Released October 30, 2009
MADISON, Wisc. -- With the most expensive crop of corn and soybeans ever grown in Wisconsin sitting in saturated farm fields, growers have their backs against the wall this fall.
To address this challenge, a group of University of Wisconsin-Extension specialists and county agriculture agents who represent the Grains Team recently developed a priority list of research-based educational resources to be rolled out immediately via their website http://fyi.uwex.edu/grain/ to help growers cope with the situation.
“Farmers in our part of the state have very few acres of soybeans harvested due to high moisture conditions and the corn picture isn’t any better”, states Bill Halfman, Grains Team Co-Chair and Monroe County agriculture agent.
Corn and soybean growers from all parts of Wisconsin are facing the same challenges. Growers were barely able to get all of their corn silage harvested with rain and early wet snow delaying their harvest. Now, only a fraction of the soybean acres have been touched. According to the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service as of October 27, only 25 percent of the states soybeans have been harvested compared with 82 percent one year ago and a five year average of 73 percent completion.
On the corn side, Joe Lauer, UW-Extension corn specialist and member of the Grains Team, adds, “We have really struggled to harvest and gather yield data from our test locations across Wisconsin that is so vital to grower decisions on seed purchases for next year.”
Corn harvested for grain as of October 27 in Wisconsin is only 9 percent compared with a 5-year average of 37 percent.
With all those challenges out there, the UW-Extension specialists and county agriculture agents representing Team Grains developed the following list of priority educational resources available statewide to wage the battle of a wet fall together with farmers.
To access the resources go to the new Team Grains website at http://fyi.uwex.edu/grain/
Topics include
- Considerations for Artificial Drying of Soybeans
- Managing the Combine with a wet variable crop of soybeans or corn
- What to Harvest First with quality-drying-fuel cost-screen and storage considerations
- Harvesting-processing and handling high moisture corn
- Test Weight Facts
- Grain Shrink Facts
- Field Drydown Expectations
- Prioritizing Late Fall Harvest Operations
- Grain Feeding Quality for Dairy
- Earlage and Snaplage for Feed
For additional information, contact your local UW-Extension agriculture agent and visit the new Team Grains website at http://fyi.uwex.edu/grain/
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Source: Greg Andrews, 715-273-3531, greg.andrews@ces.uwex.edu
