Crop Disaster Recovery (CDR) is continuing its fight on behalf of honeybee producers affected by the ELAP normal mortality rate issue.

Since first raising concerns regarding USDA’s implementation of the 15% honeybee normal mortality rate established under Public Law 119-21, CDR has remained actively engaged in pursuing clarification, administrative review, and a path forward for impacted producers.

The issue remains unresolved, but CDR’s position has not changed.

“We are still fighting for the honeybee community,” said CDR Co-Founders David and Kimberly Lott. “Our goal is to establish a clear precedent that ensures the law is applied fairly and consistently. Once that precedent is established, our work will not stop with the producers currently involved.”

Shane Cassell, Director of Client Relations for Crop Disaster Recovery, echoed that commitment and emphasized the broader importance of the effort.

“This is bigger than one producer or one ELAP determination,” Cassell said. “We have producers who trusted that their determinations were calculated correctly and may not have known there was anything to challenge. We are going to continue fighting to establish the right precedent, and if that door opens, we intend to go back through our client base, identify the producers who may have been impacted, and pursue every appropriate avenue available to them. The honeybee community deserves consistency, and they deserve to know that someone is willing to keep pushing on their behalf.”

CDR believes a favorable administrative determination or other controlling precedent could create an opportunity to revisit additional 2025 ELAP determinations that may have been calculated using the higher prior mortality rate.

That means the current effort is about more than the claims immediately in front of CDR.

If a precedent is established confirming that the 15% mortality rate should apply to eligible 2025 determinations, CDR intends to identify and pursue available administrative remedies for other clients who may have previously received reduced ELAP payments or who may not have challenged their original determination.

Some producers may have accepted their original payment because they were unaware of the change in law, did not understand the potential impact of the mortality-rate calculation, or believed their opportunity to challenge the determination had passed.

CDR intends to evaluate those situations individually and determine what review, reconsideration, appeal, or other administrative pathways may remain available.

“Our responsibility is not only to fight the case in front of us,” the Lotts said. “If we are able to establish the precedent, we want to go back and determine who else may have been affected and what options exist to help those producers.”

CDR continues to work through the appropriate USDA administrative channels while gathering documentation, evaluating impacted determinations, and advocating for consistent implementation across counties and states.

The company is also encouraging honeybee producers to retain their 2025 ELAP determinations, payment calculations, notices, and supporting documentation. Those records may become important if additional review opportunities develop.

For CDR, the objective remains the same: ensure honeybee producers receive accurate and fair determinations based on the law and that producers who may have previously missed an opportunity to challenge an ELAP calculation are not forgotten if a pathway for relief becomes available.

CDR will continue fighting for clarity, consistency, and fair treatment for the honeybee producers who depend on these programs