Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Program
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
The purpose of this program is to provide benefits to sheep and lamb producers in order to reestablish their purchasing power in connection with the normal production of sheep and lambs for domestic consumption and boost the long-term development and growth of sheep and lamb farming in the United States.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
This program is designed to provide immediate financial assistance to sheep and lamb producers who have recently experienced low prices and poor market conditions. Payments under this program will provide those who are eligible with an immediate infusion of funds to help pay for operating expenses and meet other financial obligations. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will provide with respect to sheep and lamb operations: Year 1, payments are for purchasing eligible rams for breeding, enrolling their herd in a sheep improvement program, and for making improvements to their production facilities; Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4 payments are for marketing of eligible slaughtered lambs, feeder lambs, or ewe lambs.
Who is eligible to apply...
To be eligible, applicants must be engaged in the business of producing and marketing agricultural products at the time of application. In addition, slaughtered lambs must meet the following criteria: (1) be marketed during August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2003; (2) be owned by operation at least 30 days before marketing; (3) carcasses must: (a) meet the requirements of USDA Quality Grade Choice or Prime, (b) meet the requirements of USDA Yield Grade 2, (c) have a muscling confirmation score of Average Choice or better, (d) have a 55-75 pound dressed hot carcass weight, (e) be certified by a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) agent or an assigned representative, (f) be marketed between June 1 and July 31 of each program year in order to receive the $8 per carcass incentive payment. Feeder lambs must: (1) be marketed during the period August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2003; (2) be owned by the operation continuously from birth until the time of marketing; (3) be thick-muscled and large framed, as determined by AMS. Ewe lambs must: (1) not be older than 18 months of age; (2) not have produced an offspring; (3) not possess the characteristics of parrot mouth, foot rot, or scrapie; (4) be maintained in the herd for at least one complete offspring lambing cycle. Furthermore, eligible lamb producers must have in 1999 gross annual revenue of $2.5 million or less.
Credentials/Documentation
In order to receive payments, the sheep and lamb operation must submit supporting documentation of the cost of the improvements made to the facility during program Year 1 and must use facility improvements for sheep and lamb production activities continuously for at least the next 3 consecutive years. For slaughtered lambs, an Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) agent or an assigned representative of AMS must verify that lamb carcasses meet the payment criteria. The condition of qualifying feeder lambs and ewe lambs must also be certified to by the AMS agent or an assigned AMS representative.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
A request for Year 1 benefits under this program must be submitted via a completed Form FSA-382. A request for Year 2, Year 3, and Year 4 benefits under this program must be submitted via a completed Form FSA-383. The Forms FSA-382/3 should be submitted to FSA Office serving the county where the sheep and lamb operation is located.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
The Price Support Division (PSD) in Washington DC is responsible for making payments of LMA assistance program through FSA Service Center Offices.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
Applications for Year 1 must be received in FSA Office by October 13, 2000. Applications for Year 2 must be received by August 15, 2001. Applications for Year 3 must be received by August 15, 2002. Applications for Year 4 must be received by August 15, 2003.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
From 1 to 30 days.
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
Any sheep and lamb operation which is dissatisfied with a determination may make a request for reconsideration or appeal of such determination in accordance with the appeal regulations set forth at parts 11 and 780 of 7 CFR part 784.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Not applicable.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
Sheep and lamb producers.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Not applicable.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Direct Payments) FY 03 $10,000,000; FY 04 $32,700,000; and FY 05 est $13,000,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
12-4336-0-1-351.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Not applicable.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
$17,357,719 was paid out to producers who filed claims under this program in FY 03. It is also estimated that more than $30,000,000 in payments were paid out to producers who suffered losses due to low prices and poor market conditions from FY 00 to 03.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
All producers meeting eligibility requirements may receive assistance. Applications are non-competitive.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
This program has four benefit years: Year 1 - July 22, 1999 through September 30, 2000; Year 2 - August 1, 2000 through July 31, 2001; Year 3 - August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2002; Year 4 - August 1, 2002 through July 31, 2003. Each benefit year has various types of payments and eligibility requirements. Funds not used during one year are carried into the following years.
Formula and Matching Requirements
For Year 1 Producers will receive up to $100 for each ram that is purchased for breeding purposes, at least 90 days old at the time of purchase, and will be maintained for at least 90 days. The maximum ram payment allowed per sheep and lamb operation for rams is $2,500. Producers will receive $.50 for each sheep enrolled in an authorized sheep improvement program; however, the maximum sheep improvement payment is $500. The facility improvement option will provide producers with a payment of 20 percent of the total cost of the facility improvement, not to exceed $2,500 per sheep and lamb operation. Improvements that must be made during Year 1 must be used in the sheep and lamb operation for at least the next 3 consecutive years and producers must submit cost documentation of the improvements made. The maximum combined total payments to a sheep and lamb operation are $5,500. For Year 2 and Year 3 Payment rates for feeder and slaughter lambs include $3 per head for feeder lambs, $5 per head for slaughter lambs, and $8 total per head for slaughter lambs marketed during June 1 through July 31. For Year 4 Payment rates are $3 per head for feeder lambs, $5 per head for slaughtered lambs, $8 total per head for slaughtered lambs marketed during June 1 through July 31, $18 per head for each ewe lamb purchased or retained for breeding purposes during the period of August 1, 2001 through July 31, 2003. There are no maximum payments or herd limits, but feeder lamb producers whose gross income for calendar year 2001 or 2002 exceed $2.5 million are ineligible for payments. In order to receive the $8 per carcass incentive payment, slaughter lambs must be marketed between June 1 and July 31 of each program year.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
None.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
Recipients under this program are subject to audit by the Office of the Regional Inspector General, USDA.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Persons making application for benefits under this program must maintain accurate records and accounts in order to document that they meet all eligibility requirements specified herein. Such records and accounts must be retained for 3 years after the date of payment to the sheep and lamb operations under this program. Destruction of the records after such date shall be the risk of the party undertaking the destruction.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
The Act of August 24, 1935, Section 32.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Program is announced through news media and in letters to agricultural producers in the county. Regulations published in the Federal Register, 7 CFR part 784. LMA Fact Sheet may be located online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/publications/facts/html/lamb02.htm.