High winds on Sunday and Monday of this week led to black-out dust storms crossing Interstate-80, causing multiple-car accidents both days with one fatality and multiple injuries. Both days Interstate 80 had to be closed for several hours.

The situation there was not unlike what occurred in other areas of eastern Nebraska where the force of high winds across open, tilled fields led to blowing soil and dust storms. Clark Poppert of Geneva, Technical Support Agronomist with Servi-Tech, Inc., Monday afternoon captured videos of two fields approximately 1.5 miles apart northwest of Hebron to compare the effect of high winds on soil loss from a tilled and no-till field.

The videos were taken about 3 p.m. that afternoon when sustained winds from the south were 35 mph and gusts were up to 60 mph, he said. The rows on both fields run north-south. He shared the videos on Twitter @Clark_Agronomy and granted permission for their use here.

The video on the left shows shows a no-till field with a rotation of three years corn and one year soybeans while the one on the right shows a tilled field with soybean residue.

Poppert, who has worked for Servi-Tech for 29 years, has his CPCC-I and CCA certifications and is a member of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, where he serves of the Board of Directors, and the Nebraska Independent Crop Consultants Association, where he is president-elect.

"I am an advocate for no-till, strip-till, and ridge-till. I feel they all have their place. It just depends on what works best for the grower and the ground in question," he said.

The 1st video shows a planted field of corn on corn no-till with debris blowing in 40 mph winds with gusts up to 60. The 2nd video is a planted field of corn on tilled bean stubble in the same windy conditions 1 mile away. #plant18 #servitech #erosion #stewardship pic.twitter.com/3DCqN1xHgO

— Clark Poppert (@Clark_Agronomy) April 30, 2018

This video shows soybean ground that was worked and planted to corn in 40 mph winds with 60 mph gusts. Earlier tweet showed same weather conditions but corn planted into no-till Corn stubble. #plant18 #servitech #erosion #stewardship pic.twitter.com/KlVJJOyrC6

— Clark Poppert (@Clark_Agronomy) April 30, 2018