MONROE - Despite the dry conditions a hot summer has wrought, with little rain until recently, experts have cited crop yields in high, possibly record-breaking numbers for the year.
Green County Agricul-ture Agent Mark Mayer shared positive news about winter wheat.
"Yields were very good," Mayer said. "I've heard several reports of numbers in triple digits, and good quality. They're the highest I've heard in 30 years and could be close to record yields."
Because of the lack of rain, wheat crops were not hit by usual setbacks by certain types of mold, he said. On the other hand, corn has flourished under the recent rainfall which did not include any damaging hail or wind. Mayer said the corn supply is split; half of the crop is completing with husks topping out, while the other is still taking some time to grow.
Scott Timm has helped his father and brothers on their family farm south of Monroe along Wisconsin 69 since 2011. While he said the family farm has a small amount of acreage, they pulled in 95 bushels per acre. Some neighbors have done even better, he said.
"I've heard anywhere from 80 bushels up to 100-plus bushels per acre," Timm said.
Mayer said in light of the rain over the past few weeks, there is enough moisture for crops to do well. However, he noted temperatures over 87 degrees were "not beneficial" to the growth of summer crops. Given the high heat in the area from July 21 through the beginning of this week, temperatures could prove to be a setback for farmers.
"These real hot temperatures aren't good, but it's supposed to cool off," Mayer said. "Right now crops are all looking really good in the Green County Region."
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures have dropped steadily as the week has gone on. Monday began in the low 80s with relative humidity below 50 percent. While Tuesday's humidity increased slightly to the low 50s, conditions remained fair at 81 degrees. On Wednesday, the heat index was 83 with little wind.
While Timm said it is too soon to tell for certain whether the corn and soybean yields will be positive, he noted as a crop scout that the corn is in good shape.
"The corn looks really good," Timm said. "It's very healthy and there's been low insect pressure. I'm fairly confident it will bring good yields as long as there's not a heavy storm or an early frost, which would be detrimental. I'm 95 percent certain right now that they will do well."
Mayer also noted the signs indicating soy beans are headed toward a successful year. He said there had been "lots of blossoming" and that the crop typical to August blooming was on schedule to harvest in three to four weeks.
Timm had similar feelings about the farm's soybeans. He said they were flowering well and should be on schedule for the fall harvest.
Green County Agricul-ture Agent Mark Mayer shared positive news about winter wheat.
"Yields were very good," Mayer said. "I've heard several reports of numbers in triple digits, and good quality. They're the highest I've heard in 30 years and could be close to record yields."
Because of the lack of rain, wheat crops were not hit by usual setbacks by certain types of mold, he said. On the other hand, corn has flourished under the recent rainfall which did not include any damaging hail or wind. Mayer said the corn supply is split; half of the crop is completing with husks topping out, while the other is still taking some time to grow.
Scott Timm has helped his father and brothers on their family farm south of Monroe along Wisconsin 69 since 2011. While he said the family farm has a small amount of acreage, they pulled in 95 bushels per acre. Some neighbors have done even better, he said.
"I've heard anywhere from 80 bushels up to 100-plus bushels per acre," Timm said.
Mayer said in light of the rain over the past few weeks, there is enough moisture for crops to do well. However, he noted temperatures over 87 degrees were "not beneficial" to the growth of summer crops. Given the high heat in the area from July 21 through the beginning of this week, temperatures could prove to be a setback for farmers.
"These real hot temperatures aren't good, but it's supposed to cool off," Mayer said. "Right now crops are all looking really good in the Green County Region."
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures have dropped steadily as the week has gone on. Monday began in the low 80s with relative humidity below 50 percent. While Tuesday's humidity increased slightly to the low 50s, conditions remained fair at 81 degrees. On Wednesday, the heat index was 83 with little wind.
While Timm said it is too soon to tell for certain whether the corn and soybean yields will be positive, he noted as a crop scout that the corn is in good shape.
"The corn looks really good," Timm said. "It's very healthy and there's been low insect pressure. I'm fairly confident it will bring good yields as long as there's not a heavy storm or an early frost, which would be detrimental. I'm 95 percent certain right now that they will do well."
Mayer also noted the signs indicating soy beans are headed toward a successful year. He said there had been "lots of blossoming" and that the crop typical to August blooming was on schedule to harvest in three to four weeks.
Timm had similar feelings about the farm's soybeans. He said they were flowering well and should be on schedule for the fall harvest.