Northwest Ohio Windbreak Program

With fewer fence rows and woodlots and less fall tillage, Ohio farms lose more and more soil due to wind.  Adding to the problem in northwestern Ohio are sandy soils that are very susceptible to wind erosion. 

The Northwest Ohio Windbreak Program is an inter-agency effort to assist landowners in establishing field windbreaks. The program is available in 17 counties: Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot.

The Northwest Ohio Windbreak Program is a full service program. Assistance available to the landowner includes an on-site inspection, windbreak design and help in completing the application. In the spring, a pre-emergent herbicide is applied and the seedlings planted. In the fall, the planting is inspected and a second herbicide application is made. Replacement seedlings are provided the following spring to the landowner to replant dead seedlings.

Contact your local NRCS/SWCD office or ODNR district office in Findlay to apply for a windbreak. A district technician or the private lands biologist can meet with you to determine eligibility and help develop a planting plan that insures a successful windbreak. Planting is done in early spring by the ODNR Division of Forestry, so it is best to contact them in the summer or fall and plan ahead for next year’s spring planting season.