The U.S. Department of Agriculture requests farmers and ranchers to keep detailed records of any losses due to natural disasters.

Losses include livestock and feed losses, crop losses, and any additional expenses that resulted from a natural disaster such as drought or flood.

Good records can help farmers and ranchers recover losses from natural disasters though the USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the 2014 Farm Bill.

Records should include:

• The documentation of the number and type of livestock to have died, supplemented if possible by photos or video records of ownership and losses.
• Dates of death supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts.
• The cost of transporting livestock to new or safer pastures.
• Feed purchases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed.
• Crop records and fertilizer and seed purchases with planting and production records.
• Pictures of on-farm storage facilities that have been destroyed.
• Evidence of damaged farm land.

For more information visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/.