Hank Snyder
Mulching corn stalks is the first step in checking the moisture content of silage. After Dodge County Forage Council board members Ron Wiskerchen, left, of Rubicon, and John Mersch of Fox Lake run the stalks through the chipper twice, they will place a sample in an oven for a day to determine the moisture content.
WAUPUN — Most city folks were delighted with Wisconsin’s cool summer. The number of hot muggy days could be counted on one hand, and many will remember the day in July when the temperature topped out at 62 .
But as in everything there is a price to pay and the farmers might be the ones paying it.
“We had quite a challenging spring and summer,” said Matt Hanson, crops and soils agent for the Dodge County UW Extension. “It was colder than normal. We’re behind in terms of heat. We’re two to three weeks behind in crop maturity.”
Hanson said he was looking at possible problems farmers could be facing with the late maturing crops.
“There are three major concerns that could develop if we have an early frost,” he said. “First it would affect the quality of the crop and mean lower payments to the farmer. Another risk is storability. Crops won’t store as well in a grain bin if they aren’t mature.
Then there is fuel. Fuel prices are down, but because we’re so far behind farmers might have a lot of wet corn, so they’ll need a lot of fuel to dry the corn. That’s another cost.”
Another concern Hanson has is farmers who might decide on drying their crop by letting it stand over the winter and harvesting it in the spring.
“This would reduce cost, but if high winds or heavy snow cause the stocks to lodge, or fold over flat to the ground, the crop would be lost,” he said.
Ron Wiskerchen is a farmer in Rubicon, and a board member of the Dodge County Forage Council, and is also concerned with the late maturing crop.
“Having the right amount of moisture in silage is critical for the dairy farmer, and right now there is too much moisture,” Wiskerchen said.
Wiskerchen spent Thursday checking the moisture content of samples brought to him from farmers in the area. He said silage, which is used for cattle feed and mostly stored in silos, is made of the whole corn stalk.
“The stalk is run through a chopper or mulching machine, then run through again to make it finer. Then a small amount is taken and placed in an oven for a day. The resulting weight loss lets us know the moisture content of the silage,” he said.
“Two weeks ago the average farmer was testing at a 75 percent moisture content. But, the ideal moisture content is 60 to 65 percent. This is critical,” he said. “If the stalks are three weeks less mature, then the quality and quantity of the silage is less and quality is our main concern.”
The results of slow maturing crops can be seen on the streets too.
Last week in Waupun the chamber of commerce announced that the weekly farmers market will continue through September.
Teresa Schmuhl of Brandon has been selling her crop in the parking lot of Family Video at the corner of Main and Beaver Dam Streets in Waupun for a month.
“We had a not so hot summer, so the vegetables and tomatoes are coming in later. We had no peppers all summer, and now they’re really coming in,” she said.
Though Friday will be her last day of selling sweet corn, Schmuhl plans on staying open and selling her late blooming crops such as tomatoes, zucchini and peppers as they keep maturing.
hsnyder@capitalnewspapers.com