A Wild, Windy Spring Is Creating a Soil Erosion Nightmare for Farmers

[Linda Poole]

A June 6, 2022, article by Virginia Gewin in Civil Eats states:

Dust storms fueled by climate change, tillage, and drought are causing the loss of tons of topsoil throughout the Great Plains.

Farmers from across the Great Plains are facing increasing challenges with winds beyond any they've seen before:

The Perfect Storm for Soil Erosion
Aside from the derecho, this spring has been much more windy and dusty throughout the Northern Plains than usual. “The winds have been ferocious. I can’t remember more days of 40-mph sustained winds,” says Anthony Bly, a soils field specialist for South Dakota State University Extension in Garretson, South Dakota.
“The wind events, with the drought widespread in the plains, are feeding on each other, because any wind on poorly-managed soils allows for much more wind movement,” says Dennis Todey, director of the Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, Iowa. The dry soil has played an often-overlooked role, he explains, by heating the air above the surface, which warms and adds to the turbulence. “The lack of soil moisture adds energy to the atmosphere, exacerbating the wind,” Todey adds.

What to do to keep your soil in place? Practice the soil health principles, especially keeping soil covered and minimizing tillage.

Read the full article: https://civileats.com/2022/06/06/a-...reating-a-soil-erosion-nightmare-for-farmers/