Spam from Pam March 2023: Great Plains Society of American Foresters Newsletter

Spam from Pam March 2023: Great Plains Society of American Foresters Newsletter

Spam From Pam
Great Plains Society of American Foresters Newsletter
March 31, 2023

What is Spam from Pam? It is an email update to inform GPSAF Members and Friends about activities, events, meetings, and odds and ends happening in and around Kansas and Nebraska regarding forestry or conservation. If you know of any event coming up, contact Pam at pbergstrom2@unl.edu.
I will also try to include short news releases to talk about what projects are going on amongst our members and our agencies. If you have an article you want to see published email them to me (Pam)!
Also, for those aspiring photographers, send in your pictures and I will put them in the publication. Share your talent with your fellow foresters.

Field Windbreaks
Pam Bergstrom

Modern agriculture has come a long way regarding crop production. From cover crops to no till farming, crop production science gets better every growing season. Now, how about windbreaks for preventing wind erosion, increase in crop yields or crop production, and provide pest management protection to fields and crops?
Now, before we get to the positive side of field windbreaks, let us talk about the field windbreak design. The design will be determined by what positive aspect from the field windbreak you the landowner want to benefit from. The big part is that the field windbreak needs to be perpendicular to the prevailing or problematic winds. This will slow down the wind and protect the field and crops. Field windbreaks should consist of tall, long lived trees that can handle the winds and be
suitable for the soils present. Most of the time hardwood or deciduous trees are utilized but evergreen or conifer trees can be implemented if livestock will be present in the field during the winter months. What you will find out is the design depends on the functions or purposes of the windbreak. A well-designed windbreak should not be a cookie cutter design, but tailored to the landowner’s goals for the windbreak, the soil type, and the amount of land the landowner is willing to devote to the windbreak.
When it comes to wind erosion prevention, windbreaks can decrease the loss of fine particles that consists of organic matter and nutrients. Windbreaks can also limit the long-term loss of soil productivity by reducing the need to add additional inputs to the field with the reduction of soil erosion. Wind erosion of particulates in the soil can also cause these particulates to cause damage to irrigation systems, chemigation storage facilities, and other structures. The field windbreak will also decrease the soil particulate from depositing into
adjoining ditches. Wind born soil erosion can also cause damage to crop plants.
The study of field windbreaks and crop yields are ongoing, but new research done by Kansas State University utilizing crop fields in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota have been providing data that is favorable towards utilizing field windbreaks to protect crops during the growing season and beyond. Crop yields were higher for both corn and soybean crops protected by windbreaks than crops that were out in the open with no protection. In some cases, the yield increase could be from 6 – 15%. There are still ongoing studies to see if and how the microclimate that the field windbreak produces has an impact on how much yield increase is seen at harvest time.
Windbreaks can also act as a pest management area to protect crops. Windbreaks diversify the ecosystem around the field and bring in more predators for consuming insects that feed on crops. By increasing the vegetative diversity, predators of crop pests have habitat to hang out in between meals. Windbreaks all assist with pollinators by
reducing the wind speed so pollinators such as bees. When wind speeds are reduced, bees and other pollinators have an easier time flying from plant to plant and are more likely to utilize the protected area rather than an area that isn’t protected. This is especially helpful for fruit trees.
There are also other benefits to field windbreaks such as distributing snow fall more evenly throughout the field, physiological response of plants to the shelterbelt, and growth/development response of plants effected by the windbreak.

Events Calendar

April 2023:

• April 1 – April Fool’s Day
• April 1 – International Fun at Work Day (For foresters, every day is fun at work day!)
• April 2 – National Ride Your Horse to a Bar Day
• April 2 – 7 – Hands-On Fire Science Methods Workshop. http://www.tposfirescience.org/fire-sci-methods-workshop/
• April 5 – National Nebraska Day
• April 7 – Good Friday
• April 7 – National Agroforestry Center Webinar: Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Specialty Crop Multi-State Program. https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/resources/agroforestry-webinars.shtml
• April 7 – National Beer Appreciation Day
• April 9 – Easter
• April 14 – National Gardening Preparation Day
• April 15 – National Husband Appreciation Day
• April 18 – Tax Day
• April 18 – 20 – University of Nebraska’s Center for Great Plains Studies Plant to Table Conference. Lincoln, Nebraska. https://www.unl.edu/plains/2023-conference-plant-table
• April 19 – Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day
• April 22 – Earth Day
• April 27 – 29 – Spring Affair through the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln, NE. https://plantnebraska.org/resources-events/events/spring-affair.html
• April 28 – Happy National Arbor Day
• April 29 – International Tree Appreciation
• May 2023
• May 1 – May Day
• May 4 – Firefighter’s Memorial Day
• May 4 – May the Fourth Be with You Day. Also known as Star Wars Day.
• May 5 – Cinco de Mayo
• May 5 – National Agroforestry Center Webinar: USDA Forest Service Community Forest Program. https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/resources/agroforestry-webinars.shtml
• May 6 – Kentucky Derby Day
• May 13 – National Top Gun Day. Talk to me Goose.
• May 14 – Mother’s Day
• May 16 – National Love a Tree Day
• May 16 – 18 – The 7th Annual Fire in Eastern Oaks Conference. Tyler, Texas. https://oakfirescience.com/events/7th-fire-in-eastern-oak-forests-conference/
• May 20 – World Bee Day
• May 28 – National Hamburger Day
• May 29 – Memorial Day
• May 31 – National Smile Day
• June 2023:
• June 3 – National Fishing and Boating Day
• June 6 – D-Day Remembrance
• June 9 – Donald Duck Day
• June 12 – National Superman Day
• June 14 – Flag Day
• June 15 – 16: The 2023 Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop & Orchard Tour. https://www.riverhillsharvest.com/2022-elderberry-workshop-orchard-tour
• June 18 – Father’s Day
• June 19 – Juneteenth Day
• June 20 – Ugly Dog Appreciation Day
• June 21 – Summer Solstice
• June 29 – Fisherman Appreciation Day
• June 30 – Drive your Corvette to Work Day

Save the Dates!
July 11 – 13 – Southwest Agroforestry Action Network Annual Meeting. Littleton, CO. https://aztrees.org/event-5115830
July 23 – 26 – Northern Nut Growers Annual Conference. Columbia, MO. https://nutgrowing.org/annual-conference-2023/
August 1 – 3 – Northern Hardwood Conference. Canada. https://www.cif-ifc.org/events/2023nhc/
October 25 – 28 – SAF National Convention. Sacramento, California. https://eforester.org/Safconvention2023/Default.aspx
December 4 – 8 – The 10th International Fire and Ecology Management Congress. Monterey, California. https://fireecology.org/calendar-entries/firecongress23