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N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association has begun accepting applications to a relief fund set up to help ranchers who lost livestock during an early October blizzard.

The storm that hit with surprising intensity on Oct. 4-5 dumped up to 1  1/2 feet of snow in southwestern North Dakota. There is no official count of the number of dead cattle, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is in the thousands.

The Stockmen’s Association and the Stockmen’s Foundation each contributed $10,000 to start the relief fund. With other donations the fund totals nearly $50,000. Application and nomination forms can be found at http://www.ndstockmen.org .

The Stockmen’s also has contributed $10,000 to a relief fund for South Dakota ranchers, who lost between 15,000 and 30,000 livestock in the storm. That fund has surpassed $2 million.