Northwest Ohio Windbreak Program

Helps farmers in 17 northwest Ohio counties plant field windbreaks to cut wind erosion on sandy soils. ODNR Forestry inspects the site, designs the windbreak, helps with the application, applies herbicide, plants the seedlings and supplies replacements the next spring. Cost-share and rental payments are available through local SWCD and FSA programs.

• Landowners or tenants who actively farm agricultural land in Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, or Wyandot county.

• Windbreak 1–6 rows wide and at least 1,000 feet long; field at least 10 acres.

• Field windbreaks only; farmstead and feedlot windbreaks do not qualify.

Landowner may need to do site prep and is responsible for maintenance (weed control, replanting dead seedlings).

Published amounts: There are numerous cost-share programs available to landowners wishing to plant a field windbreak. Landowners may also be eligible to receive rental payments on the land where the windbreak is planted.

Contact your local NRCS/SWCD office or the ODNR district office in Findlay.

Deadline text on the page: 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.