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Farmers Want More Dog Days of Summer

Hot, sunny days and warm nights are just what the doctor ordered for area farmers after a late start to the growing season.

The University of Wisconsin Agronomy Department recently issued a report saying, “The 2013 growing season was one of the most extended planting seasons since record-keeping began in 1979. Numerous rainfall events delayed spring field work, resulting in planting dates that often range from April to June on the same farm.”

“It seems everything’s good, but we’re basically seven to nine days behind,” said Door County Agriculture Agent Dean Volenberg of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. “The thing that hurt us in June, we weren’t that much below daily highs, is the cool nights. With the cool nights, it takes so much longer during the day for the crops to warm up. The kind of weather pattern we’ve had recently is what most growers want right now. We really need these dog days of summer to keep going.”

Volenberg gave a quick rundown on where Door County crops are at this point in the summer.

Alfalfa: Wisconsin farmers lost 1 million acres of alfalfa to winterkill, which could cause problems for dairy farmers in having enough forage to make it through the fall of 2013 and winter 2014. “The dairy industry is probably going to be impacted the most by this,” Volenberg said. He said this season’s first crop of alfalfa wasn’t bad and the second crop is looking good, but that won’t help the current lack of forage supplies.

Corn: “There is some late-planted corn that is 8 to 12 inches tall. Those will have a difficult time making grain.”

Peas: Volenberg said it’s too early to tell how dry weather in the northern part of the county will affect pea yield, but he said we can expect to see pea harvesters rolling into the county within the week.

Soybeans: “We’re going to see a reduced yield on soybeans. They’re very affected by day length. They go into reproductive growth as the days get shorter. Soybeans will most likely flower before they have established a large vegetative growth. They’re thinking it’s time to reproduce instead of growing.”

Apples: “The apple crop looks good. Everything’s going well there. The main thing is to stay away from violent weather patterns and stay away from the ‘H’ word, which is hail.”