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Wisconsin farmers struggle with wet field conditions

The recent rains followed by the first measurable snow over the weekend is making Wisconsin’s harvest more challenging.

Farmer Mike Berget from the Darlington, Wisconsin area says one-third of his corn is in, and he’s half done with soybeans.

Berget tells Brownfield it has definitely been wet.  “It’s really moist.  We’ve probably had 7-8 inches of rain in the last two weeks.”

Berget says he has tracks on most of his machines, so his crew isn’t getting stuck yet.  Berget also says their 113-day corn took a heavy hit from tar spot starting in early September.  “Right in Lafayette County here, the tar spot was really bad right through the central part of the county on some of the better, more productive grounds.  Yields aren’t too bad, but I mean, it took the top end off of it.”

John Eron farms west of Stevens Point, where there is less sand and more clay.  He tells Brownfield it has been hard to get into the fields for more than two weeks.  “We’re hoping that the water on top of the fields dry up enough and that the ground freezes because that’s realistically going to be our next best chance to go out there and harvest, but obviously the big concern is we get freeze up, we get harvested, we still have got to be able to try and inject manure and stuff, too.”

Eron’s summary of this fall’s harvest echoes many farmers.  “I just want it to be over.”

USDA reporters say very little field work was done last week due to saturated soil.