Midwest Farmers

The Corn Belt Windbreak Project is studying decades-old windbreak trees and shrubs to measure their economic and environmental value. Experts say farmers have been removing them to gain acreage, but that costs them money. Researchers at the University of Illinois will work with farmers to evaluate windbreak impacts on yields, soil, and water quality, and develop strategies to help farmers use them profitably now and in the future

The big flocks of snow geese flying over the Midwest each spring and fall may make for a pretty picture, but the booming population of those fluffy,…