A producer survey kicks off the three-year industry-led pilot project
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Many livestock producers in Manitoba face issues with predation and the toll it takes on their operation. Staff at Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) want to help producers deal with this issue with a pilot program they’re currently running.
“The intent of the project is to put in place some mitigation practices to try and reduce predator interactions between wolf, coyote, black bear and beef cattle and sheep,” said Ray Bittner. He is the predation lead for MBP and lead on the Livestock Predation Prevention Pilot Project (LPPPP).
The LPPPP, a three-year industry-led project announced in February, is currently seeking information from producers across Manitoba on predation.
“We're starting the project with a survey. The survey is going to ask what type of animals producers have, what type of predation issues they have and what predators are on their land. We're going to try and quantify where the biggest issues are and the things that we can have the most effect on,” Bittner told Farms.com.
After data is collected from the survey, the project members will purchase mitigation items to try and reduce the number of predator interactions, said Bittner.
“Everybody generally agrees that predation is a bad thing, but what we found is most municipalities have a medium number of interactions and problems. But some producers are extremely affected, and others are not at all. So, what we want to do is try and help out the extremely affected producers and reduce the losses,” he said.
Producers can find the survey in the December issues of Cattle Country or it will be mailed to them. They can also request a survey by calling the MBP office at 800-772-0458.
“We would like just about everybody who receives (a survey) to reply, even if they have minimal problems because the survey will help quantify what the people with minimal problems do to possibly avoid those problems,” said Bittner.
Producers are asked to complete the survey by Dec. 21 and those who do complete it are entered to win one of two prizes: a Ridgetec Lookout, dual LTE game camera or a Pit Boss pellet stainless steel, hardwood pellet grill barbeque.
Along with MBP, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, Manitoba Sheep Association and Manitoba Trapper’s Association are planning and delivering the project. Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development is providing $300,000 for the project.
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