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Livestock Resources

IDOA has worked with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to mobilize this opportunity for financial assistance provided through the BIG program.  

Current Financial Program Opportunities due to COVID-19

• Pritzker Administration announced $5 million Business Grant Program for Agriculture Businesses. Leveraging federal CARES Act funding, the state of Illinois offered Business Interruption Grants (BIG) to livestock farms to help offset losses incurred in connection to COVID-19.  
• Illinois Pork Producers Association and Illinois Farm Bureau have partnered to fund a grant for pork producers facing unexpected pork disposal costs during this difficult time. Find the application here.
• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has announced the availability of EQIP funding to assist producers facing mortality management issues. Please note that the funding is based on a cap of $25,000 per practice, which include rendering, landfill, incineration, burial, and a catch all other than can include composting. The program is open to pork producers, but also to beef and dairy if the need is there as well.  Applications will be ranked, and financial decisions made quickly. Find more support for animal mortality at www.farmers.gov/coronavirus. 

Current Regulatory Flexibilities due to COVID-19

• On May 7^th, the Illinois Department of Agriculture released an emergency rulemaking with regulatory relief for livestock farmers faced with the difficult decision to depopulate. That rulemaking included flexibilities around a 24-hour timeframe, transportation, and on-farm burial and composting. Reach out to Tasha Bunting or Lauren Lurkins with any questions. 
• The Illinois Department of Agriculture Bureau of Environmental Programs has issued guidance on perimeter sampling at livestock facilities for the 3rd quarter of 2020.

More information:

• For Pork Producers: PRODUCER CALL CENTER NOW LIVE. IPPA now offers a customer service hotline for producers to call or text with questions related to pork and the COVID-19 crisis. You can call from 8 am - 5 pm, Monday-Friday or text 24/7. HOTLINE TO CALL/TEXT: 217-393-8498.
• Emergency Livestock Mortality Management:
  • IDOA has released guidance and provided additional resources for livestock producers regarding emergency depopulation and disposal. 
  • USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also has helpful tools and resource for Carcass Management available on their website.
• Make sure you have registered your farm with Dun & Bradstreet and SAM before depopulation. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act requires entity recipients of federal financial assistance to have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and to maintain current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) database (formerly CCR).
• The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued interim guidance for Meat and Poultry Processing Workers and Employers.  
• President Trump announced an Executive Order invoking the Defense Production Act with Respect to Food Supply Chain Resources.   
• The Illinois Department of Agriculture is issuing important alerts regarding animal health and welfare, including directives for veterinarians. You can find that information here.