The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the Protecting Livestock (PROTECT) Grant Program.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Matching Grants
Deadline: 03/07/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Protecting Livestock Grant Program, also referred to as the Protect Grant, helps Minnesota farmers and ranchers buy and install supplies or equipment that will:
- Prevent livestock disease outbreaks.
- Protect animals not currently covered by existing depredation programs (e.g., protect honeybee colonies from bears).
Funding Information
- A total of $500,000 is available for this program. They expect to award 50 to 75 grants.
- You may request between $500 and $10,000 per farming operation; a 1:1 cash match is required.
Eligible Projects
Eligible projects include fencing, electronic animal ID systems, air filtration, exclusion systems, Danish entry systems, truck washes, and other strategies to prevent and mitigate disease and other risks.
Project examples:
- Legislatively compliant fencing for farmed cervid operations
- Exclusionary fencing to protect honeybee colonies from damage by bears
- Electronic animal ID systems (including readers and software)
- Livestock handling chutes
- Truck washes
- Air filtration systems
- Danish entry systems
- Exclusion systems to help keep wild birds and other animals out of livestock facilities
- Isolation pens
- Pen covers for outdoor poultry
- Inflatables (to scare wild species away from poultry operations)
- Lasers (to scare wild species away from poultry operations)
- Sound machines (to scare wild species away from poultry operations).
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must:
- Be the principal operator of a livestock operation in Minnesota.
- Be a resident of the state of Minnesota or be a business entity authorized to farm in Minnesota.
- Be in good standing with the State of Minnesota:
-
- No back taxes owed.
- No defaults on Minnesota state-backed financing for the last seven years.
- Acceptable performance on past MDA grants.
- Not be an employee or spouse of an employee of the MDA.
For more information, visit MDA.
