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The Livestock Compensation Program is a program administratively authorized by the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
(USDA) in 2002 to compensate certain
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
producers for feed and pasture losses caused by a natural disaster declared in 2001 and 2002.
Under the program, estimated total direct payments of just over $1 billion were made to all producers of beef, dairy, sheep and goats in any county that was declared a disaster area by the
Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
between January 1, 2001, and February 20, 2003, regardless of the individual producer's loss experience. The payment rates under the LCP were $31.50 per adult dairy cattle, $18 per adult beef cattle, $13.50 for certain livestock over 500 lbs., and $4.50 per sheep or goat. Payments were limited to $40,000 per person, and were not made to any person with qualifying gross revenue over $2.5 million.
The program was not specifically authorized by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
but was initially implemented by USDA under existing authorities. It was initiated because funding was not available to implement the Livestock Assistance Program.