Every year extreme weather conditions cause serious damage to agriculture. Late frost destroyed a good 50 percent last year and 80 percent of the apple harvest the year before. Photo: Peter Schwappach/Creative Commons Styria has now started a pilot project to test wind machines. The 10 meter high device with its meter-long rotor blades is to be used in combination with paraffin heaters or other heating means. Cold and warm layers of air are mixed to protect the flowers from frost, says Provincial Councilor Johann Seitinger. A wind machine costs 60,000 euros and can protect an area of 7 hectares. Over the next three years, the state will be investing 300,000 euros, hoping that agricultural enterprises -that have suffered a good 400 million euros of damage in Austria over the past two years- will be reassured by these actions to a certain extent. Source - http://www.freshplaza.com