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Proper vegetation can keep your property from blowing away
When those winds come sweeping down the plains — or across your pastures or around your house — they can cause erosion, damage buildings, create dust, and generally make things miserable.
A windbreak — rows of trees and shrubs strategically located on your property — can slow, direct, or even block damaging winds, says Paige Mitchell Buck, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) office in Champaign, Ill.
Landowners interested in establishing a windbreak should spend ample time planning and preparing now, far in advance of spring planting, Mitchell Buck says.
The area you want to protect will determine the location, size, and design of your windbreak, Mitchell Buck explains. For example:
Soil quality is crucial, so plan now to get it tested. Your local cooperative extension service or NRCS office can suggest soil amendments to best suit the windbreak's trees.
They can also help you choose the best trees for your particular situation, taking into consideration:
Other factors can affect the health of your trees — salt and pollutants from the road, for example — so heartier varieties may be in order, Mitchell Buck advises.
You also want to begin researching where to obtain quality plants.
That cost may be less than you think. Organizations such as the National Arbor Day Foundation may sell trees for a reduced price. NRCS offers a cost-sharing program to help rural residents who meet the criteria obtain trees.
"Financial assistance helps cover the costs of putting good conservation — like windbreaks — on the land. That cost share can pay for anywhere from 50 to 75 percent of the cost of the windbreak," Mitchell Buck says. "For folks who fit the bill, it can be a relatively small investment on their part that pays off big in the end."
Sarah Beth Aubrey is an Indiana writer.