United States Department of Agriculture 589-CPS-1

NRCS, NHCP

Month Year

NRCS reviews and periodically updates conservation practice standards. To obtain the current 

version of this standard, contact your Natural Resources Conservation Service State office or 

visit the Field Office Technical Guide online by going to the NRCS website at 

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ and type FOTG in the search field. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Natural Resources Conservation Service 

CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD 

CROSS WIND TRAP STRIPS 

CODE 589 

(ac)

DEFINITION 

Herbaceous cover established in one or more strips typically perpendicular to the most erosive wind

events. 

PURPOSE 

This practice is used to accomplish one or more of the following purposes: 

• Reduce wind erosion. 

• Improve moisture management from snow deposition. 

• Improve plant productivity and health. 

• Reduce particulate matter emissions. 

CONDITIONS WHERE PRACTICE APPLIES 

Cropland where wind erosion is a resource concern. 

CRITERIA 

General Criteria Applicable to All Purposes 

Orientation and width of trap strips 

Determine the appropriate orientation and width of the trap strips by using current NRCS-approved wind

erosion prediction technology. The minimum width will be: 

• At least 15 feet when vegetation or stubble in the strip will normally be 1 foot or more in height

during periods when wind erosion is expected to occur. Measure the effective width of strips along

the prevailing wind direction during those periods when wind erosion is expected to occur. 

• At least 25 feet when the effective height of the vegetation or stubble in the strip will normally be

less than 1 foot during periods when wind erosion is expected to occur. Measure the effective width

of strips along the prevailing wind direction during those periods when wind erosion is expected to

occur. 

Vegetation or stubble 

Trap strips may consist of perennial or annual plants, alive or dead, that meet the following criteria: 

• Adapted to site conditions. 

• Erect during critical wind erosion periods. 

• Living vegetation is tolerant to sediment deposition. 

• Tolerant to accumulated snow deposition in places were significant snow deposition is expected. 
Refer to local NRCS technical references for criteria for adapted species selection and establishment of

herbaceous vegetation that will be utilized for trap strips. 

Additional Criteria to Reduce Wind Erosion and Particulate Matter Emissions. 

Location of trap strips 

Locate trap strips established for these purposes in one of the instances as follows below: 

• At the windward edge of fields. 

• Immediately upwind from areas to be protected from erosion or deposition. 

• In recurring patterns interspersed between erosion-susceptible strips. 

Direction and width of erosion-susceptible crop strips 

Measure the effective width of the cropped strips along the prevailing wind direction during those periods

when wind erosion is expected to occur. 

Wind erosion calculations will account for the effects of other practices in the conservation management

system. Soil loss rate will meet the planned soil loss objective. 

Additional Criteria to Improve Moisture Management from Snow Deposition 

Location of trap strips 

Establish trap strips immediately upwind of areas where snow accumulation is needed. 

Direction, minimum height, and interval width 

Place trap strips as perpendicular to the snow-bearing winds as possible. The minimum height of the

vegetation will be 3 feet. The distance between strips (interval) will be no more than 20H (20 times the

height of the vegetation in the winter months) across the area to receive the snow. 

Additional Criteria to Improve Plant Productivity and Health 

Location of trap strips 

Establish trap strips immediately upwind from areas used for sensitive crops. Locate the strips so there is

no potentially erodible area between the trap strip and the crop to be protected. 

Direction and width of sensitive crop strips 

Determine the width of the crop strips using current NRCS-approved wind erosion prediction technology to

estimate wind erosion during specific crop stage periods. 

The effective width will not exceed the width permitted by the crop tolerance to wind erosion (the

maximum rate of soil blowing that crop plants can tolerate without significant damage due to abrasion,

burial, or desiccation) as specified in the NRCS National Agronomy Manual (Title 190), Part 502, Table

502-1, or other accepted technical references or planned crop protection objective for the period needed

for the crop protection. 

CONSIDERATIONS 

Wildlife may use trap strips as cover or travel corridors. Use vegetation that provides food or cover for

wildlife species in the areas. Add forbs and grasses for pollinators, native bees, and for other beneficial

insects. Use a diverse mix of plant species that bloom at different times throughout the year. Use

vegetation that will reduce wind speeds to allow pollinators and other beneficial insects greater mobility.

Refer to your State’s official technical references on vegetation establishment and species selection for

wildlife food and habitat. 

Selection of plants for use in trap strips should favor species or varieties tolerant to herbicides used on

adjacent crops or other land uses. 

When plants are damaged by blowing wind or wind-borne sediment, the spacing between trap strips may

need to be reduced. 

-CPS-2

NRCS, NHCP

589

Month Year
Drifting snow or grazing by wildlife may reduce the trapping capability of the strips. In such cases, other

NRCS Conservation Practice Standards (CPSs), including Residue and Tillage Management Reduced Till

and No-Till (Codes 345 or 329), Herbaceous Wind Barriers (Code 603), Stripcropping (Code 585), or

Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment (Code 380) may be used with trap strips to achieve the conservation

objective. 

PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS 

Develop plans and specifications for each field or treatment unit according to the requirements of this

standard. Specifications must describe the requirements to apply this practice to achieve the intended

purpose. Record the following specification components in an approved NRCS CPS Cross Wind Trap

Strips (Code 589) implementation requirements document: 

• Purposes of the trap strips. 

• Location and orientation of trap strips. 

• Width of the trap strips. 

• Width of the crop interval or distance between trap strips. 

• Seedbed preparation, timing, and seeding method. 

• Vegetative mix and seeding rates. 

• Height of vegetation to be maintained during the critical crop stage periods. 

• Time of mowing and harvests. 

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

Prepare an operation and maintenance plan for this practice. As a minimum include the following: 

• After establishment, fertilize perennial trap strips as needed to maintain plant vigor. 

• Control noxious weeds. 

• Manage mowing or grazing of trap strips to allow regrowth to the planned height before periods

when wind erosion or crop damage is expected to occur. When feasible, schedule harvest,

mowing, or other mechanical disturbance of vegetation outside of the primary nesting season for

ground-nesting birds. 

• Remove wind-borne sediment accumulated in trap strips and distribute over the surface of the field

as determined appropriate, and reestablish trap strip if necessary. 

• Reestablish or relocate trap strips as needed to maintain plant density, width, and height. 

• Periodically evaluate the trap strip effectiveness to meet the planned purposes and adapt

management as needed. 

REFERENCES 

USDA NRCS. 2011. National Agronomy Manual (Title 190), 4th Edition, Feb. Washington, D.C.

https://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/viewDirective.aspx?hid=29606 

USDA NRCS. Snow Survey & Water Supply Forecasting Program website:

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/water/snowsurvey/

USDA NRCS. Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) website:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/tools/weps/

-CPS-3

NRCS, NHCP

589

Month Year