A combine continues to harvest corn as it transfers a load of corn over to a tractor while in a field along West Russell Road, northwest of ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ in 2019.
A combine continues to harvest corn as it transfers a load of corn over to a tractor while in a field along West Russell Road, northwest of ÌÇÐÄVlog´«Ã½ in 2019.
While dry conditions persist, most Wisconsin corn has crossed a critical threshold, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s latest crop progress report.
Wisconsin corn growers told the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service that 66% of planted corn acres have reached the dent stage, or the last stage prior to maturity.
While the USDA might measure maturity differently than local farmers, the report is one step closer to a completed 2023 corn growing season. By the numbers, 2023 Wisconsin corn is about 6% ahead of 2022 Wisconsin Corn, and about 3% ahead of the state’s five year average reported in federal statistics.
Growers reported about 16% of corn had reached maturity, a 14% increase from the previous week, though that doesn’t necessarily mean combines will be hitting local fields in force.
The USDA uses the biological measure of maturity, or when the corn stops developing, while many growers will examine the water content of the crop to ensure ideal harvest conditions, according to Purdue University.
The report indicates Wisconsin growers have not yet reported enough harvesting to be statistically measured, which is in line with both 2022 and the state’s five-year statistical average.
And for all the talk of dryness and drought around the state, the corn seems to have fared only slightly worse off than previous years, according to the report. Growers reported 50% of the stand was in good or excellent condition, which trailed the average condition for the 18 states that produced 92% of the 2022 corn crop by only 2%.
Wisconsin’s other major cash crop is also approaching maturity, though not as rapidly as corn. About 9% of soybeans had begun dropping leaves for the week ending Sunday, 3% behind the five-year average, but 6% ahead of the 2022 soybean crop.
Soybean growers were also optimistic about the condition of their crop. Growers told the agency that 47% of their crop was good or excellent, about 5% behind the crops reported in those two categories for the 18 states that planted 95% of the 2022 soybean acres.
Wisconsin oat farmers, meanwhile, have nearly completed harvest, with 95% of the oats reported harvested across the state, according to the report.
Pasture and Range condition across the state was mostly fair or above, though only 1% was rated in the topmost “Excellent†category. Most states reported at least a crooked number in the top-most category.
While dry conditions may have somewhat abated above the soil with rain in the last week throughout Southern Wisconsin, they remain present below the soil. About 64% of topsoil moisture conditions in the state were rated “short†or “very short,†according to the report, and nowhere in Wisconsin was rated “surplus.â€
Conditions were identical down in the subsoil, according to the report.
And while Wisconsin may be dry, it’s not alone. About 58% of all topsoil and subsoil moisture in the lower 48 states was rated as “short†or “very short,†according to the report.
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