News

Wisconsin farmers “ready to rock-n-roll”

With a forecast for sunshine and highs in the 60’s and 70’s, Wisconsin farmers are ready to roll in the fields next week.  Mike Weiss is a Technical Agronomist with Asgrow/Dekalb, he says some corn was planted in northwest Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago but most farmers are just getting things ready, spreading manure, tillage, putting anhydrous down.  Soil temperatures are low thanks to nighttime temperatures in the 20’s but Weiss says cool and dry soils do not really worry him.  It is wetter in the Mosinee-Marshfield area and also down towards Chilton to Sheboygan so those farmers may have to wait another week.  The rest of the state is actually pretty dry.

There have been some black cutworm moths caught in southwestern Wisconsin, nothing serious but it does bear watching.  Weiss says they get pushed up from Texas and in a wet spring, there are plenty of winter weeds still standing in the unworked fields. The females like to lay their eggs in those weeds and then the young larvae feed on the young corn.  He says if the fields get planted in the next week-or-two, the problem should be minimal.

Weiss thinks corn acreage will be about the same or maybe a little less than last year in Wisconsin, there will be more soybeans at the expense of wheat.

As for the alfalfa crop, Weiss says initial reports have the crop in great shape across the state.  But lately he has been getting calls from growers in central Wisconsin and in the Chilton area where the crop has been heaving out.  On the lighter soils he has seen quite a bit of mortality.  He thinks we are going to see a little more alfalfa being planted this year.

Above all else, Weiss encourages farmers to be careful out there.

Listen to Weiss’ comments here: