News

Heavier soils helping preserve Wisconsin corn condition

An extension agent says the condition of Wisconsin’s corn during this unusually dry August likely coincides with the type of soil it’s planted in.  Ken Schroeder is in Portage County and tells Brownfield he’s seeing a lot of pineappling of corn leaves east of the Wisconsin River. he says, “On the east side of Portage County, that’s our sandier soils and there, we see corn that’s burning up. Some of it’s almost entirely brown in some areas, especially on some of those gravel knolls.”

But Schroeder says the corn is experiencing less heat stress west of the river. “The west side of the county though has a little bit heavier soils, and that corn is looking really good, I would say. It’s heavier soils so it’s not drought-stressed so badly.”

Schroeder says he’s aware of a couple of farms in his area that have already started chopping corn silage in sandy soils. “The moisture of the corn was around 60%, so that’s really dry.”

Some much-needed rain fell in some areas of Wisconsin Friday, and for some ares, it’s the first measurable precipitation in more than three weeks.

Schroeder expects to see more corn silage harvesting activity next week.