Wisconsin’s corn harvest was 13 percent finished as of Sunday, which is 31 percent behind this date a year ago and 24 percent behind the five-year average progress for the end of October.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its weekly crop update that the silage portion of that harvest also is behind average, with 81 percent of the corn silage having been harvested. In an average year, the corn silage harvest is completed by this time of the year, according to the report.
State farmers also have harvested 46 percent of their soybeans — about 11 percent behind last year and 27 percent behind the five-year average.
The report also said 84 percent of the state’s fourth-crop hay had been harvested as of Sunday, along with 96 percent of the oats; 69 percent of the year’s winter wheat had been planted.
The report said that, nationally, the harvest is the slowest it’s been during the past 10 years. About 41 percent of the nation’s corn had been harvested, compared with 61 percent in an average season. It also said 62 percent of the nation’s soybean crop had been harvested, which is 16 percent behind the five-year average.
Leave a Reply