MONROE - The rain that fell Wednesday, July 18 was valuable - worth about $25 to $30 million to corn producers in Green County, according to Mark Mayer, University of Wisconsin Extension agriculture agent.
"It wasn't a drought-buster, but it was beneficial," he added.
The top of the ground is wet, "but there's no moisture 3 feet down," he said. "Another half-inch today (Thursday) would be helpful."
"We have a lot of recharging to do," he added.
The scattered thunderstorms brought varying amounts of rainfall across Green County, from 3/4 inch to 3 inches. The National Weather Service reports Madison received 3.86 inches and Janesville 2.10 inches.
Previously, much of the county had gone almost eight weeks without significant rainfall.
Green County's mid-week rain will help a third of the total corn crop that is pollinating later and in low-lying areas, according to Mayer.
"We'll know next week" if it has helped another third of the crop, he said.
Mayer had already written off about a third of the corn crop in the county; the rain came a week too late for it, he said. He was getting ready to write off another third if the rain hadn't come this week.
Mayer's preliminary calculations of the rain's financial impact on corn production is based on 40 percent of the crop being saved, harvested at 100 bushels per acre and sold at about $7.15 per bushel.
It doesn't take into account soybeans, grains and alfalfa.
The rain will "definitely help them (soybeans) flow into August," he said, "and it definitely helps the alfalfa - some of it is greening up already (Thursday) morning."
Mayer believes a lot of the rain ran off because the ground had become so dry, and he was happy the rains were spread out as they came through. That allowed the first rains to loosen the top crust and soak it a bit before more followed later.
The storms didn't bring much hail to the county, as it did in other parts of southern Wisconsin, but winds did flatten some corn stalks. A report to the National Weather Service indicated gusts up to 61 mph and a 2.5 foot diameter tree down across the road at 7:12 p.m. Wednesday about 3 miles southwest of Monroe.
"That's the price you pay to break a drought," Mayer said.
How much corn was damaged, which has not been determined yet, will depend on the stalk age and severity of the break, he added.
City residents got a "free watering" on their lawns from the rains, Mayer said. The extreme heat, coupled with the lack of rain, was killing off many species of lawn grasses, such as bluegrass, which likes cool weather.
He advised giving lawns just a quarter-inch of water a week, or a half-inch every two weeks now. That amount of water is enough to keep the grass alive, but not pull it out of dormancy, in the face of another bout of high temperatures and a dry spell forecasted on the way.
Mayer said about 75 pigs, which had already been judged, were hauled out of the Green County Fair Thursday morning to make more room for the remaining swine.
About 73 hogs were kept, along with 62 steers and 15 lambs, for the livestock auctions on Saturday.
"It wasn't a drought-buster, but it was beneficial," he added.
The top of the ground is wet, "but there's no moisture 3 feet down," he said. "Another half-inch today (Thursday) would be helpful."
"We have a lot of recharging to do," he added.
The scattered thunderstorms brought varying amounts of rainfall across Green County, from 3/4 inch to 3 inches. The National Weather Service reports Madison received 3.86 inches and Janesville 2.10 inches.
Previously, much of the county had gone almost eight weeks without significant rainfall.
Green County's mid-week rain will help a third of the total corn crop that is pollinating later and in low-lying areas, according to Mayer.
"We'll know next week" if it has helped another third of the crop, he said.
Mayer had already written off about a third of the corn crop in the county; the rain came a week too late for it, he said. He was getting ready to write off another third if the rain hadn't come this week.
Mayer's preliminary calculations of the rain's financial impact on corn production is based on 40 percent of the crop being saved, harvested at 100 bushels per acre and sold at about $7.15 per bushel.
It doesn't take into account soybeans, grains and alfalfa.
The rain will "definitely help them (soybeans) flow into August," he said, "and it definitely helps the alfalfa - some of it is greening up already (Thursday) morning."
Mayer believes a lot of the rain ran off because the ground had become so dry, and he was happy the rains were spread out as they came through. That allowed the first rains to loosen the top crust and soak it a bit before more followed later.
The storms didn't bring much hail to the county, as it did in other parts of southern Wisconsin, but winds did flatten some corn stalks. A report to the National Weather Service indicated gusts up to 61 mph and a 2.5 foot diameter tree down across the road at 7:12 p.m. Wednesday about 3 miles southwest of Monroe.
"That's the price you pay to break a drought," Mayer said.
How much corn was damaged, which has not been determined yet, will depend on the stalk age and severity of the break, he added.
City residents got a "free watering" on their lawns from the rains, Mayer said. The extreme heat, coupled with the lack of rain, was killing off many species of lawn grasses, such as bluegrass, which likes cool weather.
He advised giving lawns just a quarter-inch of water a week, or a half-inch every two weeks now. That amount of water is enough to keep the grass alive, but not pull it out of dormancy, in the face of another bout of high temperatures and a dry spell forecasted on the way.
Mayer said about 75 pigs, which had already been judged, were hauled out of the Green County Fair Thursday morning to make more room for the remaining swine.
About 73 hogs were kept, along with 62 steers and 15 lambs, for the livestock auctions on Saturday.