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Dirty-looking snow piles are common this time of year in Minnesota, but in towns and cities surrounded by farms, they might look even worse thanks to wind erosion wreaking havoc on topsoil.

There are renewed calls for smarter land management to deal with this occurrence, known as "snirt." It's when strong winter winds blow around rich, black soil from open farm fields, getting that dirt entangled with whatever snow is flying around.

Western Minnesota farmer Cindy VanDerPol, membership coordinator at the Minnesota Farmers Union, said it's become more noticeable the past 15 years amid a sea of large-scale row crops. She said homes and businesses are left with dirt-covered windows as the snow melts, and even more concerning is the loss of a valuable resource.

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"You don't want to lose that topsoil," she said. "We have a limited amount of good planting soil as it is."

VanDerPol said conservation practices on her farm keep the soil locked in. But being in a farm-rich region, she sees "snirt" traveling from other operations to her property.

University of Minnesota researchers have explained that during a dry winter two years ago, soil movement skyrocketed in Polk County, however, they also found that cover crops were effective in mitigating soil erosion.

Dorian Gatchell, who does consulting work through his company, Minnesota Agricultural Services, said "snirt" doesn't just pose a threat to landowners seeing their topsoil blow away. Fertilizer gets pushed into the air, and the dirt that settles can clog up waterways with harmful elements such as phosphorous. In between heavy snow events, he said, changing weather patterns appear to stir up these conditions more frequently.

"We're also getting more warm temps in the winter, so the snow we get does melt," he said. "So, we end up with more time of uncovered soil in the winter."

Gatchell would like to see more outreach with landowners who rent out their acres to farmers, so they'd have an open mind about allowing effective management practices – such as reduced tillage. Ag researchers say this type of soil disruption is also a public safety threat. For example, in 2023, wind-blown dust from Illinois farm fields resulted in a pile-up crash that involved 70 vehicles, killing several people.