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Dry week allows Wisconsin’s farmers to harvest hay, small grains

The USDA says Wisconsin had a mostly dry week, allowing for hay and small grain harvesting.  A few areas in northeastern and east central Wisconsin did receive some welcome rain.

Eighty-three percent of the corn is now silking, which is a couple of days ahead of the five-year average.  The dryness had the corn condition down 2% with only 53% now considered good to excellent.

Soybeans are also very close to a normal schedule, with 86% of the crop blooming and 42% of soybeans setting pods.  Fifty-two percent of the state’s soybeans are listed as good to excellent condition.

Forty-three percent of Wisconsin’s oats are now harvested, compared to just 19% last week.

Seventy-six percent of the winter wheat crop has been harvested, and 66% of the crop was considered good to excellent as of Sunday.

The potato harvest is picking up, with 5% now out of the fields, but that’s nine days behind normal.

The third cutting of alfalfa hay is 61% finished, with the all-hay condition reported as 45% good to excellent statewide. The west central part of the state had the most third-crop hay in last week, with 69% of it finished.