Current Conditions

• Late summer heat is impacting the area early this week, with some breaking daily records. However, most of the state has been seeing near normal temperatures since late July.
• Central counties have experienced several inches of precipitation over the past 30 days, with lesser totals to the S and N.

Impact

•Soil moisture percentiles are in the middle range for most (higher in the central region), with abnormal dryness indicated in the N by the USDM.

• Corn doughing is running 3% ahead of normal pace, with 65% of the crop reported in good to excellent condition.
• Soybeans pod setting is running 4% ahead of normal pace, with 63% of the crop reported in good to excellent condition.

•GDDs are approaching 2400 (2000) unitsin the southern (northern) counties.

Outlook

•Statewide precip chances forecasted this next week, with a higher likelihood in the NW.

•Temperatures leaning above normal heading into September, with the state leaning towards below normal precip for the first part of the month.

•The warmer-than-normal conditions have a higher probability to continue into the fall with a La Niña pattern taking shape. Currently, we are in a neutral phase.

What does this mean for you? Here are some things to consider for your farm this week:

Crop Development

•Scouting for crop stage and development of issues is very important this year as the wet spring means that there is a lot of variability in fields and across farms.

•As silage and other early crops come off, consider diverse cover crop mixes to help mitigate any compaction that may have occurred this spring and protect soil heading into fall.

Manure Applications

•Low runoff risk in the next week. Check the DATCP runoff risk advisory forecast here.

Pest Management

•Fall armyworm flights are underway. Sign up to receive text alerts when pests are in your region here.

•Japanese beetles have emerged, monitor for defoliation thresholds, see here for management information.

•Time to scout for soybean aphid, see more info here.

•Conditions have been right in many places for tar spot and white mold, information available here.

•Scout for corn rootworm beetle to determine pressure on next year’s continuous corn.

•Southern rust of corn was found in Wisconsin this week, see more info here.

Forage Management

•Look out for herbicide carryover, volunteers in late summer seeding of alfalfa after wheat. Read more.

•Corn Silage Harvest – look for local opportunities for stalk chopping to gauge moisture content, scout fields to understand which may be ready first. For varying planting dates, plan for a segregated, longer season harvest to optimize forage quality.

•View our silage dry down database here.

•Fall alfalfa cutting can affect persistence, read more and use our new tool to make informed decisions.

If you would like to obtain a PowerPoint copy of this report, please email natasha.paris@wisc.edu.