rebuilding infrastructure
Month 2–6	Claims processed. Payments disbursed (timing varies).

What to bring to your FSA meeting

Photographs of all damage (dated)
Livestock inventory, how many animals you had before the disaster and how many you lost
Receipts for any emergency expenses (feed, water, trucking, fencing, labor)
Grazing records (normal stocking rate, pasture assignments)
Insurance policy information (PRF or other)
A list of infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed

Where to start today

Call FSA now. Find your office at farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator or call 1-877-508-8364
File notices of loss for LIP and ELAP early (due March 1 after the calendar year of the loss)
Document everything with photos and receipts
Ask FSA about ECP for infrastructure damage
Read the full Disaster Assistance guide when you have time
Check your state page for state-level disaster assistance

This walkthrough is part of Farmer's Navigator. Disaster situations are stressful and every one is different. Your local FSA office is the best resource for your specific circumstances, this guide helps you walk in knowing what to ask for.