(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for its second round of the AGRI Protecting Livestock from Avian Influenza Grant, also known as the “Protect Grant”, this time with a focus on bird flu.

The grant was originally designed to combat the spread of various diseases among livestock by reimbursing farmers who purchase new equipment to prevent contamination.

Now, thanks to the 2024 legislative session, the grant is narrowing its focus to take on H5N1, a.k.a. avian influenza, directly.

The spread of bird flu has been top of mind for a lot of producers nationwide.

According to the CDC, 48 states have reported outbreaks with poultry, 13 among dairy cows, and there have been over a dozen individual cases in humans as well.

Just this year, cases in Minnesota have been popping up much later than usual.

“Beyond when we kind of normally expect to experience our outbreaks in the spring and fall due to our wild bird migrations we had cases detected into July,” said Dr. Shauna Voss, poultry program veterinarian for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

Bird flu in poultry is typically fatal, and despite more mild cases in cattle and humans it’s still a cause for concern.

“If a dairy cattle gets it, it would impact milk production,” said University of Minnesota Ag Extension Educator for Olmsted County Mary Nesberg. “It’s kind of the farmer’s bottom line of making sure their operation is viable.”

That’s where the “Protect Grant” comes in.

Courtney VanderMey is the Farm and Business Development Coordinator for the MDA, and the manager for this particular grant.

“Producers can utilize this grant program to purchase lasers, sound machines, inflatables – things that are going to prevent wild species from coming close to their barn,” she said.

It can also help producers increase general biosecurity, a surprisingly simple concept despite the fancy name.

“Really, it’s just the habits and behaviors that farmers and producers take to minimize any sort of contamination,” said Nesberg.

Previous grants have already seen strong effects.

Loren Brey and his wife run Brey Farms, a turkey breeder in Sleepy Eye selling nearly three million eggs a year.

Last year, two of their lay farms were rocked with bird flu, significantly diminishing their output.

“Especially on a breeder farm, what that does is we’re still not back in full production,” Brey said. “It takes me about a year again to get birds raised up to get back in production.”

New lasers the grant helped provide are helping Brey protect his flocks from wild birds possibly carrying the disease.

“I’m hoping these lasers will just give that extra boost, because right now the only thing we have is biosecurity,” he said.

The MDA is accepting applications through October, with priority going to newer farmers who have been in business for 10 years or less.

For more information and how to apply, visit the MDA’s website here.