Livestock and poultry producers who suffered losses during the Covid-19 pandemic due to insufficient access to processing can now apply for assistance for those losses and the cost of depopulation and disposal of animals, USDA announced today. This is part of the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP) unveiled by Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack in Wisconsin Dells. Producers can apply for aid from July 20 through Sept. 17.
PLIP payments will be based on 80% of the fair market value of the livestock and poultry and for the cost of depopulation and disposal of the animal from March 1, 2020 through Dec. 26, 2020. Payments will be based on a single payment rate per head. USDA details, “PLIP payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of head of eligible livestock or poultry by the payment rate per head, and then subtracting the amount of any payments the eligible livestock or poultry owner has received for disposal of the livestock or poultry under the Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program or a state program. The payments will also be reduced by any Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 1 and 2) payments paid on the same inventory of swine that were depopulated.” To be eligible for payments, a person or legal entity must have an average adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $900,000 for tax years 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Also of note, USDA says it has set aside “up to $50 million in pandemic assistance funds to provide additional assistance for small hog producers that use the spot market or negotiate prices. Details on the additional targeted assistance are expected to be available this summer.” Find more details here.