The AgriPost
March 30, 2018
29
A Healthy Shelter Belt Needs a Trim By Les Kletke Few producers would argue the benefits of shelterbelts yet they can be a mixed blessing, as equipment has grown in size the shelterbelts have become a challenge to work around. Research shows that while the yield adjacent to the shelterbelt may be reduced, the area protected by the shelterbelt may realize significant yield increases from 5 to 40%. They also provide a variety of other benefits to landowners and the environment. “The shelterbelts have also grown and now encroach on the fields,” said Richard Warkentin, Technician with the Stanley Soil Management Association a non-profit organization based in Winkler. To that end, he has been working with farmers to trim shelterbelts back to their original width. The Stanley Soil Management Association has received some funding to demonstrate various control measures and he said one method uses forestry equipment to trim the trees. The equipment used in the demonstration left the shelterbelt approximately 15 ft. wide. “In the past farmers have used chain saws and then a chipper but this equipment is like using a chipper immediately,” said Warkentin. He acknowledged that the result may not be visually appealing at first. “It is a bit of a rough finish, but the shelter belt does some back.” The Soil Management Association has received some funding through Environment and Climate Change Canada to help encourage landowners to rejuvenate existing shelterbelts rather than remove them. Warkentin said that the age of shelterbelts has brought some other issues to the fore. “We had a lot of shelter belts that were planted earlier and then attacked by Dutch Elm Disease, so the ones planted in he last 30 years did not have as much Elm but were replaced by ash which are now being attacked by the Ash Bore,” he said. “We seem to be under attack by a pest of the times.” While farming practices have changed from the 1930s when dust storms were commonplace shelterbelts may again become a vital part of the agricultural scene. “Minimum and zero till
Stanley Soil Management Association demonstrated forestry equipment to trim shelterbelts. The equipment trims the belt back to original width.
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have reduced the amount of soil erosion,” he said. “But shelter belts have a role to play as they continue to add to the carbon sink.” As climate change becomes more of a focus, shelterbelts are seen to play a major role in sequestering significant amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide into the soil as biomass.
KAP Report Considers Climate Change Solutions By Elmer Heinrichs Manitoba’s chief farm organization, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), recently released its final report on agricultural solutions to climate change. In the preamble to the report, KAP noted that in the coming decades, climate change is expected to bring profound changes to agriculture in Manitoba. To help farmers address this challenge, KAP created the Manitoba Agricultural Climate Initiative to assess how climate change is likely to change production conditions in Manitoba, understand Manitoba farmers’ priorities for managing these changes, and to develop ideas on how government can support farmers’ efforts to address these priorities. “It’s quite remarkable just how much things are projected to change,” said KAP President Dan Mazier. “You think about northern Kansas and South Dakota, those are the kind of climates we’re going to have here.” KAP reviewed data from the Prairie Climate Centre a collaboration between the University of Winnipeg and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. According to the analysis by 2020, summer temperatures and precipitation will be similar to North Dakota, in 30 years closer to Nebraska and in 60 years close to Kansas and northern Texas. Spring precipitation is predicted to increase by 26
% and almost two months with plus 30 °C temperatures by 2080. Over the summer growing season, there is a possibility of more droughts and increased forest fires. Overall, this would mean a growing season that is a full month longer on average, which would present opportunities to introduce new crop varieties to Manitoba. However, these benefits would be limited by the risks, which are expected to include new invasive species and pests that are not killed by cold weather, drier summers, more precipitation in winter, spring and fall, and severe and variable weather. Looking to the short and long-term plans in agriculture, farm organizations and governments at all, levels will need to implement changes to support healthy soil innovations, improve water management, flexible risk assurance and insurance pooling, carbon sequestration models and improve pest management. The report is intended to be used by Manitoba farmers, to support their efforts to develop official KAP policies through KAP’s democratic process. It is also intended for government officials, environmental organizations and the public to offer an agricultural perspective on the solutions to climate change.
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Pictures courtesy of Richard Warkentin