News

Timely rains help some Wisconsin crops

Recent scattered rainfall events have been welcomed by Wisconsin farmers.

T.J. Draeger grows crops for his dairy near Marathon City. He says, “Our crops have really looked good, especially after the heat and the rain that we’ve been getting lately.” Draeger tells Brownfield he received about an inch and a half of rain late last week and a little rain Monday morning. “A storm came through here and knocked some neighbor’s soybeans out with some hail, but we were blessed that that didn’t happen to us, so everything is looking good on the soybean front. Given all of the corn that we replanted now that we’ve got this shot of rain, it’s looking pretty good.”

Draeger says he planted alfalfa last fall after harvesting winter wheat and applying manure, and the new seeding looks fantastic.

Ryan Nell grows corn, soybeans, and wheat near Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and he says, “We can’t complain. We got some rain.”

Nell says corn looks phenomenal. “The corn, I am super-excited about. There’s no reason why there’s not a record corn crop for myself right now based on the stands and how they are looking.”

Nell says corn was planted after soybeans, and his early beans survived some weather events. “They look good. They did have to go through four different frost events. A couple got nipped here and there, but no replant by any means. We had a nice cover crop of rye, a living cereal rye that was there that very much helped them stay alive more because it held the heat in and made it warmer.” Nell strip tilled the soybeans into the living rye cover.

Nell says he and several neighbors who planted soybeans on May 15^th had to replant those acres because of crusting after hard rains.

For the week ending Sunday, June 7^th, USDA says Wisconsin had a mostly-dry stretch with 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork.

Ninety-seven percent of the state’s corn is planted, with 81% emerged.  Seventy-nine percent of that corn is rated good to excellent.

Ninety-five percent of the soybeans are planted, with 79% emerged and 79% in good to excellent condition.

Eighty-eight percent of the state’s oats have emerged, with 17% headed.  Seventy-nine percent of the oats are rated good to excellent.

First-crop alfalfa hay harvesting is 70% finished.  Sixty-nine percent of the hay was rated good to excellent.  The south-central part of Wisconsin is ahead of other regions with 96% of first-crop in the bunk.

Wisconsin received between two-tenths of an inch and two inches of rain last week.  Topsoil moisture levels are adequate for 62% of the fields, with only 3% now reporting excess moisture and 27% of the fields are short of moisture.