The latest USDA effort to provide support to dairy producers with herds impacted by the H5N1 virus involves an updated version of USDA Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP).

“Designed now to provide assistance to dairy producers through incurring milk losses as a result of H5N1.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently explained the update in a visit with reporters, an update now published in the Federal Register.

“Under the program as we’ve designed it, farmers will receive payments at a 90% coverage of lost production retroactive in the date in March of 2024 of their first positive herd.”

Eligibility requirements for milk gloss assistance under ELAP include:

“The adult dairy cow must be the following, must be part of a herd that has had a confirmed positive h5 n1 test from the National Veterinary Services laboratory must have been initially removed from commercial milk production during the 14 day time period before the sample collection date for the positive H5N1 test day through 120 days after the sample collection date for the positive test to be milk producing, currently lactating and maintained for commercial milk production On beginning date of the eligible loss condition. Now, producers must also have written the owned cash leads purchase or having been a contract grower of eligible adult dairy cows for at least 60 days before the beginning of the production loss to essentially participate in this program. And the coverage is also going to be provided on a per cow basis for a period of up to four weeks per cow.”

Other details within the Federal Register Notice on expanded ELAP include needed documentation and payment calculations. Applications will be accepted through local Farm Service Agency offices through January 30 of next year. Secretary Vilsack adds that the coverage under ELAP…

“…is going to build on the efforts that we’ve made to ensure that we’re limiting the spread of the virus as it’s detected, while dairy cows impacted and effective with H5N1 generally recover after a few weeks, and there’s little mortality associated with this disease. It does dramatically limit milk production for periods of time, which obviously causes economic loss for producers with affected premises, and for that reason, we’ve chosen to support farmers with the ELAP program to offset those losses.”