Research and Assess the Farmer and Mn/DOT Economic and Environmental Costs and Benefits of Living Snow Fences Including Carbon Impacts
Principal Investigator:
Gary Wyatt, Extension Professor, UM Extension
Project Summary:
Blowing and drifting snow on Minnesota's roadways is a hazard to the efficiency and safety of transportation. Deploying standing corn rows and living snow fences improves driver visibility and road surface conditions, and has the potential to lower the costs of road maintenance as well as the number of accidents attributed to blowing and drifting snow; these corn rows also have the potential to sequester carbon and to avoid the carbon emissions associated with snow removal operations. However, the demand for corn is increasing, as it is needed to fuel the ethanol industry, and paying $1.50 per bushel above market rate may not be sufficient incentive for landowners to leave standing corn rows. With the new farm bill, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) has a memorandum of understanding with USDA and the Soil and Water Conservation District to plant living snow fences through the Conservation Reserve Program, which makes now an opportune time to review Mn/DOT's annual payment structure to farmers.
This project will (1) develop a calculator to estimate payments to farmers that will include consideration of safety and snow removal cost savings; (2) estimate potential income from carbon payments; (3) work closely with Mn/DOT engineers and plow operators to estimate the safety and snow removal costs and carbon emissions avoided by Mn/DOT through establishing living snow fences; and 4) evaluate farmers' willingness to establish living snow fences and identify farmers' and landowners' hesitations to adoption of them.
Sponsor:
Project Details:
- Start date: 06/2009
- Project Status: Active
- Research Area: Planning and Environment
- Topics: Economics, Environment, Snow and Ice Control