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Agronomist expects lower yields, more corn drying after weekend freeze

The weekend weather brought frost to much of Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. William Wynn is an agronomist with DuPont Pioneer in Wisconsin, and says, “I think it’s safe to say that the 2019 growing season is pretty much over.”

Wynn tells Brownfield many farmers in the southern third of the state had a good year with soybeans. “In southern Wisconsin, we’re looking at 20-25 percent of the soybean harvest already completed with yields averaging right around that 55-bushel mark, so definitely some light at the end of the tunnel and some positive things to pull out of 2019 here.”

And Wynn says a lot of farmers will be forced to dry corn this year. “You’re going to want to try and get that corn that didn’t reach black layer or maturity naturally and dead with the frost, you’re going to want to get that corn out about 1-2 percent drier than normal, than your normal 14-15 percent.”

First, Wynn says he hopes weather dries out this week so farmers can get harvesting equipment into fields.