News

Cool, wet, and snowy weather keeps Wisconsin farmers out of the fields

Wisconsin might be wet, cool, and in some places snowy, but spring is on the way. A sure sign of that is USDA has resumed their weekly crop progress and condition reports.

Wisconsin’s National Ag Statistics Service statistician Greg Bussler says Wisconsin had barely half of a day last week suitable for field work thanks to heavy snow accumulation in the north and wet conditions nearly everywhere else.

There is no shortage of topsoil or subsoil moisture, with topsoil moisture rated 55% adequate and 45% surplus. Subsoil moisture is 2% short, 62% adequate, and 36% surplus.

Fifty-seven percent of Wisconsin’s winter wheat is in good to excellent condition, down from 83% good to excellent going into winter at the end of November.

Forty-three percent of the state’s pastures are in good to excellent condition.

Even southern Wisconsin farmers near the Illinois border are being held up by the weather.

Doug Rebout and his family raise corn and soybeans near Janesville, and he says, “We have not done a thing in the fields yet.” Rebout is expecting another storm system this week, which is holding up progress. “There’s a bunch of moisture out there. We would need probably two or three days depending on temperature and sun after the rain. Then I think we could be going.”

Rebout says it’s been too wet for manure application, and strip-tilling and planting have to wait for the manure.