The spring planting season is basically just getting underway in Green, Stephenson and Lafayette counties. Despite continued low milk and commodity prices, those who are planting for feed or cash crops can take heart that the start of the planting season brings optimism.
Ben Huber, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation for Green County and an agronomist for the past 10 years, said local farmers are being greeted with the best soil moisture conditions that they've had for planting in a long time.
"For the most part our soil conditions for planting every crop this spring are excellent," Huber said. "Last week, we missed out on a big drenching rain that impacted some areas to our north. Early in spring, rains like that can put you behind. We're in really good shape to get things planted and germinating."
As farmers get their crops into the ground, Huber said it's important to monitor crops.
"Evaluating early stands of crops can help you identify an issue that's just starting to take hold and correct it before it impacts your entire growing season," Huber said. "Overall we're on par with last year or even slightly ahead of last year when it comes to planting. Closely monitoring early stands of crops will help keep things moving forward."
As April came to a close there had only been five days suitable for farm field work in Green County, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress and Condition report dated April 30. The report that came out dated May 7 didn't have any information specific to Green County, but in neighboring Rock County it said, "Corn for the most part is planted."
Pastures in southwest Wisconsin were more than 60 percent in good-to-excellent condition. About 20 percent of that total was in excellent condition, which was the highest ratio for any of the nine agricultural regions reported on in the state. The south-central region report said pastures were 70 percent in good-to-excellent condition.
As the planting season is underway, it's easy to notice there's a great deal more farm traffic. We live in Wisconsin, and it's common to see all sorts of farm implements on the roads. Spring and fall are when this traffic is at its height.
"The big thing is to be patient," Huber said. "Everybody needs to pay attention to farm implements on the road."
The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health in Iowa tracked farm vehicle-related crashes in nine Midwestern states including Wisconsin for the years 2005 through 2010. It found that the number of crashes almost doubled between winter and spring and continued to escalate through the harvest months.
The findings included that nearly 80 percent of crashes involving farm implements and regular road vehicles occurred during daylight hours. Crashes in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were among the top reported in all nine states.
The study found that crashes were most likely to occur on roads with speed limits above 50 miles per hour. Speed is a factor because fast-moving vehicles approaching much slower farm-related vehicles have less time to react to a dangerous situation.
Due to the nature of the topography on many of our rural roads, it's possible for a vehicle to have to follow a slower-moving farm vehicle for quite a stretch before a safe passing zone presents itself. With more farm machinery on the roads, it's important to drive the speed limit and keep watch when rounding blind curves or topping hills with little sight-distance available. A rash decision to pass in a dangerous place can lead to disaster.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation sets agricultural vehicle weight limits at 23,000 pounds per axle or 92,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, dependent on the number of axles and spacing. When comparing that to the fact that the average weight of a passenger vehicle on the road is under 3,000 pounds, it shows why there's such great danger involved.
The University of Wisconsin-Extension published a story titled "How to avoid collisions with farm implements" in 2016 through the state media service WisContext. The message was keeping a safe distance between vehicles is key.
"The farm vehicle operator may not be able to see around the equipment, so the operator may not know another vehicle is approaching," according to the story. "Similar to semi-trucks, many implements use large extended mirrors. When a driver follows too closely, the vehicle isn't visible to the farm equipment operator."
The complete story can be found online at www.wiscontext.org/how-avoid-collisions-farm-implements.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
Ben Huber, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation for Green County and an agronomist for the past 10 years, said local farmers are being greeted with the best soil moisture conditions that they've had for planting in a long time.
"For the most part our soil conditions for planting every crop this spring are excellent," Huber said. "Last week, we missed out on a big drenching rain that impacted some areas to our north. Early in spring, rains like that can put you behind. We're in really good shape to get things planted and germinating."
As farmers get their crops into the ground, Huber said it's important to monitor crops.
"Evaluating early stands of crops can help you identify an issue that's just starting to take hold and correct it before it impacts your entire growing season," Huber said. "Overall we're on par with last year or even slightly ahead of last year when it comes to planting. Closely monitoring early stands of crops will help keep things moving forward."
As April came to a close there had only been five days suitable for farm field work in Green County, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's Crop Progress and Condition report dated April 30. The report that came out dated May 7 didn't have any information specific to Green County, but in neighboring Rock County it said, "Corn for the most part is planted."
Pastures in southwest Wisconsin were more than 60 percent in good-to-excellent condition. About 20 percent of that total was in excellent condition, which was the highest ratio for any of the nine agricultural regions reported on in the state. The south-central region report said pastures were 70 percent in good-to-excellent condition.
As the planting season is underway, it's easy to notice there's a great deal more farm traffic. We live in Wisconsin, and it's common to see all sorts of farm implements on the roads. Spring and fall are when this traffic is at its height.
"The big thing is to be patient," Huber said. "Everybody needs to pay attention to farm implements on the road."
The Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health in Iowa tracked farm vehicle-related crashes in nine Midwestern states including Wisconsin for the years 2005 through 2010. It found that the number of crashes almost doubled between winter and spring and continued to escalate through the harvest months.
The findings included that nearly 80 percent of crashes involving farm implements and regular road vehicles occurred during daylight hours. Crashes in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois were among the top reported in all nine states.
The study found that crashes were most likely to occur on roads with speed limits above 50 miles per hour. Speed is a factor because fast-moving vehicles approaching much slower farm-related vehicles have less time to react to a dangerous situation.
Due to the nature of the topography on many of our rural roads, it's possible for a vehicle to have to follow a slower-moving farm vehicle for quite a stretch before a safe passing zone presents itself. With more farm machinery on the roads, it's important to drive the speed limit and keep watch when rounding blind curves or topping hills with little sight-distance available. A rash decision to pass in a dangerous place can lead to disaster.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation sets agricultural vehicle weight limits at 23,000 pounds per axle or 92,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, dependent on the number of axles and spacing. When comparing that to the fact that the average weight of a passenger vehicle on the road is under 3,000 pounds, it shows why there's such great danger involved.
The University of Wisconsin-Extension published a story titled "How to avoid collisions with farm implements" in 2016 through the state media service WisContext. The message was keeping a safe distance between vehicles is key.
"The farm vehicle operator may not be able to see around the equipment, so the operator may not know another vehicle is approaching," according to the story. "Similar to semi-trucks, many implements use large extended mirrors. When a driver follows too closely, the vehicle isn't visible to the farm equipment operator."
The complete story can be found online at www.wiscontext.org/how-avoid-collisions-farm-implements.
- Matt Johnson is publisher of the Monroe Times. His column is published Wednesdays.
