"I don't see the farmers so much as victims since, if the land around is becoming residential, their pay out when they sell is not going to be too bad. If you are asking them to move the manure to the other side of the barn, the improvement in your property value will probably eventually land in their pockets. " Looking at it from the farmer's side of the fence, I don't see how one can say that without making a few assumptions: #1, That "becoming residential" means surrounded by subdivisions; even one "landless" house can be a problem, depending on who lives there, and what they expected from moving to "the country". How much you would be willing to change your lifestyle, your job, your home, even to the point of selling your childrens' inheritance for less than 1/2 of it's actual value for the sake of a "new neighbor" who finds your perfectly legal operation to be "irritating"? #2, That the farmer has no special ties to the land that would make him or her reluctant to sell out; has it been in the family for generations, is it some of the best farmland in the county, irreplaceable in terms of yield? Does it sit in what has long been the best school district in the area, the one he went to, the one he has paid taxes all his life to support, the one he'd like *his* children to attend as well? Even if one assumes the farmer *wants* to sell out and is willing to put up with the nuisance of strangling urban sprawl while paying higher property taxes until he's priced out of not just his home, but his livelihood, he's probably never going to see anywhere near 1/2 of what the land is worth for all his trouble; it will more than likely end up sold to a developer - that's the guy who's going to reap the rewards of the farmer having held on to the land. And oh, BTW, when the farmer does sell out, all those lovely views that everyone moved to "the country" for will be swept away forever by a tidal wave of new houses. Just think; identical roofs and SUVs and Bradfod Pear trees as far as the eye can see. But hey, it won't smell bad, unless you count exhaust fumes from the traffic or the chemicals all the neighbors are now putting on the yard in order to turn their little scrap of the former hayfield into a "lawn". Welcome to the New Suburbia; just like the Old Suburbia, only farther from the City and no municipal water or sewage treatment. #3, That if the farm is "big" (defined as ?), that the farmer has someplace else to put the manure or whatever other aspect of farming someone objects to that is environmentally safe, and economically feasible. They may or may not, depending on the topography, the local watershed and the way the farm is laid out to use. In Virginia, the watershed determines placement of everything, *especially* manure piles and anything that might wash in a rain. and #4, which gets to the heart of the post, that moving manure to the other side of the barn is somehow going to make it better. It won't. It's still going to stink. The very real "quicksand of "farmers hard done by" is precisely why Right to Farm laws exist. They're designed to counteract the effect of people who moved out to "the country" and started complaining about the smell, the dust, and the noise generated by the people who were there first making a living. I've heard of people threatening to go to court because a farmer planted a windbreak for his livestock ("It's going to block my view!"), or cut trees to clear their own field or put up a building. ("I don't want to look at that big machine shed, he's ruining my view!") I'm not trying to imply the poster on this forum is anything like that, but I have seen all that happen and more. Sometimes I wonder if people don't realize that wide open field everyone admires needs to be fertilized and mowed to stay that way. Those picturesque horses and cows and sheep and goats grazing across the road need to be fed and watered and housed, and they produce manure that has to be disposed of properly in order to protect the farmer's investment in the livestock and the land not to mention the water quality downstream. "Maximally irritating" is in the eye (or ear, or nose) of the beholder. Ever been to north west Arkansas? The distinct aroma wafting from the commercial broiler houses that are tucked into every avaliable nook and cranny in the mountains will make spreading manure on a hayfield once a year look like a walk in the park. But if you ask the locals, they'll tell you those chicken houses smell like money. As disagreeable as it may be, what is considered a nuisance to one neighbor, might very well be the heart of the livelihood of the local farmer. Right to Farm laws recognize that, which is why they're overwhelmingly written to support the right of the farmer to make a (smelly, dusty, noisy) living off their land, rather than the newly gentrified suburbanite's desire for a pretty view with good resale values. The poster can spend their money contacting an attorney or they can call the FSA office for free. It's possible to spend months complaining to their state representatives about a farmer spreading manure, and what they'll likely get for their trouble is a first hand lesson on just how strong the Ag lobby is in Virginia, or they can just close the windows for the two weeks or so it takes for all that natural fertilizer to be be incorporated into the soil and start growing the lush, green grass that brightens the landscape, delights the eye and makes "living in the country" not such a bad deal afterall. And if it's legal to plant there and they have enough room at the property line, both the OP and shadygrove might consider Eastern Red Cedar. Thick, fast growing, fragrant native evergreen that can be sheared like a hedge that will block dust and dirt and to some extent mask odors year round. If the odor is particularly strong during bouts of high humidity, they might try planting spearmint, which releases essential oils as the humidity rises.

Great - so Prague it is. The aspect of fullness in the lower part of the shrub is something I didn't know and hadn't thought about -- but will be better I think. One further question -- how far apart is really appropriate? And please keep in mind this is for screening, especially above the fence. Ken - this is a great point! And I think about that sometimes as I drive around my area and see how many Austrian Pines are diseased, dead or dying. But what might be a good addition or alternative that will get up to the 8-10+ ft range in height? I'm stumped. This is zone 5, KC area, with some pretty harsh cold winters sometimes.... Thanks!

Leyland Cypress was our screening choice. In full sun it grows really fast if you start with the 5 gallon size. Ours grew from three feet to 20 feet in four years. Max height is 30 feet with 10 foot spread. Plant in zig-zag pattern 5-6 feet apart. Plant them in March/April, three plants for every twelve linear feet of coverage. Even plants purchased from Home Depot or Lowes grow fine. You can also use the 1 gallon size, but it will take a few extra years to catch up. The downside is it is a soft tree and will bend with heavy snow loads and ice. Try to gently brush the snow off during heavy snows. Landscape forsythia is nice too, but it will only get to 12 feet and most garden centers only sell the smaller cultivars. Not a big deal if you are on the ground but from the second story of a house or on horseback, you will still see and be seen. In shady areas large mountain laurel and rhododendron make a very pretty screen, but are toxic to the horses. White pines are also nice and you can get a hundred or so from the VA Dept of Forestry (online seedlings catalog) for around $81.00. It will take about 5-6 years to form a decent screen, but they will also start to drop their lower branches around 10 years or so. This is desirable for a timber plant, but not for a screen/hedge; unless you plan to move before then or underplant with mt. laurel, azaleas, camelias, rhodies and other acid loving woodland plants - most all of which are toxic to horses. ~ Tru

"what would be a good spacing for the hornbeams (from each other and the fence)?" 6-8' on center. And they can be planted about as close to the fence as you like, although I would space somewhere around 24-36" from the fence. sam makes a very good point. As I stated previously, in the midAtlantic states and into the southeast, Leyland cypress are plagued by a couple of virulent and typically fatal fungal diseases. I really would question the advisability of planting them in those areas.