Emergency Control of Wind Erosion

As a farmer, there can be few things worse than watching your fields blow. That cloud of dust is taking away some of your pride and robbing your pocketbook because erosion steals future crop yields. So what can you do in the spring to prevent your fields from blowing, or to control the erosion if the worst happens?

First, treat crop residue just as carefully as you look after the dollars in your pocket. Straw is your main shield from wind erosion - keep it upright and anchored to the soil surface where it can slow down the wind. During a drought, or after low residue pulse crops, there is less straw to protect your soil. Consider chem fallow, or at least lift the tine harrows from your cultivator and slow down to conserve fuel and straw. Seed using low disturbance direct seeding.

Check your fields during or after strong winds. If there is soil in the ditch, it is time to act. There are two things you can do: either cover the eroding area with straw or manure, or till the soil to roughen the surface.

Wind erosion starts from overworked field edges, crests of knolls, or pockets of sandy soils, and spreads like an avalanche to the rest of the field. If part of the field is blowing, 30-50 t/ac of manure spread evenly on the surface on just these areas may be enough to save the rest of the field. If the manure contains a large proportion of straw, application rates could be reduced to 10 t/ac. Straw can also be used, spread at least 1 t/ac on loams and clay loams, 1-2t/ac on fine sandy loams, and up to 4 t/ac on sandy soils.

Straw should be "hairpinned" into the soil using a weighted disk drill without packers, or by light disking with the disks set to roll parallel to the direction of travel. As an alternative, knives and narrow chisels may also be used to lightly work the straw into the ground and hold it in place. Work perpendicular to the wind and start at the upwind side. Consider not working in manure after spreading to maximize wind erosion protection.

Emergency deep tillage can be used to ridge the soil and make a rough cloddy soil surface which slows down the wind and traps windblown soil. Protection is temporary and may need to be repeated.

Heavy duty cultivators with chisel points can be used for emergency erosion control on loams and clays. Rippers and subsoilers are also effective, particularly if the subsoil is firm. Remove or lift tine harrows from cultivators. Start at the upwind side, till at a depth and speed which will bring clods to the surface. It is often necessary to till to a depth of at least 4-5 inches, and sometimes even deeper. At least 1/3 of the field should be tilled perpendicular to the wind in strips no more than two implement widths apart. If the field blows again in a few days, make another pass into untilled ground between existing strips.

Wind erosion on sandy soils is difficult to control with tillage; few clods are brought to the surface. Till the entire field to a depth deep enough to form ridges perpendicular to the wind. If the soil is frozen, chisels can be used, otherwise lister shovels (designed specifically to make field ridges) work best. Ridges should be on 1-foot spacing if 4 inch ridges are formed; if ridges are 8 inches high spacing can be at three feet. Again, adjust tillage speed to get the maximum effect. If the field continues to blow, repeat ridging between the old furrows