In an effort to increase risk protection for Oklahoma cattle producers, Oklahoma Farm Bureau has joined with U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, the State Department of Agriculture and the State Cattlemen’s Association to ask the USDA to expand the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP).
“We would like to see fed cattle added to LRP coverage,” said Oklahoma Farm Bureau President Steve Kouplen, “because many of our producers feed cattle and they need the financial protection.”
Fed cattle are defined as steers and heifers usually weighing 800 to 1,300 pounds. The current LRP program is for only steers weighing 650 to 900 pounds.
“This is an extremely important program for Oklahoma,” Kouplen said. "Oklahoma producers annually feed more than 365,000 steers and heifers. The cattle industry is the largest segment of Oklahoma agriculture."
The LRP program was temporarily closed Dec. 23rd, 2003 when BSE was discovered in a Canadian cow in a Washington state dairy. Cattle prices nosedived and trading was suspended.
“The (LRP) program did just what it was supposed to do,” said Scott Bulling, Crop Program Manager for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. “It protected covered producers from a loss when the market dropped.”
The USDA Risk Management Agency has been slow to reopen the LRP program, but Bulling is confident the program will re-open late this summer.
“It was re-evaluated, changes were made and now the paperwork needs to be completed before the USDA re-opens the program,” Bulling said.
The changes include, for the first time, coverage of heifers and cow/calf herds.
