Wis. farmers prep for fall harvest in year of challenges
MILWAUKEE — Weeks from the fall harvest, farmers are keeping an eye on the weather and their finances in what has been a tough year for many folks in rural Wisconsin.
The price dairy farmers receive for their milk has been low for months, and prices for corn and soybeans are expected to hover near the break-even point at harvest time.
Mostly, the crops look good in the fields. But farmers got a late start planting this spring, and some areas were hit hard by flooding and weeks of too much rain.
“It’s been a year of challenges,” said Jack Herricks, a dairy farmer from Monroe County in the western part of the state.
On July 20, a major storm flooded his milking parlor and stripped top soil off his fields.
Including crop losses, spring and summer floods created an expensive mess for many farmers who had parts of their fields looking more like lakes than cropland.
“But I have since come to realize it was pretty minor compared with what people have endured from the hurricanes,” Herricks said.
“I think about how fortunate we are to be resilient,” he added.
To some degree, farmers are optimists. In the spring, they borrow money to plant crops, and in the fall, they hope the harvest is good enough to cover the loan and make a profit.
Their livelihood depends on the weather, commodity prices and other things mostly out of their control.
Even with planning and hard work, their income doesn’t always cover the costs of running a farm.
“That scenario is somewhat stressful, and it wears on your optimism. But as a group we carry on,” said Jim Holte, president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and a farmer from Dunn County.
Lower commodity prices in August had a negative effect on how farmers felt about their finances, according to the Purdue-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The measurement of farmer sentiment slipped to 132, down 7 points from July but stronger than the year-ago level of 96. A reading over 100 indicates optimism while below that indicates pessimism.
Grain-producing states had bumper crops last fall, which helped livestock farmers with their feed costs but pushed down prices on commodities markets.
This fall’s harvest probably won’t be as robust, but it’s not going to be bad, according to estimates.
Dairy farmers are at a crossroads. While there’s still a glut of milk on the market, and milk prices remain weak, demand for dairy products picks up in the fall and continues through the holiday season.
Increased demand normally raises prices for farmers as milk supplies tighten. “This is our big consumption period, with lots of demand for butter, cheese and cream-based products,” said Mike North, president of the Dairy Business Association based in Green Bay.
