Despite advances in minimum tillage technology that have reduced soil erosion, shelter belts still have a valuable role and should not be removed, according to experts at a recent Canada-US windbreak conference reported in The Western Producer.

During settlement and after the dust bowl of the 1930s farmers in Canada and the US were encouraged to plant trees as shelter belts to prevent soil from blowing away.

Now with higher prices received for crops, some farmers are looking to remove their shelter belts in place of crops. Farmers also find it difficult to maneuver large machinery around the trees.

But, says, Bruce Wight, national forester with the US Department of Agriculture, “Dust storms are still happening. Fifty-three percent of the US is in moderate drought or worse”.

These trees have other users and are still an important part of conservation agriculture. They act as filters for air pollution and wetlands, provide homes to crop pollinators and provide protection from the wind. They can also provide a second income.

It appears that tree planting on farms has been declining and in the In the US there are moves quantify just how many trees there are outside of forests.

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