Wisconsin agriculture has a long and proud tradition. Currently it is ranked number 1 among U.S. states for dairy, sweet corn, and silage corn production. At one time it was the highest ranked state for wheat production. The soils of Wisconsin are diverse. Formed over thousands of years and carved by glaciers. It is on the edge of the Midwest Corn Belt and is challenged by cool, wet springs and dry, hot summers.

Overview

Ecology of Wisconsin
History of Grain Production in Wisconsin
New and Emerging technologies
Issues and Tensions faced by Wisconsin grain farmers
Significant Agronomic Historical Events in Wisconsin
PDF file of Slides

Top 10 Management and Technology Trends in Wisconsin

Transgenic crops
Pest management and pest resistance
Equipment changes in planting and harvesting
Pesticide contamination
Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia
On-going dairy farm transition
BioFuels
Conservation Tillage
Controlled wheel traffic
Increased inputs, i.e. fungicides, non-conventional soil amendments, micro nutrients

Previous trends influencing Wisconsin agriculture (Issues and Tensions)

Weather: Climate change
Brazilian soybean production
Information and knowledge
Sustainability of current Midwest cropping systems
Government programs
Corn seed treatments and Soybean inoculants

Ecology of Wisconsin

Major cities and markets - highways, railroads and sea ports
- Sea ports: Superior, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Mississippi River, Illinois River
- Dairy cows
- Ethanol plants
Ecological landscape
Landforms

Climate and Weather of Wisconsin

Temperature

August highs, January lows
Last Spring and First Fall Killing Frosts, USDA Plant Hardiness map
Maturity belts
- Corn
- Soybean
- Winter wheat - Hessian fly

Precipitation

April through September rainfall for Wisconsin averages 21 inches (533 mm)

Usual Planting and Harvest Dates in Wisconsin
Crops	Usual Planting Dates		Usual Harvest Dates			Principal Producing Areas
Crops	Begins	Ends	Begins	Most Active	Ends	Districts	Counties
Corn for grain	April 25	June 10	Oct. 1	Oct. 15 - Nov. 15	Nov. 30	SC, WC, SW	Dane, Rock, Grant
Corn for silage	April 25	June 10	Sept. 10	Sept. 20 - Oct. 15	Nov. 1	EC, SC, SW	Dane, Dodge, Clark
Oats	April 1	May 25	July 20	July 30 - Aug. 25	Sept. 5	EC, WC, NC	Marathon, Clark, Grant
Barley	April 5	May 15	July 15	July 25 - Aug. 20	Sept. 1	NC, EC, NW	Barron, Marathon, Clark
Rye	Aug. 15	Oct. 1	July 5	July 15 - Aug. 5	Aug. 10	NC, C, WC	Marathon, Waushara, Dunn
Winter wheat	Sept. 5	Oct. 5	July 15	July 25 - Aug. 15	Aug. 20	EC, SC, SE	Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Manitowoc
Spring wheat	April 5	May 15	July 25	Aug. 5 - Aug. 25	Sept. 1	NW, NE	Barron, Oconto, Pierce
Soybeans	May 5	June 30	Oct. 1	Oct. 15 - Nov. 1	Nov. 10	SC, SE, EC	Rock, Dane, Walworth
Tobacco	May 15	July 5	Aug. 15	Aug. 25 - Sept. 10	Sept. 25	SC, SW	Dane, Vernon, Rock
Potatoes	March 25	May 1	July 20	Aug. 15 - Oct. 1	Oct. 10	C, NE	Portage, Adams, Waushara
Alfalfa Hay			June 1		Sept. 30	SW, EC, WC	Grant, Marathon, Dane
All other Hay			June 10		Sept. 30	NW, NC, WC	Marathon, Clark, Taylor
Mint	April 20	June 1	July 10	July 25 - Aug. 25	Sept. 15	C, SC, SE	Marquette, Jefferson, Walworth
Sweet corn	May 5	June 30	Aug.5	Aug. 15 - Sept. 25	Oct. 5	C, EC, SC	Portage, Waushara, Fond du Lac
Source: Wisconsin 1999 Agriculture Statistics

History of Grain Crop Production in Wisconsin

Harvested acreage of crops since 1866

Rock county changes

Corn yield since 1866

Crop value since 1950

Current Production Statistics

U.S. County acreage and yield of corn, soybean, wheat and oat

Wheat and oat acreage is decreasing but are still important for rotations.

