Weather News
USA
Report: Wisconsin Crops in Poor Condition
July 17, 2012
By Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
July 17--More than 40% of Wisconsin's corn crop is now considered in poor or very poor condition as the drought tightens its grip on fields that have gone more than a month with almost no rainfall.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the brutal heat and lack of rain have put a severe strain on crops here, and the drought now stretches from parts of Ohio to California.
Fifty-five percent of the continental United States was in a moderate to extreme drought by the end of June, and it has since worsened.
The nation's corn and soybean belt, including southern Wisconsin, has been especially hard hit over the past three months.
"Topsoil has dried out and crops, pastures and rangeland have deteriorated at a rate rarely seen in the last 18 years," a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report says.
Forty-three percent of Wisconsin's corn crop is now in poor or very poor condition, according to a crops progress report from the USDA, which uses observations from University of Wisconsin Extension agents and other crop experts. Thirty-nine percent of the state's soybeans are considered in poor or very poor shape.
"Any precipitation helps, but we are far from out of the woods," the crops report says about Crawford County.
Some farmers have already cut their corn midway through the growing season, using the immature or withered plants for cattle feed because the plants won't reach maturity now even if it rains soon.
Many corn plants are tall, green and leafy, but the dry conditions have kept them from pollinating and completing the next growth stage.
"While there's a big, tall stalk in the field, there's really not going to be any corn on that plant," said Casey Langan, spokesman for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
It's a different story in the northern half of the state, where there's been adequate rainfall.
"Overall, crops are looking well," the crops report says about Polk County.
Feed for livestock
Wisconsin farmers grow much of their corn to feed their livestock, including dairy herds.
The drought has raised grain prices sharply, a blessing for farmers with a good crop to sell, but painful for farmers who have to buy grain to feed their animals.
In the short term, beef, poultry and pork prices could fall if farmers liquidate their livestock operations rather than paying to continue feeding the animals. It could, for example, flood the market with unwanted beef cattle.
"This has the potential of really causing problems in the livestock industry," state Agriculture Secretary Ben Brancel said.
Long term, it could result in higher meat, poultry and pork prices if there are fewer animals in the marketplace.
"Finding feed will be very challenging, and it will be at a high cost," Brancel said.
Last week, the USDA said at least 30% of the corn in the 18 states that produce most of the nation's crop was considered in poor or very poor shape. Sixty-one percent of Indiana's corn was rated poor or very poor.
But in Wisconsin, there's still some time for a recovery, depending on when a farmer planted his crop and the amount of rainfall in the next couple of weeks. Also, new hybrids developed since a major drought in 1988 have allowed corn plants to withstand dry conditions and pests better than they did years ago.
Dane County dairy farmer Pat O'Brien remains hopeful about his corn, which he uses to feed more than 500 cattle.
"If we get an inch of rain in the next five to seven days, I still think we could have a pretty decent crop," O'Brien said.
Crop insurance
Still, this will be a year when farmers file crop insurance claims to offset their losses. About 75% of Wisconsin corn and soybean farmers have the insurance, although the amount it pays to cover losses varies widely.
At best, crop insurance pays up to about 80% of what a farmer would have received during a normal harvest.
"It's going to be a blessing this year for the farmers who have it," said Nick Schneider, a UW Extension agent in Winnebago County.
The drought will result in a reduction in farm income this year. But the timing could have been worse because farmers are coming off a few good years and many have crop insurance.
"Many farmers will have the financial means to work through this," said Bruce Jones, an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The thing that will be discouraging for them, though, is they will have to cash in some equity, investments or savings."
Each dollar of net farm income results in an additional 60 cents of economic activity as farmers spend money in their local communities, according to UW research. That translates to millions of dollars for the rural economy and urban centers as well, since most of the items farmers buy come from other places.
Many farmers have benefited from two consecutive years of high crop prices and mostly higher milk prices.
Flush with cash, they have bought equipment and other things that were put on hold for a while.
When farmers have money, they're willing to spend it, Jones said.
___
(c)2012 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
___
Story Image: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, second left, peels away the husk of a drought-ravaged ear of corn, only to find it had no kernels, as Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson, right, looks on during visit to the Laird Family Farm in Waltonville, Ill. on Monday, July 16, 2012. Quinn says the state will offer an array of debt restructuring and loan programs to farmers and ranchers affected by the drought. Drought is affecting much of the Midwest, where almost a third of the nation's corn crop has been damaged by heat and drought so severe that some farmers have cut down crops midway through the growing season. (AP Photo/Jim Suhr)
What do you think of this story?
Click here for comments or suggestions.
Click here for comments or suggestions.
News submitted by WeatherBug users
Featured Cameras
WeatherBug Featured Content
Green Living
You too can help save our planet and put money back in your wallet. Learn how you can take the first steps to reduce your environmental impact, including driving green, easy ways you can conserve water, and energy saving tips. To learn more and discover the benefits of going green, visit WeatherBug’s green living section. More >
Sponsored Content
Be Prepared, Know Before
WeatherBug Desktop
Get faster alerts and better forecasts from the exclusive neighborhood-level WeatherBug network.
Learn More
