(a) To be eligible for payment under this subpart, a livestock producer must be an individual or entity who is an owner, operator, landlord, tenant, or sharecropper, who as of the beginning date of the qualifying disaster event, shares in the risk of producing livestock and who is entitled to share in the livestock available for marketing from the farm, or would have shared had the livestock been produced, and who also meets the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section. The term eligible producer can include a livestock owner or contract grower who satisfies other requirements of this section.

(b) An individual or legal entity seeking to be an eligible producer under this subpart must submit a Farm Operating Plan, for an individual or legal entity as provided in 7 CFR part 1400, and be a:

(1) Citizen of the United States;

(2) Resident alien, which for purposes of ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW means “lawful alien” as defined in 7 CFR part 1400;

(3) Partnership organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens;

(4) Corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational structure organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; or

(5) Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined in section 4(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

(c) The following eligibility provisions apply to payments under this subpart: 7 CFR part 1416, subparts A and C; 7 CFR part 12; and 7 CFR 718.6.

(d) Eligible livestock producers must be identified as either an owner or operator as defined in 7 CFR 718.2, or an “other producer or tenant” who is associated with a tract or field not as an owner or operator, in FSA's farm records for the applicable program year where the eligible covered livestock were physically located or normally would have been physically located in the absence of the qualifying disaster event occurring. Livestock producers who are not established in FSA's farm record system must provide proof of ownership, a lease, or owner or operator verification to confirm their interest and physical location for the applicable program year to be added to an existing Farm Serial Number or have one established for them.

(e) To be eligible for a payment under this subpart, a livestock producer must certify that they have incurred increased supplemental feed costs due to a qualifying disaster event in calendar year 2023 or 2024. Producers may receive payment for one or both years, if eligible, and they may receive payments for multiple qualifying disaster events, if applicable, not to exceed the equivalent of 3 months of assistance per livestock producer, per physical location county, per calendar year.

(f) If a contract grower is an eligible livestock producer for covered livestock, the owner of that livestock is not eligible for payment.

(g) Eligible livestock producers do not include livestock auction facilities, operations in the business of housing livestock on a day-to-day basis (including but not limited to preparing livestock for sale or export), and those whose business is to buy and sell livestock from various sources, only serving as an intermediary between livestock producers and buyers. Commercial feedlots and feedyards (feeding livestock in the final stage of production before slaughter) are not eligible.