(NAFB.com) – The USDA’s Farm Service Agency has extended the sign-up deadline for the Emergency Livestock Relief Program to Nov. 21, 2025, after many ranchers were unable to apply during county office closures tied to the federal shutdown. The program provides payments to producers facing added feed costs or grazing losses from 2023–24 floods and wildfires. FSA Administrator Bill Beam said offices are now open five days a week under Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ directive to restore full access to core services. To simplify enrollment, FSA pre-qualified counties where disasters were already verified, allowing eligible producers to apply without submitting additional documentation. Covered livestock include beef and dairy cattle, sheep, llamas and other grazing animals. Payments are based on supplemental feed costs, offering up to 60% of one month’s feed cost for wildfire losses or three months for flood impacts. Annual payments are capped at $125,000, with limited exceptions up to $250,000.