Corn could be drifting snow solution

MT. PLEASANT — Despite a mild start to the season, winter weather made a triumphant debut in Iowa in mid-January leaving most of the state covered in a blanket of white snow. With so much snow and harvest season long gone, it may be hard to believe the Iowa Department of Transportation would give any thought to corn.

According to Iowa DOT Winter Operations Administrator Craig Bargfrede, travelers can thank leftover cornstalks for miles of state highway with significantly fewer or smaller snow drifts following back-to-back snowstorms shortly into the New Year.

As part of the Iowa DOT’s Snow Fence Program, Bargfrede estimates 55 miles of the 9,617 miles of roadway maintained by the DOT have natural and temporary snow fences in use.

Whether it is referred to as the Standing Corn Program or the Iowa DOT Cooperative Snow Fence Program, Bargfrede says it is the same program that has partnered with farmers across the state to help mitigate blowing snow for over 20 years.

“Ultimately, it’s a snow fence program that we have been using with farmers and landowners to either leave standing corn in their fields or allow us to put up temporary fence in their fields or on their land,” Bargfrede explained.”

Bargfrede commented that following the snowstorms in the second week of January, he has received “tons of feedback” and “positive comments” from the public and DOT field staff about how effective these snow fences have been.

“You can really see the difference in areas where we have this, especially last week where we saw the winds and the blowing drifting that we did,” Bargfrede said.

“Ultimately, what it’s doing is, it’s increasing safety,” he said. “Safety for the traveling public and safety for our plow forces.”

According to research conducted by the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa, without snow fences blowing snow can cause significant problems for mobility and safety during winter weather in three ways.

1. It may drift onto the road, thus requiring almost continuous plowing while the wind is blowing (which may occur when a given winter storm is over).

2. Snow may drift onto wet pavement (perhaps caused by ice control chemicals) and dilute out the chemicals on the road, creating ice on the road.

3. And sufficient blowing snow can cause a major deterioration in visibility on the road, a factor which has been shown to be significant in winter crashes.

Bargfrede says these standing corn snow fences can decrease the amount of snow that lands on the roadway that crews must then mechanically remove and increase visibility.

According to Bargfrede, crews in some parts of the state have reported back, “where the corn is there’s easily a six-to-seven-foot drift that the corn has trapped the snow, and the ditches are virtually empty. And we were able to get the pavement back to normal winter condition much faster than we would have had we not had the corn there.”

The Iowa DOT’s website states that this program provides more benefit to the public than increase safety for travelers. It also stores snow at a low cost and lowers snow-removal cost.

During years with the most partnerships in the program, Bargfrede says the cost to the DOT came in just over $500,000, but that actually saves them money overall.

“When you consider the amount of snow that these areas are able to trap that we then don’t have to mechanically remove, you’re saving money with equipment, materials, and time while increasing visibility and safety,” he said. “The benefit that we’re achieving is much greater than what the cost is for this program.”

According to the Strategic Highway Research Program, it costs 100 times more to plow snow than to trap it with a snow fence.

Research from the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa, the way standing corn snow fences trap and hold onto the snow also make them more effective closer to the roadways than traditional snow fences, as well.

“I’ve actually had a couple of different folks that have reached out and said, ‘hey, we kind of realized that we’ve missed the board in not participating this year. What do we have to do to participate in the future?’” he said.

While participation across the state has varied significantly, Henry County did not have any participants from this part of the state this season. With so many open fields near highways like 218, Henry County could benefit from the use of standing corn snow fences, and Bargfrede encourages farmers and landowners to consider participating in the future not only to benefit the commuters in their county, but themselves as well.

According to the DOT website, these benefits include improved access to farmsteads and rural areas, reduction in soil erosion, and possible increased yields by retaining moisture. Additionally, farmers and landowners receive compensation for their participation in the program.

Specifically for leaving corn in the fields, Bargfrede says he gathers closing cash prices from October from 50 different grain elevators across the state Aug. 1 and uses that information to determine a statewide average.

“Once I determine that price, I then add $2 a bushel to that and that’s the amount we pay farmers for leaving their corn,” he said.

According to Bargfrede, this year farmers that left standing corn will receive $6.70 a bushel.

The program asks farmers to leave six to 24 rows of corn standing after harvest through March 15. After that, however, farmers are allowed to do whatever they please with the stalks.

At traditional harvest time in the fall, Bargfrede says he has heard of farmers allowing local organizations likes 4-H, FFA, or food pantries manually harvest the corn from the stalks that will remain standing through the winter.

“That’s fine by us,” Bargfrede said. “We’re more interested in stocks and them leaving stocks out there because we’re still going to get the same benefit.”

While Henry County participation cannot change for future snow this season, it is not too early to consider participating next time.

Bargfrede asks those interested to reach out to their local DOT maintenance garages to learn more about the specifics of participation as he says, “We leave the decision up to the local garages as to where they want to try to work with the farmers. They know their areas much better than I do. They know where their known trouble spots are. They know areas that are very prone to blowing and drifting can benefit for something like this. So, they are the ones that identify and work with the farmers and landowners and getting the agreements put in place. They then send those agreements to me and then I process them for payments.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com