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

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP) is sponsored by USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events, and other qualifying conditions not covered by other USDA disaster assistance programs.

Under President Trump and Secretary Rollins’ leadership, USDA has timely implemented policy changes outlined in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as we celebrate the one-year anniversary of signing the act into law. The Act makes a historic investment in American agriculture including expanding disaster assistance program coverage for producers.

The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP), administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), offers financial aid to producers who suffer losses from specific adverse conditions not covered by other USDA disaster assistance programs. This includes losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events, and other qualifying conditions affecting livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish.

ELAP provides critical support to help producers recover and sustain their operations. Eligible applicants include producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish who have suffered losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other qualifying conditions. Producers must provide verifiable documentation of the losses and meet all program requirements.

### Working Families Tax Cuts Act Program Updates The Working Families Tax Cuts Act provides expanded benefits for farm-raised fish losses due to birds that feed on fish and establishes a normal mortality rate for honeybee colony losses. * **Farm-Raised Fish**: ELAP benefits are expanded to include farm-raised fish losses due to birds that feed on fish. This change is retroactive to Jan.

1, 2026. Producers must file a notice of loss and application for payment by March 1, 2027,for 2026 losses. * Producers can receive $600 per eligible acre for each program year.

* Repeated bird depredation events during a year will not result in multiple payments for the same acres. * Payments will be multiplied by 85% of the total number of acres of farm-raised fish farms that the producer has in production for the calendar year. * Producers must have timely filed a crop acreage report to meet eligibility requirements.

* Unused ponds or waterways, bodies of water not under control of the producer, and any water that is reduced due to drought are not eligible acres for bird depredation losses. * Crawfish or crayfish are not eligible for losses due to bird depredation. * **Honeybees**:Starting with program year 2026, FSA will use a normal mortality rate of 15% for eligible honeybee colony losses.

* Prior to this change, the normal mortality rate was established by FSA for each program year based on published data. **Final Date to file Notice of Loss and Final Date to Submit an Application for Payment:**March 1 after the program year in which the loss occurred.

To apply for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program, producers must complete and submit a notice of loss and an application for payment to their local FSA office. The process includes providing documentation of the losses and the conditions causing the losses. Detailed enrollment instructions and deadlines are available through the local FSA office.

* Livestock losses due to eligible disease, certain adverse weather, and feed and water shortages. * Honeybee colony, hive, and feed losses due to colony collapse disorder, eligible adverse weather, and other conditions. * Farm-raised fish death losses due to adverse weather and other qualifying conditions including losses due to birds that feed on fish.

* Payment Rates: Payments are based on a percentage of the fair market value of the livestock, honeybees, or fish lost, as well as the cost of feed and water transportation. * Documentation Requirements: Producers must provide acceptable documentation of losses and the conditions causing the losses. This may include veterinary records, feed and water receipts, purchase records, and other supporting documents.

* For farm-raised fish losses due to birds that feed on fish, producers must have an active U.S. Fish and Wildlife Depredation permit with cormorant, American white pelican, heron, or Great egret listed on the permit, when applicable. #### H5N1 (Bird Flu) Infection Payment Rates Monthly payment rates are established at the beginning of every month for H5N1 losses.

**2026 H5N1 Monthly Payment Rates** #### Additional ELAP Benefits * Comprehensive Coverage: ELAP covers a wide range of losses and conditions not addressed by other disaster assistance programs, providing crucial support for diverse agricultural operations. * Economic Stability: By compensating for significant losses, ELAP helps ensure the economic stability of livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish producers.

* Risk Management: ELAP is part of the USDA’s suite of disaster assistance programs designed to help producers manage risk and sustain their operations through adverse conditions.