From the Field: Dennis Morgan

Ogden farmer goes out on a limb with shelterbelts

Trees and tractors might not seem like good companions, but they have been for Dennis Morgan. This Ogden man has two passions that thrive side-by-side on the 850 acres he tends just off Highway 30 in Boone County. The first is a corn/soybean operation, which he has managed since 1972. The second is a love of trees, which has manifested itself in a five-acre Christmas tree business, a retail nursery that outgrew its owner, and one of the oldest shelterbelts planted for research in Iowa.

Morgan's shelterbelt consists of three rows each of 1,000 fast-growing hybrid poplars, one row of native shrubs and a row of sprouting cottonwood stumps. They are planted in a north-facing L-shape on 1.8 acres in the middle of a crop field. The intent is to reduce wind speed, which can decrease crop moisture loss and erosion. Shelterbelts also can create wildlife habitat, filter field runoff, increase populations of beneficial insects, serve as a site for manure disposal, or be used to produce biomass or mulch.

The long-term Leopold Center shelterbelt project began in 1991. The trees, planted as 12-inch bareroot seedlings, are now more than 25 feet tall. The shelterbelt has changed the microclimate, but has neither increased nor decreased yield in the surrounding crops. The second phase will involve growing only soybeans and corn adjacent to the shelterbelt. Data will be used to develop a model to predict yields in a sheltered field. The Center's seven-person agroforestry issue team also conducts research on a larger shelterbelt on the Christiansen family's Hiway Farm north of Morgan's property.

Morgan is hopeful that the shelterbelt will someday show economic returns. Meanwhile, he appreciates the intangible benefits.

Morgan enjoys shelterbelt's other benefits
"I'm glad the shelterbelt is there," he says. "What kind of joy can I get out of $2 corn? But with trees, I can go up there on a day when the breeze is rustling through the leaves. It's hard to put a price on that."

Morgan, a 1976 ISU graduate in farm operations, admits an infatuation with trees. He plants 400 to 500 coniferous trees and 150 deciduous trees every year for resale. He thinks farmers who plant trees are ahead in the long run, especially if land is marginal for row-crop production. Various cost-share programs to achieve 2 million miles of environmental buffers in the United States also help farmers establish shelterbelts.

Maintaining the trees doesn't consume too much time, either. "Instead of walking beans, we trim Christmas trees," he said. "It's something to do during down times."

Morgan encourages producers to consider shelterbelts, adding that his neighbors have been very interested in the project. "We aren't doing ourselves any service by tearing out trees and fencerows," he said. "I figure we only live once and we might as well enjoy it."