A wattle made of wheat: Belfield business partners looking to help combat erosion

• Wattle

Press Photo by Katherine Grandstrand Ryan Hutzenbiler fills mesh netting with wheat straw to create a wattle, which are placed in ditches for sediment control during construction, and can be left until grass grows if biodegradable.

Talk about it

RURAL BELFIELD — As Kurt Kordon, co-owner of Northern Plains Erosion Control LLC, was driving down the road he noticed the straw wattles — long, thin straw bales seen in the ditches and medians along the interstate — and figured the demand for them would be high with the large amount of road construction in the area.

So, Kordon decided to look into the manufacturing of the wattles. Soon, he was in the wattle business.

A wattle is a seemingly simple device that helps combat a major problem — sediment movement and erosion.

“The whole point of the wattle would be to slow that water down and let that sediment settle out,” said Matt Sperry, North Dakota Department of Transportation environmental scientist. “So it’s more of a sediment control than an erosion control.”

Kordon, along with partner Dwayne Shypkoski, began the process of setting up a wattle-making shop in June, Shypkoski said. They ordered a wattle maker from a German company and found a location in rural Belfield not far from Shypkoski’s ranch.

“They actually flew us over there to inspect it before they shipped it here,” he said. “We got a little trip to Germany.”

They made their first wattles on Jan. 20.

Northern Plains’ wattles are made of certified weed-seed free wheat straw, a hot commodity, Shypkoski said.

“In this part of the country wheat straw has a value because it’s no-till farming in this area and it has value for being put back in the soil,” he said. “The residue is good for the soil. It preserves moisture and nutrients and so it does have value that way — it’s not free.”

While wattles are most often seen being used for sediment control in road construction, they have other uses, Shypkoski said.

“Anywhere where there’s a construction zone and it’s got a hill” is where wattles can be utilized, he said.

The NDDOT started to use wattles are early as 2004, Sperry said. The straw bales have grown in popularity since.

“They’re easy,” he said. “They’re easy to install, easy to get a hold of. You can put in a lot in a short amount of time because they’re not really labor

intensive.”

If the wattles are made with 100 percent biodegradable materials — meaning the netting and the stakes used to set them, as well as the straw — they can be left in place, Sperry said. And grass grows just as well — if not better — where the wattles have been.

“There’s been some instances where I’ve seen grass growing in the straw bales before I see it anywhere else,” he said. “Basically you have to think of it as a really thick layer of mulch in that one area.”

The need for wattles will just keep growing, Sperry said.

“They are one of our main (best management practices) that we use right now,” he said. “Mainly for the speed and ease of use but also because they

are biodegradable and better for the

environment.”

The NDDOT does not contract directly with companies like Northern Plains. A company contracted by NDDOT or other agency will purchase wattles.

Northern Plains Erosion Control is located in rural Belfield. Shypkoski can be reached at 701-290-4581 and Kordon can be reached at 701-290-0843. Email them at nperosioncontrol@hotmail.com.

Tags: northern plains erosion control llc, department of transportation, news, construction, wattle, belfield, nddot