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Bareroot bundles, container evergreens for sale; pickup in April

An annual windbreak program again is offering help as Mower County continues to lose thousands of trees to the emerald ash borer that has taken over much of Minnesota.

Landowners now can place orders for bundles of bareroot trees and shrubs and potted evergreens from Mower Soil & Water Conservation District’s annual tree program that distributes orders in April. Mower SWCD launched the 2025 tree program online this week and is mailing order sheets to those signed up for them.

Cost-share contracts also are available for windbreaks or shelterbelts that are designed and approved by Mower SWCD, and the trees must be ordered through Mower SWCD’s program. Under the contracts, landowners can get 50 percent cost-share up to $1,000 on their tree order, which must total at least $500 in total costs.

In 2024, Mower SWCD sold about 14,500 trees – its biggest sales since 2015 – with many landowners unable to place orders because the inventory sold out quickly. That total easily topped the nearly 13,000 trees sold in 2023 by Mower SWCD, which also sells tree mats with staples and tree shelters with stakes.

“We are seeing many rural landowners who are struggling with the loss of their ash trees, especially in their windbreaks,” said Micah Peterson, a Mower SWCD technician overseeing the tree program. “This is a great program to help them recover from ash borer but – as we learned last year – they need to work with us on their plan and order as soon as possible.”

Windbreaks are linear plantings of trees and shrubs designed to provide economic, environmental and community benefits, according to the USDA’s National Agroforestry Center. Their main purpose is to slow wind to create a more beneficial condition for soils, crops, livestock, wildlife and people.

Also, windbreaks provide shade for livestock, visual screening, aesthetics, recreational opportunities and wood and nontimber forest products. They enhance biodiversity, wildlife habitat and carbon storage as well.

Orders can be done online at www.mowerswcd.org, via postal mail and at the Mower SWCD office in Austin at 1408 21st Ave. NW, just north of the Runnings store. Payment is due in full at the time of the order. 

In April, Mower SWCD once again will have tree orders ready for pickup April 25-26 on the west side of the Runnings store in Austin. Letters will be sent in early April with pickup dates and times to all who placed an order.

Mower SWCD has a limited supply of each type of tree and shrub, and staff take orders on a first-come, first-serve basis. Given that, people are encouraged to get their orders in soon.

Bundles of bareroot trees and shrubs all are sold in bundles of 25, except for the common purple lilac sold in bundles of 10. Five types of container-grown evergreen trees are sold individually in 2-gallon pots.

Only limited quantities will be available after Feb. 28; order cancellations will not be accepted after that date. All orders must be placed by April 1 with Mower SWCD.

Area forester Jared Holm also can assist the public with tree questions through his role at the Mower County Ag Service Center that houses Mower SWCD along with USDA’s Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service. Holm is a forester for the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) in partnership with USDA-NRCS.

Landowners who have questions or need help planning a windbreak can contact Micah Peterson at Mower SWCD at micah@mowerdistrict.org or 507-460-4598.