Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) payments to producers in Russell, Osborne, and Ellis Counties, Kansas. These payments are intended to compensate for stock-piled winter forage destroyed during the Paradise Fire in December 2021.

Senator Marshall stated, "The Paradise Fire destroyed property, livestock, and feed. Our team made it a top priority to see that our farmers and livestock owners are properly compensated for losses outside their control. We are proud of our work to secure this relief funding for these counties so the impacted landowners can move forward and rebuild."

Earlier this year, Senator Marshall announced modifications to the ELAP program to include coverage for stored winter forage lost due to natural disasters. Previously, the program only covered losses during the normal summer grazing season in Kansas. Thanks to these changes initiated by Senator Marshall, nearly $300,000 in payments have been issued by USDA to 49 landowners across Russell, Osborne, and Ellis Counties who suffered losses of winter feed forage.