Weed barrier removal field day planned for July 28th

Do you have weed barrier fabric that needs to be cut or removed from your tree planting? Are you a contractor with equipment that could provide this service?

Join us for a field day discussion on the need and methods of fabric removal around trees in conservation tree plantings.  The field day will be Friday, July 28th from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Kalkowski Ranch (2 miles west of Lynch, NE on the south side of Highway 12). 

Steve Rasmussen, District Forester with the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS), said, “Cutting or removing the weed barrier fabric needs to be done as the trees grow larger.   It is becoming a requirement for trees planted with the USDA Conservation Reserve Program.  Many times, removal waits until the trees are large and become constricted by the original cut opening.  This can stunt trees later in life, often times leading to a girdling of trees in the windbreak.”

Duty MetalWorks Inc of Brookings, SD will also be on hand to demonstrate a skid-loader implement designed for pulling out and rolling up the fabric from established trees.

The field day is free and is being coordinated by the NFS, local Natural Resources Districts (NRDs), and area USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices.  For more information, contact the Lewis & Clark NRD in Hartington, the Lower Niobrara NRD in Butte, the Upper Elkhorn NRD in O’Neill, or Steve Rasmussen, NFS District Forester at 402.375.0101 or srasmussen2@unl.edu