View weather and climate conditions this week in Wisconsin
Here are this week’s take home points about the weather, scroll down for the full report:
Current Conditions
- Last week was once again a warmer-than-normal week across the entire state, wrapping up a relatively warm September.
- Following last week’s heavy rainfall in the south, we had a week of little to no rain statewide. Most in the state received no new rainfall between Sep. 23-30.
Impact
•Dry soil moisture percentiles increased in coverage area across the state compared to last week.
•D1 drought coverage was slightly reduced in the south USDM map where the heavy rains came last week. Some increase in D0-D1 coverage in the north.
- Corn maturity is reported as 55% complete,with harvest now at 5% complete.
- Soybean progress is running well ahead of normal pace, with harvest jumping up 21% to 30% complete.
•GDDs are approaching 3000 (2400) units in the southern (northern) counties.
Outlook
•No new precip is forecasted next week for the majority of WI, with minor totals possible in the NE.
•Early-to-Mid October has a higher probability to be warmer and drier than normal, with a lean towards these conditions remaining in place for the rest of October.
•The remainder of fall is more uncertain for temperatures, with some lean towards above normal precip totals.
•La Niña is favored to be in place by September-November (according to the CPC)
What does this mean for you? Here are some things to consider for your farm this week:
Crop Development
•Be aware of what is going on in corn silage fields, especially related to some tar spot & other disease issues. Even later planted fields seem to be drying down quickly.
•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. Tools available here for cover crop selection and their use in a forage rotation.
Manure Applications
•Low runoff risk in the next week. Check the DATCP runoff risk advisory forecast here.
•As silage comes off, consider the relationship between manure and cover crops, learn more here.
Pest Management
•Southern rust of corn was found in Wisconsin in August, see more info here.
•Late blight was found on tomato in Wisconsin in August, 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. More info here.
•Fall alfalfa cutting can affect persistence, read more and use our new tool to make informed decisions.
