"In this county, we got a lot of questions from producers: 'Why are we eligible?' " recalled Tom Schneider, the head of the USDA office in Manitowoc County, where livestock owners got $1.5 million. "Our answer was 'Because we were told you were eligible.' "
Several Wisconsin counties qualified on the basis of a two-year-old disaster declaration for a January 2001 snowstorm. "It was a nasty winter storm," recalled Teresa Zimmer, the USDA official in Green County. Asked how the storm affected ranchers, she said, "There were several days where livestock owners couldn't get to the market . . . to sell their animals."

Ranchers in Green County collected nearly $1.5 million. One of those who got a payment was Cornell Kasbergen, who helps run family dairy farms in Green County and Tulare County, Calif. Family members received a total of $72,000 in livestock funds, records show.
It was a program that was available that we took advantage of, did we have any losses? I couldn't tell you.