Windbreaks can also be designed to collect snow for spring stock pond recharge and soil moisture. As collected snow thaws in the spring, the melted water can be managed for pasture or hay land irrigation down stream, or distributed across a field providing uniform spring soil moisture. Working Environment Windbreaks improve the working environment around feedlots, barns and pasture areas. In the summer, windbreaks provide shade and guide summer breezes to minimize heat stress. In the winter, windbreaks reduce heat loss from barns and block cold winds.
People are even more sensitive to windchill than livestock.
When wind speeds of 20 mph are combined with an air temperature of 10 degrees, it feels like 24 degrees below zero. More seriously, a temperature of minus 20 degrees combined with a wind speed of 20 mph equals a windchill of minus 67 degrees, cold enough to freeze exposed flesh in less than a minute, making outside work more difficult and dangerous. Screen Unsightly Areas Windbreaks can screen unsightly areas around the farm from the road and living area. They filter dust from tillage operations or roads and buffer traffic or machinery noise. Some odors are absorbed by plants within the windbreak while others are masked by the more desirable smells of aromatic leaves or flowering shrubs.