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Agronomics drying up: drought keeps testing farmers late into summer

Agronomics drying up: drought keeps testing farmers late into summer Agronomics drying up: drought keeps testing farmers late into summer

The drought of 2023 has certainly been creating lots of curious observations and challenges to farmers, but are we still in a drought? When I say “we,” I am talking about the immediate area of America’s Dairyland of Clark and Marathon counties.

Pouring into the data from USDA, NOAA, NDMC, about 80% of the state of Wisconsin is classified in drought (moderate to extremely dry). In fact, June was the 5th driest since 1895, recording -2.26 inches less rain fall than normal. The month of May in Marathon county was the 13th driest in 129 years. Thirtyone percent of Marathon county is in a drought. That is 21,000 acres of hay, 20,800 acres of corn, and 19,230 acres of soybeans.

Going on to NOAA’s weather center and looking up the station in Wausau I compared the mean average from 2000-2023 to the 2023 total. The month of May was 1.60 inches below the average, and June was worse at a whopping 2.6 inches below average.

However, the other 69% is only considered dry compared to normal. Wausau area got around 5 inches of precipitation for the month of July. That is 1 inch higher than the 23-year average. July rain totals on other stations (Stratford, Marshfield) either matched their 23 year average or exceeded it. And the 2023 season didn’t start out like a drought, with March/ April total precipitation totals being +2.46 inches higher than the average.

If we didn’t get that massive snow storm in April to carry us through planting season, followed by July rainfall, we would be drier than a Saltine cracker. Not all is roses though, because you do not have to travel too far to see our neighbors wishing for any extra rain. In fact if we traveled west into my home county of Clark, it is 84% in drought. Yet we see crops in better shape then elsewhere in Wisconsin. Why is that? Heavy ground with high organic matter and adapted agronomic practices that keep it in the fields is the reason. In the last decade our area has seen the transformation of reduced tillage and incorporation of small grains/cover crops into rotations which has slowly (but surely) been building the soil profile and field surface to give more consistency and predictability for farmers in regards to planting and harvesting. But it hasn’t been an easy process. There has been lots of trial and error to figure out what works and what needs refinement, and this year highlighted that pursuit for creating agronomic resiliency. Practices that performed great in the past lacked the success farmers were counting on.

Late terminated cover crops helped regulate the excessive moisture left from the April snowfall, but once the moisture shut-off and they were not terminated right away they took too much moisture away from the planted corn/soybeans. Some fields with light tillage show better growth compared to no-till because most no till fields were planted in wetter conditions, causing sidewall compaction and affecting early root development. Yet this wasn’t everywhere and fields that were disked without cover crops have severe compaction and the best-looking corn was planted into early terminated cover corp.

Like I always say, to find the answers we need to dig for it, because there is more to the story than just saying “it didn’t seem to work.” Coming up on Thursday August 17th, along with the Eau Pleine Partnership for Integrated Conservation (EPPIC), I will be hosting/ presenting at a field day near Cherokee Park in Colby, Wisconsin, discussing the challenges experienced this season from the drought and agronomic practices like cover crops, companion cropping.

To make the event even more fun we will be presenting a rainfall simulator, putting field conditions/practices to the test under rainfall, like the ones we just started getting. My friends at Smith Brothers will be providing lunch, so if you want a front row seat to hear more and have a free lunch make sure you RSVP to Caleb Armstrong at 715-261-6038. Find out more information on EPPIC’s Facebook page. Hope to see you there, I will be waiting with a shovel.

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