Profit Tips: Facilities - Design effective windbreaks

According to Bob Schultheis, a natural-resource engineering specialist with University of Missouri Extension, a good tree windbreak will reduce wind velocities downwind for long distances, benefiting both livestock and humans. Where trees of suitable height are in short supply, he adds, a strategically located wood or metal fence can provide weather protection and accessibility to buildings and livestock. A solid fence, he says, provides wind protection for a short distance downwind, while a fence that is only 80 percent solid reduces wind speed for a greater distance and tends to spread out snowdrifts for faster melting. For example, a 10-foot-high slatted windbreak fence on a 4-foot-high ridge can protect a 200-foot-wide feedlot, if the lot slopes away from the windbreak 6 to 8 percent. Slats could be 1x8 inches spaced 1.75 inches apart or 1x10 inches spaced 2 inches apart. “When positioning windbreaks, locate buildings, feedlots and equipment within the area of wind protection but beyond the snow-catch zone,” Schultheis says.

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