ST. PAUL, Minn.–
It may be springtime, but the Minnesota Department of Transportation
already is thinking about winter. The agency is interested in talking
with Minnesota farmers who are willing to leave a minimum of six rows of
corn stalks stand through next winter to earn money and reduce the
amount of snow blowing on state roads.
Farmers
can connect with MnDOT to learn about the program and determine if they
are in a location that needs snow protection. Additionally, MnDOT can
help farmers look at programs that assist in planting pollinator
vegetation, which provides benefits to pollinators and complements the
results of standing corn rows.
The
standing corn rows are part of MnDOT’s blowing snow control program,
which started about 15 years ago and pays landowners to create snow
fences or vegetation that hampers snow drifts.
Corn
rows break the wind’s force, causing the snow to collect around the
corn rows instead of drifting onto the roads. The rows improve driver
visibility during “white out” conditions and improve road surface
conditions, making roads safer for the traveling public and also
reducing road maintenance costs.
“Standing
corn rows improve driver visibility, reduce accidents and reduce the
need for snow plowing,” said Shannon Wait, a MnDOT Living Snow Fence
district coordinator. “They also decrease the potential of ice forming
on the pavement.”
Payments
are based per acre using a University of Minnesota calculator tool to
determine fair compensation that factors in yield, production costs and
inconvenience factors.
MnDOT
looks for fields on the north and west sides of state highways and
interstates where drifting is a problem. Effective corn rows need to be
about 200 feet from the highway centerline. Agreements generally
require farmers to leave six to 16 rows of corn in various arrangements
until the end of March. Farmers may coordinate with nonprofit groups,
like 4-H or Future Farmers of America, to hand-pick the corn as long as
corn stalks are left in good condition.
The standing corn program is a one-year program. For more information, contact Dan Gullickson, Living Snow Fence Program coordinator, at 651 366-3610, or visit www.dot.state.mn.us/environment/livingsnowfence.
