Farmers and ranchers who suffered livestock death losses in 2008 and 2009 are encouraged to compile documentation of those losses, says Tom Kostel, acting state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency in South Dakota.

Aid may be available under the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program.

How soon funding will be available is unknown. The rules for both programs have not been published by federal agencies.

Kostel said the indemnity program can compensate producers who had higher than normal livestock losses as a result of blizzards, floods, disease, extreme cold or heat, or wildfires.

South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke said the program, part of the 2008 Farm Bill, could provide up to 75 percent of the market value of the livestock lost.

Producers will need to provide documentation detailing the proof of death to indicate that the livestock deaths are a direct result of an eligible adverse weather event, according to a news release. Producers also will need to provide documents detailing the number and kind of livestock that died.

Kostel last month announced that producers of livestock, honey bees and farm-raised fish also may be eligible for assistance under the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program. ELAP provides emergency relief to reduce losses due to bad weather and disease, which are not covered by the indemnity program, the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program, or the Livestock Forage Disaster Program.

Documentation may include but is not limited to bank or loan documents, Federal Emergency Management Agency records, tax records, National Guard records, private insurance documents, production records, property tax records, purchase records, rendering truck receipts, veterinarian records and written contracts.

If verifiable documentation is not available, producers will be required to present reliable records documenting the proof of death, along with verifiable beginning and ending livestock inventory.

Application forms for the programs likely will be ready this summer for livestock losses that exceed normal mortality, according to Farm Service Agency spokesman Jamie White.

For more information about the programs, visit a local FSA county office or go to www.fsa.usda.gov.