Livestock Disaster Assistance Improvement Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced
Summary
Expands and clarifies disaster aid for livestock, honey bees, and grazers. It would broaden who can get help, allow permanent water infrastructure, set beekeeping loss rules, and improve drought data and agency coordination.
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- Ranchers and grazers: Producers who hold a federal land‑use permit or lease land from a state or local government would become eligible for Emergency Conservation Program payments. The bill would allow payments for permanent water wells and pipelines and would ease environmental review during drought emergencies.
- Forage and emergency payments: The Livestock Forage Disaster rules would treat 4 consecutive weeks as one monthly payment or 8 consecutive weeks as eligible for two monthly payments, giving producers more payment flexibility. Emergency Assistance would explicitly cover drought, feed or water shortages, transportation costs, disease, and other Secretary‑determined causes of loss.
- Beekeepers and drought coordination: Beekeepers would get a per‑hive and per‑colony loss‑rate method, national data standards for documenting losses, and no cap on operation size for payments. The bill would create a Drought Monitor Interagency Working Group within 180 days, require a report within 1 year, and require an interagency MOU to align drought determinations after the report.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Emergency conservation help for grazers
If enacted, people with Federal permits to graze or who lease State or local land could be eligible for Emergency Conservation Program payments. Payments could cover new permanent measures like water wells and pipelines and replacing temporary fixes with permanent infrastructure. Payments still could not go to States or local governments. During a drought on Interior land, the Interior Secretary could waive the 30-day NEPA comment period and accept certain NRCS reviews to speed approvals.
More emergency help for beekeepers
If enacted, emergency aid would cover drought and feed or water shortages for livestock and honey bees. Transportation costs for feed, water, livestock, and bees could be eligible. Beekeeper payments must reflect per-hive and per-colony losses and apply with no operation-size cap. The Secretary could exclude colony collapse disorder and must set nationwide documentation and annual replacement-rate standards, using a fallback mortality rate if data are insufficient.
More monthly forage payments for ranchers
If enacted, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program would pay one monthly payment for at least 4 consecutive weeks of qualifying forage loss during a county's normal grazing period. If a producer has 8 consecutive qualifying weeks, they could get two monthly payments. The Secretary will determine each county's normal grazing period.
Improve drought data and monitoring
If enacted, USDA must create a Drought Monitor working group within 180 days to improve the data behind the U.S. Drought Monitor. The group must report recommendations to Congress and agencies within one year. The Secretary must try to adopt recommendations within 180 days after the report. The working group ends 90 days after it files the report.
FSA and Forest Service drought agreement
If enacted, FSA and the Forest Service must sign an MOU within 60 days after the working group's report. The MOU would align how they decide drought severity and resolve inconsistent determinations. It must use the U.S. Drought Monitor when practicable and give consistent information to grazing permit holders and operators.
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Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
SD • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
NM • D
Sponsored 3/6/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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