Grant Money Available to Minnesota Livestock Owners for Prevention of Wolf Attacks

St. Paul, MN: New money is available to Minnesota livestock producers to help prevent wolf attacks. The Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants provide $120,000 for the upcoming fiscal year (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019). Applications are due June 29, 2018 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

The grants provide reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conflicts. Eligible expenses for the grant program will include any or all of the following items:

·         Purchase of guard animals

·         Veterinary costs for guard animals

·         Installation of wolf-barriers which may include pens, fladry and fencing

·         Installation of wolf-deterring lights and alarms

·         Calving or lambing shelters

·         Other measures demonstrated to effectively reduce wolf-livestock conflicts

“This grant program provides Minnesota livestock owners with additional resources to protect their animals and livelihood,” said Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Andrea Vaubel. “I encourage producers to examine ways they can decrease the chances of wolf attacks, and apply for this state funding.”

Producers must live within Minnesota’s wolf range, as designated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or on property determined by the Commissioner of Agriculture to be affected by wolf-livestock conflicts. Any animal species produced for profit and documented to have been killed by wolves in Minnesota in the past is eligible. This includes bison, cattle, chicken, deer, donkey, duck, geese, goat, horse, llama, mule, sheep, swine and turkey.

The grant application must be emailed or postmarked by 5:00 p.m. on June 29, 2018. Work for this grant cycle must be done and expenses reported by June 30, 2019. The application and more information can be found at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/grants/disaster/wolf/wolfconflictprevent.aspx.

This is the second round of grants available to the state’s livestock owners after the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in 2017. The first round awarded $120,000 to 25 producers in 12 counties of the state. Grantees are using the money for items like fencing, guard animals, and motion lights – all deterrents to wolves.

New Online Tool Helps Farmers, Applicators Time Manure Applications with Weather

St. Paul, MN: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has teamed up with the National Weather Service to design a tool that helps farmers and commercial applicators determine the best time to apply manure.

The Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast tool uses past and predicted National Weather Service weather data like precipitation, temperature, and snow melt. It predicts the likelihood that applied manure will run off fields in daily, next day, and 72 hour increments. Farmers and commercial applicators use an interactive map to locate their field and find the forecasted risk. Users can also signup for email or text messages for their county that alert them to a severe runoff risk for that day.

“By providing this information, we hope to give our farmers and commercial manure applicators the tools they need to make well-informed decisions,” said Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. “By being able to better predict times of high runoff risk, we can decrease the potential loss of manure to our waterways and increase farm productivity by saving nutrients on the land. It is a win-win situation based on an easy-to-use tool."

When someone goes to the interactive map, the runoff risk is displayed in one of four categories: no runoff expected, low, moderate, and severe. When the risk is moderate or severe, it is recommended that the applicator evaluate the situation to determine if there are other locations or later dates when the manure application could take place.

The forecasting tool can also be used by others looking for climate information including 2” soil depth temperatures which are useful at planting time, and 6” soil depth temperatures which are helpful when determining fall fertilizer application in appropriate areas.

The Minnesota Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast is part of a larger federal project. The National Weather Service has provided data and guidance to states to create similar tools in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. State funding for the project was provided by the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment.

Free Workshops for High Farm Stress Levels

St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will offer “Down on the Farm: Supporting Farmers in Stressful Times” trainings in January, February and March. The professional development workshop will be offered in six different cities across Minnesota; it is designed to help people who work with farmers on a regular basis recognize and respond when they see farmers experiencing stress, anxiety, depression and other challenges.

“I farmed for over 20 years and know firsthand the toll that stress and anxiety can take on your well-being,” said Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. “Farmers are notoriously self-reliant, but sometimes the number of things they have to deal with simultaneously becomes overwhelming. We designed these workshops to help professionals respond to farmers’ unique stresses.”

The three-hour workshops are free and will be held at both 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. in these locations: 

• Tuesday, January 30 - Willmar, Ridgewater College
• Wednesday, January 31 - Marshall, Southwest Minnesota State University
• Wednesday, February 21 - Austin, Riverland College
• Thursday, February 22 - North Mankato, South Central College
• Wednesday, March 14 - Grand Rapids, Itasca Community College
• Thursday, March 15 - Thief River Falls, Northland Community & Technical College 

The MDA invites agency staff, bankers, veterinarians, crop consultants, clergy, social service and health care professionals, agriculture educators, and others who work with farmers to attend.

The main presenter will be Ted Matthews, a psychologist who has worked with farmers and farm families statewide for more than 20 years and has led several state and federal crisis response efforts. Randy Willis from the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, Michele Page from the Farm Service Agency in Minnesota, and Meg Moynihan from the MDA (who is also a dairy farmer) will join Matthews to deliver the training.

Participants will learn to recognize signs of mental and emotional distress and crisis, use active listening skills, and find local and regional resources available to farmers, and will improve their confidence in delivering difficult information to farmers in stressful situations. Continuing education credits are available.

Registration is now open at www.mdadownonthefarm.eventbrite.com. For more information, including a printable workshop brochure, visit www.mda.state.mn.us/protecting/farmsafety.aspxor call 651-201-6012.

Thanks to support from generous partners, all trainings are free to participants. Sponsors include Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Compeer Financial, Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, Minnesota State AgCentric and Southern Minnesota Center of Agriculture, Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Farmers Union, and OCIA MN #1.