At the end of August we finished our fourth cutting of hay. The hay crop has been interesting this year. With the challenging winter we had, we weren’t sure what the crop would look like. Earlier this spring, we had to make decisions about our fields with limited information. We had to look into the crystal ball and predict what the future of these fields would be. When we decided to leave hay in the fields, it was green and growing. Now, looking back, we probably should have replanted some of the hay because it’s not as good of yield as we would like. At the same time though, we knew it would give us something.
All in all, our hay crops will be average. The new alfalfa seedlings that we planted this spring have done very well, with two excellent yielding harvests. The good part is we have a good inventory to get us through winter.
It was a struggle to get the corn crop planted this spring. There was too much rain; we couldn’t seem to find a few good, dry days in a row to plant. Early on, the fields looked poor, but a summer of good weather has helped. As challenging as it was to get the corn crop planted, we’re going to be all right with yield estimates looking to be above historical average for our farm.
It’s been a crazy summer for Wisconsin weather. Parts of the state had severe flooding, while others had major hail storms and tornadoes that ripped through fields. We are lucky to be in one of the pockets that didn’t have any major weather situations this summer, so we should be in good shape.
As we get closer to harvest, it looks like we’ll have plenty of feed to get through the winter and into next year.
Making corn silage during last year’s harvest.