Information from NMCEWL's Drought Resources WEbinar Series
In June of 2020, NMCEWL along with the State Land Office, Quivira Coalition, and Western Landowners Alliance hosted a three-day webinar series to provide information on drought resources available to New Mexico producers. Below are links to the recorded webinars, Q&As, and webinar notes that include links to access the individual programs that were discussed. If you have questions about these resources, or have ideas of other webinar series you would like to see promoted for producers across the state, please reach out to us or our partners.
Part I: Introduction and FSA Drought Resources
Presentations by Lisa Garay, Executive Director of Valencia County Farm Service Agency (FSA)
In part 1 of the Drought Webinar Series Lisa Garay, Executive Director of Valencia County FSA, provided information about the different drought-related programs available through the Farm Service Agency, including the FSA’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP), and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). Below we highlight some of the key takeaways for each program discussed:
In part 1 of the Drought Webinar Series Lisa Garay, Executive Director of Valencia County FSA, provided information about the different drought-related programs available through the Farm Service Agency, including the FSA’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP), and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). Below we highlight some of the key takeaways for each program discussed:
- NAP: For ranchers in particular, NAP covers losses to the amount of grass crop grown in a calendar year and provides compensation after a 50% loss. The deadline for individuals to enroll in coverage for 2021 is Dec. 1st, 2020, whereby a producer must be enrolled in NAP before a drought or disaster occurs. Enrollment fees ($350) and premiums may be waived if the rancher qualifies as Socially Disadvantaged.
- LFP: A heavy hitter in New Mexico, the LFP provides compensation for livestock feed losses due to drought conditions or fire on federally managed land. To qualify, a rancher must have a current permit, lease, or deed verifying ranching operation, operate in a county that has been in a D2 drought status for at least 8 consecutive weeks, and have owned their livestock for at least 60 days prior to county becoming eligible. Payouts for this program are determined by the severity of the drought for the affected county.
- LIP: The LIP, meanwhile, compensates producers 75% of the market value of an animal that died due to eligible adverse weather conditions (including floods, blizzards, extreme cold/heat, lightning and wildfires), in excess of normal mortality. Drought, however, is not an eligible event in LIP. To qualify for payments, producers must show proof of their beginning inventory (through tax records or tally count), have owned the livestock for at least 60 days prior to the animal death, show proof of death and report a notice of loss to the county office within 30 days of the animal death.
- ELAP: Finally, ELAP offers livestock owners financial assistance for water hauling during an eligible drought period, defined as the county where a producer’s livestock is located, having a D3 status for at least one day. To qualify for water hauling compensation a producer must have owned the livestock at least 60 days prior to the date that water hauling was reported, haul water to eligible grazing lands during dates outlined on the grazing permit, and have had adequate livestock water systems or facilities before the eligible drought occurred.
Part II: NRCS Resource and PRF Drought Insurance
Presentations by Steve Kadas and Kenneth Branch from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Jen Livsey from EastCo Group Insurance
In part 2 we heard from Kenneth Branch and Steve Kadas from NRCS present on drought-related resources available through the NRCS from the USDA, and Jen Livsey from the EastCo Group present on pasture, rangeland, and forage (PRF) insurance.
NRCS offers technical assistance to ranchers through their local field offices, located in nearly every country across New Mexico. Ranchers can contact their local office via phone, email, or fax to have a field officer come out to help build a conservation plan around a resource concern they have. These resource concerns can relate to soil, water, animal, plant, or air management, many of which can be adversely affected by drought.
The NRCS also offers financial assistance for producers coping with drought through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and through Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Assistance within EQIP. EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to eligible agricultural producers to implement conservation practices and activities, where eligibility is defined by four general requirements: Applicant Eligibility; Land Eligibility; Resource Concern Eligibility; and Other Requirements. Under the Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Assistance within EQIP, the New Mexico NRCS can establish specific disaster response programs aimed at delivering assistance to producers severely affected by a disaster, such as drought. This financial assistance is triggered when a disaster is declared (at federal, state, or local level) and is available for eligible producers who enact conservation practices designed to respond to and/or mitigate the effects of the disaster.
Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance is the final resource for ranchers covered in this webinar. This insurance, sold by private insurance companies such as EastCo Group, is designed to assist ranchers by providing payment when precipitation for a specific area falls below a historic average for that area during a specific time period (or put more simply: when you are in a drought, payment is due). To be eligible for this insurance, ranchers must have a FSA farm number, ownership of the livestock on the insured property (land that can be owned or leased), and must have the intention to graze livestock or produce hay. Precipitation amounts and drought status are determined solely through rainfall data provided by local NOAA weather stations and through a final grid index, or an official percentage of historic rainfall during a specific time period located in a specific gridded area. A key consequence of this sole data source, Jen highlights, is that it can cause farmers to be paid when they are not supposed to and not to receive payment when you are supposed to. These instances will happen equally often over the longer term, but it can be frustrating when official data doesn’t fall in the farmer’s favor - farmers are guaranteed to lose some or all of their premium some years. A benefit of PRF insurance is that the policy can be highly personalized to a rancher’s specific location, number and type of acres, and amount of coverage.
In part 2 we heard from Kenneth Branch and Steve Kadas from NRCS present on drought-related resources available through the NRCS from the USDA, and Jen Livsey from the EastCo Group present on pasture, rangeland, and forage (PRF) insurance.
NRCS offers technical assistance to ranchers through their local field offices, located in nearly every country across New Mexico. Ranchers can contact their local office via phone, email, or fax to have a field officer come out to help build a conservation plan around a resource concern they have. These resource concerns can relate to soil, water, animal, plant, or air management, many of which can be adversely affected by drought.
The NRCS also offers financial assistance for producers coping with drought through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and through Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Assistance within EQIP. EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to eligible agricultural producers to implement conservation practices and activities, where eligibility is defined by four general requirements: Applicant Eligibility; Land Eligibility; Resource Concern Eligibility; and Other Requirements. Under the Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Assistance within EQIP, the New Mexico NRCS can establish specific disaster response programs aimed at delivering assistance to producers severely affected by a disaster, such as drought. This financial assistance is triggered when a disaster is declared (at federal, state, or local level) and is available for eligible producers who enact conservation practices designed to respond to and/or mitigate the effects of the disaster.
Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage Insurance is the final resource for ranchers covered in this webinar. This insurance, sold by private insurance companies such as EastCo Group, is designed to assist ranchers by providing payment when precipitation for a specific area falls below a historic average for that area during a specific time period (or put more simply: when you are in a drought, payment is due). To be eligible for this insurance, ranchers must have a FSA farm number, ownership of the livestock on the insured property (land that can be owned or leased), and must have the intention to graze livestock or produce hay. Precipitation amounts and drought status are determined solely through rainfall data provided by local NOAA weather stations and through a final grid index, or an official percentage of historic rainfall during a specific time period located in a specific gridded area. A key consequence of this sole data source, Jen highlights, is that it can cause farmers to be paid when they are not supposed to and not to receive payment when you are supposed to. These instances will happen equally often over the longer term, but it can be frustrating when official data doesn’t fall in the farmer’s favor - farmers are guaranteed to lose some or all of their premium some years. A benefit of PRF insurance is that the policy can be highly personalized to a rancher’s specific location, number and type of acres, and amount of coverage.
Part III: Strategic Decision-Making for Ranchers During Drought
Presentation by Dr. Roy Roath, Professor Emeritus and Rangeland Consultant at Colorado State University
On Thursday, Dr. Roy Roath from Colorado State University spoke about how ranchers can manage their livestock, grazing and water management decisions in an ongoing drought context and environment.
The recent prolonged drought in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, beginning as far back as 2000, has had profound effects on the landscape and for ranching operations across the region. The ecological consequences of the drought have been profound: productivity in rangeland plants statewide have declined, rangeland communities have changed, waterways have dried up, and forage availability and ground cover have diminished. These impacts, in turn, have severely impacted many ranching operations, livestock quality, and have increased risks of flooding and soil erosion. In his talk, Dr. Roath stressed that proactive and conservative rangeland management can help mitigate the challenges of drought and the impacts it has on the land and livestock. At the heart of his argument, he advocated for ranchers to maintain optimal stocking rates for their land – namely, to put only as much livestock on the land as can be adequately fed by the forage available without overgrazing and degrading the available plant communities. Rather than focus solely on maximizing how many pounds livestock gain per acre or the average daily gain of the livestock, ranchers should consider these goals alongside long-term water and rangeland management. Looking at the grasses available, destocking livestock when needed, changing what livestock you keep and where you keep them, and carefully considering how and when to restock are all critical factors to long-term ecological and economic sustainability in ranching operations.
