Windbreakers: No... not the clothing item

          Soil erosion has been a long time problem for farmers. One example in American history where the loss of top soil lead to a national disaster is the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

        A story on History.com about the Dust Bowl says that ranchers and farmers went to Oklahoma and Texas panhandles as well as neighboring sections of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico lured by promises of rich land.

photo credit: illinois.edu

       Here the farmers plowed under the native grass cover to make room for wheat farms to meet the growing demand, the History.com story says.
       "Wheat crops, in high demand during World War I, exhausted the topsoil," a story on PBS says, "Overgrazing by cattle and sheep herds stripped the western plains of their cover. When the drought hit, the land just blew away in the wind."
     In 1935 the Soil Conservation Service was formed to promote farm rehabilitation. They instructed farmers to reincorporate natural cover and plant trees.
      Why was this the solution? Trees and natural cover act as a windbreak to slow the erosion of the soil.

photo credit: egardens

      Windbreaks are useful not only to prevent soil erosion, but also to slow water erosion and protect wind-sensitive plants, a report by the United States Department of Agriculture says.
      The report says that the benefits of windbreaks include improved income, added protection, carbon storage and enhanced aesthetics.
      By incorporating windbreaks into your farm design you can add benefits to your production while preventing another Dust Bowl from happening.
     What do you think of windbreaks? Do you use them on your farm? If so what has your results been like? Leave a comment below letting me know.
    Have a topic you want to see covered? Leave a comment below and I will add it to a list of stories.