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Minnesota livestock producers can apply for Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention grants

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is offering financial assistance to help livestock producers prevent wolf attacks.

Mark Abrahamson with MDA says a total of $95,000 will be awarded through the Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention program to reimburse purchases of deterrents like fencing and shelters.

“A lot of the losses of livestock tend to be young animals, calves are the most common, so shelters when calves are vulnerable are another thing that’s been pretty popular.”

He tells Brownfield expenses for guard animals, lighting, and alarms can also be offset through the program.

Livestock owners have until January 5^th to apply.

“So it’s a pretty long time, because number one livestock producers are busy (and) have a lot of stuff going on this time of year. But also, we want them to have a pretty complete proposal when they submit their applications.”

Abrahamson says proposals should include estimated costs of wolf prevention practices.

Eligible producers must also live within Minnesota’s wolf range, as designated by the Department of Ag.