Grass barriers for wheat production in southwest Saskatchewan

Non-Peer ReviewedWind has long been considered a bane to farming in the Brown and Dark Brown Soil Zones of southwest Saskatchewan. Blowing dust from rampant wind erosion in an all-too-often occurrence. Strong hot summer winds cause tremendous moisture stress to crops – particularly in dry years when crops are already drought-stressed. Perennial vegetative windbreaks have been advocated as a way to reduce near-surface windspeeds both to control wind erosion and to improve crop yields through better water conservation and decreased in-crop evaporative stress