On Thursday, Dr. Roy Roath from Colorado State University spoke about how ranchers can manage their livestock, grazing and water management decisions in an ongoing drought context and environment.
The recent prolonged drought in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, beginning as far back as 2000, has had profound effects on the landscape and for ranching operations across the region. The ecological consequences of the drought have been profound: productivity in rangeland plants statewide have declined, rangeland communities have changed, waterways have dried up, and forage availability and ground cover have diminished. These impacts, in turn, have severely impacted many ranching operations, livestock quality, and have increased risks of flooding and soil erosion. In his talk, Dr. Roath stressed that proactive and conservative rangeland management can help mitigate the challenges of drought and the impacts it has on the land and livestock. At the heart of his argument, he advocated for ranchers to maintain optimal stocking rates for their land – namely, to put only as much livestock on the land as can be adequately fed by the forage available without overgrazing and degrading the available plant communities. Rather than focus solely on maximizing how many pounds livestock gain per acre or the average daily gain of the livestock, ranchers should consider these goals alongside long-term water and rangeland management. Looking at the grasses available, destocking livestock when needed, changing what livestock you keep and where you keep them, and carefully considering how and when to restock are all critical factors to long-term ecological and economic sustainability in ranching operations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How do new ranchers know what programs are available and if they qualify?
A: A great place to look for available and up to date programs is Farmers.gov. When you sign up with them you can receive email updates about program changes and opportunities through the government. Even if you have not participated in USDA or FSA programs in the past, you are eligible as long as you have owned the livestock 60 days prior to the disaster program start dates. Make sure that you have signed up for programs such as the NAP crop insurance program before the current calendar year deadline or else you will not qualify for the coverage.
Q: Do Permittees that run livestock in more than one state need to apply in each state?
A: Permittees need to have a separate application for each state BUT can get serviced from one office for both states (i.e. they can submit both applications in one office).
Q: CAn Pueblo producers reach out directly to their local NRCS Field Office or do they have to go through their Pueblo Natural Resource or Agricultural Department to work with NRCS?
A: Yes, they can reach out directly to the field office! Proposed projects might need to be approved by the governing body, but otherwise producers can call the NRCS directly.
Q: Can I Sign up to be notified of upcoming NRCS programs or application deadlines?
A: There is currently no email notification system in place for the general public, but the NRCS does send out information via other communication networks such as online (just google NM NRCS), on the radio, in the newspaper, through field offices, and posted flyers around the community. The best bet is to contact your local NRCS office to confirm any upcoming deadline. Applications are accepted on a year-round basis.
Q: What is the best way to calculate my land's carrying capacity?
A: This is best determined by the people who are managing the land on a daily basis. It is difficult to do! It depends on the livestock species and breed as well as type of land that is grazed, therefore it varies widely. Dr. Roath’s best advice is to look at land and estimate how much forage is there, then compare that to the expected forage needed for the grazing season, and adjust your herd numbers as needed. It is not a set calculation but rather it’s a dynamic estimate.
Q: If I'm restocking my land, should I consider new species (i.e. sheep vs. cattle)?
A: Stocking new species can increase diversity of plants available for animals to forage. Whereas a single species such as cattle may graze on 40% of total available forage, stocking different animals can unlock greater usage of the land. For example, goats can walk further than cattle for food, eat less, and depend on forage.
Talk to an Expert
Lisa Garay, Executive Director of Valencia County Farm Service Agency (FSA)
lisa.garay@usda.gov
Phone: 505-865-4643 ext. 2
lisa.garay@usda.gov
Phone: 505-865-4643 ext. 2
Steve Kadas, USDA-NRCS New Mexico, State Resource Conservationist
Steve.Kadas@usda.gov
Kenneth J. Branch, USDA/NRCS Assistant State Conservationist- Programs
kenneth.branch@usda.gov
505-761-4454
Jen Livsey, Owner/Agent, EastCo Group
jen@eastcogroup.com
Steve.Kadas@usda.gov
Kenneth J. Branch, USDA/NRCS Assistant State Conservationist- Programs
kenneth.branch@usda.gov
505-761-4454
Jen Livsey, Owner/Agent, EastCo Group
jen@eastcogroup.com
Dr. Roy Roath, Professor Emeritus and Rangeland Consultant at Colorado State University
Roy.Roath@colostate.edu
Roy.Roath@colostate.edu