Today, I made an important announcement of the introduction of the Drought Assistance Improvement Act. This groundbreaking legislation aims to make substantial improvements to the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and enhance the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).

Currently, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) requires producers to endure a Severe Drought (D2) status for eight consecutive weeks to qualify for disaster relief. The Drought Assistance Improvement Act makes common sense changes to allow for one monthly payment when a parish has four consecutive weeks of a Severe Drought (D2) rating and two payments for eight consecutive weeks of D2. This change will match a farmers safety net closer to the losses they are experiencing at the farm gate real-time.

Eight weeks of drought conditions is far too long for farmers to have to wait for assistance while they only receive one month of payment in return. I’ve proposed we lower this metric to four weeks to ensure our farmers and producers can continue their family farming operations that are crucial to our region.

Additionally, this comprehensive bill expands drought assistance especially for crawfish producers.

This proposal is the first step in addressing shortcomings of how we use the drought monitor system to distribute disaster relief payments to our hardworking producers more quickly and with greater accessibility, and I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this crucial legislation for our region. Read more about the bill here.

Please feel free to always reach out directly to my office when you have questions, comments, or concerns. Receive real-time updates on my work for you in Washington by following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and subscribing to my e-newsletter. 

Sincerely,

Julia Letlow, Ph.D.
Member of Congress

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