Senator Marshall Announces USDA Emergency Assistance Awarded to Kansas Counties Impacted by Paradise Fire

Salina, KS – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. is proud to announce the issuance of Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) payments by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to Russell, Osborne, and Ellis County producers for stock-piled winter forage that was destroyed during the December 2021 Paradise Fire.

“The Paradise Fire destroyed property, livestock, and feed,” Senator Marshall said. “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.”

In March of this year, Senator Marshall announced a change to the ELAP program to cover stored winter forage lost in a natural disaster. Previously ELAP only covered the normal summer grazing season in Kansas. As a result of the changes secured by the Senator, USDA issued nearly $300,000 in payments for 49 landowners in Russell, Osborne, and Ellis Counties who lost forage that was stock-piled to use for winter feed. This was a direct result of Senator Marshall’s involvement.