Dairy farmers who suffer milk losses due to the H5N1 virus in their herds are being made eligible for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP). Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this assistance will offset a portion of the financial losses for the reduced milk production when cows are removed from the herd. “When you’re dealing with roughly 120 to 130 herds out of 24,000 herds the impact on milk volume is relatively very, very small; that’s the good news,” said Vilsack. “Obviously, to the individual producer, it’s difficult and devastating. That’s the reason why we put the ELAP program together as an indication we want to be partners with them as they deal and cope with this disease.” To be eligible, milk cows must be confirmed positive for the virus and initially removed from milk production. Payments will be calculated based on the monthly all-milk price and a standard number of days with reduced or no production. The final day to file a notice of loss with the Farm Service Agency is January 30.
