A roller-coaster season of uncertain weather has left Wisconsin’s asparagus growers facing heavily diminished yields.
Nathan Bula, owner of Spears R Us, reported that the 2026 season on his 37-acre farm in the Central Sands region started with historic promise before being devastated by spring frosts.
“This year we actually started the earliest I’ve ever seen asparagus come out of the ground, April 20th,” Boula said.
Warm April days topping 70 degrees Fahrenheit, coupled with milder nights, initially allowed the crop to emerge weeks ahead of its typical May 5 start date. The early launch gave Bula a brief competitive advantage in the region before other major producers, such as Michigan, could enter the market.
The early excitement vanished in May when a pattern of freezing temperatures settled over central Wisconsin. Consecutive frost events forced the farm to completely halt operations for 11 days. According to Bula, the crop struggled to bounce back from the recurring cold snaps that hit the patch every two to three days.
“We’re down probably half of our normal harvest, harvested poundage per year,” Bula said. As the eight-week harvest window draws to a close, the focus at Spears-R-Us shifts to crop rehabilitation. To prepare the plants for the 2027 season, workers will spend the summer applying organic fertilizers, watering and hand-weeding the fields through September.
Despite the steep drop in volume, consumer demand for homegrown asparagus remains high. Bula noted that the farm continues to easily move its remaining inventory through its local storefront and regional distributors.
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