How Dry We Are
The Monroe area has had less than half the normal amount of precipitation it normally gets so far in 2012. Year to date, the area has received 7.67 inches of precipitation, compared to the normal 18.81 inches.
The last good rain in Green County was Saturday, May 26. The entire month of June yielded only .2 inches of rain.
And despite a slight chance of thunderstorms today, July 7, no significant amount of precipitation is forecast through the entire coming week. Temperatures, however, are expected to return to the mid 80s Sunday.
MONROE - Future profits for farmers are burning up - and future food prices could burn consumers down the road.
The high temperatures this week and a continued lack of rain are threatening crops and livestock. Temperatures over 86 degrees are detrimental to crop growth. Livestock start to suffer in temperatures over 80 degrees and go off their feed; as a result, milk production is plummeting 15-20 percent.
"We could not have ordered a worse scenario," said Mark Mayer, the University of Wisconsin Extension's agricultural agent for Green County. "The southern two tiers of counties (in Wisconsin) are the worst in the country for rain."
Corn prices jumped to a nine-month high of $7.13 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade this week - an increase of more than 37 percent since June 15 - triggered by the heat and drought death grip on crops in the Midwest.
The high prices aren't going to matter to farmers who don't have a crop to sell, Mayer said, and forage is in short supply already.
Mayer said dairy farmers are looking for, but can't find, hay. What they do find is priced "out the roof." Area farmers are already taking a short, third cutting of alfalfa before it disappears altogether.
Now they are waiting to see if pollination might add a few kennels to the corn for better silage protein. And even then, the short stocks mean silage yields will be down by 50 percent.
Pollination is in doubt because of the hot dry weather. "The week of July 23, we'll know if we got pollination," Mayer said.
The flowering stage in corn, the pollen shed and silking, is the most critical period in the development of a corn plant from the standpoint of grain yield.
Corn is now starting to tassel, usually an eight-day process. But the hot, dry conditions will shorten that process to about three or four days, and the pollen will not remain as viable as long as in a normal year, Mayer said. Silks usually appear a couple days after tasseling; each silk strand, a potential kernel of corn. If the timing is not right, the silk will miss being fertilized.
Corn is also starting to fire, "and it's only going to get worse," Mayer said. Firing is a premature yellowing of corn from the bottom up, when nitrogen is moved from the older growth to where it is most needed, in the new growth and in grain fill.
In hot, dry conditions, corn leaves curl to conserve moisture. But if the plant can't get enough water, it doesn't absorb nutrients from the soil. Nitrogen deficiencies are the first to appear, causing firing in corn.
Soybean leaves actually flip over to reduce the plant's need for water, creating a grayish-green hue to fields, Mayer said. Continued drought conditions create shorter plants with a dark green color.
Severe drought triggers the microscopic pores in the surface the of leaves, the stomatas, to close tightly to prevent plants from dehydrating and wilting. It also prevents carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange for photosynthesis and respiration and prevents water moving up from the roots.
The recent heat wave is decreasing corn yields by 30 to 50. Unfortunately, farmers planted more corn this year, banking on the high selling price. They have $500 to 600 per acre invested in the corn crop, which is covered by insurance, Mayer said. But any profit can be kissed good-bye.
Winter wheat is actually the good news this summer. Now nearing the end of the harvest season, wheat is bringing in above average yields, with 75 to 100 bushels per acre, Mayer said, and above average straw yields. Prices are healthy, above $7 a bushel.
"The warm, wet early season helped get wheat started, and the dry period kept diseases away," Mayer said.
Green County farmers planned 95,000 to 100,000 acres of corn for this year and reduced winter wheat, planning only 8,500 to 9,000 acres.
Corn is the biggest crop in the U.S. and the main ingredient in chicken, cattle and hog feed. It was worth $76.5 billion last year. Meat, poultry and fish prices surged 7.4 percent last year and are expected to gain as much as 4.5 percent this year as rising corn prices make animal feed more expensive.
Retail food prices usually take six to 12 months to reflect the higher commodity costs.
The high temperatures this week and a continued lack of rain are threatening crops and livestock. Temperatures over 86 degrees are detrimental to crop growth. Livestock start to suffer in temperatures over 80 degrees and go off their feed; as a result, milk production is plummeting 15-20 percent.
"We could not have ordered a worse scenario," said Mark Mayer, the University of Wisconsin Extension's agricultural agent for Green County. "The southern two tiers of counties (in Wisconsin) are the worst in the country for rain."
Corn prices jumped to a nine-month high of $7.13 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade this week - an increase of more than 37 percent since June 15 - triggered by the heat and drought death grip on crops in the Midwest.
The high prices aren't going to matter to farmers who don't have a crop to sell, Mayer said, and forage is in short supply already.
Mayer said dairy farmers are looking for, but can't find, hay. What they do find is priced "out the roof." Area farmers are already taking a short, third cutting of alfalfa before it disappears altogether.
Now they are waiting to see if pollination might add a few kennels to the corn for better silage protein. And even then, the short stocks mean silage yields will be down by 50 percent.
Pollination is in doubt because of the hot dry weather. "The week of July 23, we'll know if we got pollination," Mayer said.
The flowering stage in corn, the pollen shed and silking, is the most critical period in the development of a corn plant from the standpoint of grain yield.
Corn is now starting to tassel, usually an eight-day process. But the hot, dry conditions will shorten that process to about three or four days, and the pollen will not remain as viable as long as in a normal year, Mayer said. Silks usually appear a couple days after tasseling; each silk strand, a potential kernel of corn. If the timing is not right, the silk will miss being fertilized.
Corn is also starting to fire, "and it's only going to get worse," Mayer said. Firing is a premature yellowing of corn from the bottom up, when nitrogen is moved from the older growth to where it is most needed, in the new growth and in grain fill.
In hot, dry conditions, corn leaves curl to conserve moisture. But if the plant can't get enough water, it doesn't absorb nutrients from the soil. Nitrogen deficiencies are the first to appear, causing firing in corn.
Soybean leaves actually flip over to reduce the plant's need for water, creating a grayish-green hue to fields, Mayer said. Continued drought conditions create shorter plants with a dark green color.
Severe drought triggers the microscopic pores in the surface the of leaves, the stomatas, to close tightly to prevent plants from dehydrating and wilting. It also prevents carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange for photosynthesis and respiration and prevents water moving up from the roots.
The recent heat wave is decreasing corn yields by 30 to 50. Unfortunately, farmers planted more corn this year, banking on the high selling price. They have $500 to 600 per acre invested in the corn crop, which is covered by insurance, Mayer said. But any profit can be kissed good-bye.
Winter wheat is actually the good news this summer. Now nearing the end of the harvest season, wheat is bringing in above average yields, with 75 to 100 bushels per acre, Mayer said, and above average straw yields. Prices are healthy, above $7 a bushel.
"The warm, wet early season helped get wheat started, and the dry period kept diseases away," Mayer said.
Green County farmers planned 95,000 to 100,000 acres of corn for this year and reduced winter wheat, planning only 8,500 to 9,000 acres.
Corn is the biggest crop in the U.S. and the main ingredient in chicken, cattle and hog feed. It was worth $76.5 billion last year. Meat, poultry and fish prices surged 7.4 percent last year and are expected to gain as much as 4.5 percent this year as rising corn prices make animal feed more expensive.
Retail food prices usually take six to 12 months to reflect the higher commodity costs.