Yield of corn, soybean, wheat and oat

Wisconsin's Rank in U.S. Crop Agriculture.
Commodity	Rank among states	Harvested Acres	Unit	Yield per Acre	Production	Dollar Value
		(thousands)			(thousands)	(thousands)
Corn for grain	7	2,850	Bu.	143	407,750	753,968
Corn for silage	1	730	Ton	16.5	12,045	---
Soybeans	12	1,300	Bu.	46	59,800	278,070
All wheat	33	127	Bu.	59	7,480	12,716
Winter wheat	---	120	Bu.	60	7,200	12,240
Spring wheat	---	7	Bu.	50	280	476
Oats	1	300	Bu.	62	18,600	18,600
Barley	16	65	Bu.	52	3,380	3,887
Rye	12	12	Bu.	32	384	576
Potatoes	3	85.0	Cwt.	400	34,000	188,700
Dry edible beans	15	8.0	Cwt.	15.5	124	2,765
All Hay	5	2,600	Ton	2.89	7,510
Alfalfa	---	2,100	Ton	3.10	6,510
All other	---	500	Ton	2.00	1,000
Source: Wisconsin 1999 Agriculture Statistics

State Rankings for Crop Production.
Crop	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Corn for grain	IA	IL	NE	MN	IN	KS	WI	OH	SD	MI
Corn for silage	WI	NY	CA	MN	PA	IA	MI	NE	SD	ID
Soybeans	IA	IL	MN	IN	NE	OH	MO	SD	AR	KS
Oats	WI	MN	ND	SD	IA	PA	MI	TX	NY	NE
All wheat	KS	ND	MT	OK	WA	TX	SD	CO	ID	NE
Alfalfa Hay	CA	SD	WI	MN	NE	IA	ID	KS	MT	MI
All Hay	TX	SD	CA	NE	WI	KS	MO	MN	IA	ND
Potatoes	ID	WA	WI	CO	OR	ND	MN	ME	CA	MI
Source: Iowa 1999 Agriculture Statistics

Corn and soybean production potential

Francis Child's 2002 world record of 442 bu/A was set just across the WI/IA border.
Highest recorded corn and soybean yields in Wisconsin.

Years of record corn yields

Relative impact (% change) of management decisions on corn grain yield in WI

Hybrid: Top to bottom ranking = 0 to 30% yield change

Presence or absence of genetic traits = 0 to 100% yield change

Rotation: Continuous v. Rotation = 5 to 30% yield change

Soil Fertility: 160 v. 0 lb N/A = 20 to 50% yield change

Date of Planting: May 1 to June 1 = 0 to 30% yield change

Also need to add moisture penalty

Row spacing: 30-inches to 15-inches = 0 to 5% yield change

Pest control: Good v. Bad = 0 to 100% yield change

Cultivation: Yes v. No = 0 to 10% yield change

Harvest timing: Oct. 15 to Dec. 1 = 0 to 20% yield change

New and Emerging Technologies

Transgenic crops: GMOs

Corn: SuperStax
Soybean: RR, high oleic acid
Wheat: None
Alfalfa: hybrids recently developed by Dairyland Seed, Roundup Ready

Pest management and Pest resistance

Equipment changes in corn planting and harvesting

Plant population
Row spacing
Planting date

Pesticide contamination: Ground water quality and herbicide prohibition areas -Atrazine

Hypoxia in Gulf of Mexico and water quality

On-going dairy farm transition: CAFOs and Dairy expansions - Corn silage

Biofuels

Conservation tillage systems - No-till (soil conservation)

Controlled wheel traffic - Precision farming "Success is proving elusive"

Increased inputs, i.e. fungicides, non-conventional soil amendments, micro nutrients

Previous trends influencing Wisconsin agriculture (Issues and Tensions)

Weather: Climate change

Brazilian soybean production

Information and knowledge

Land Grant system
Internet - Distance Diagnostics
Decision simulation software - ABCS, SELECT
UWEX, Farm and Industry Short Course, Ag Professionals, Diagnostic Training Center
Certified Crop Advisors

Sustainability of current Midwest Cropping Systems

Government programs - " Freedom to Farm", USDA Farm Bills

Nutrient management plans
Rural/Urban interface

Corn seed treatments and Soybean inoculants

Ag journalists name top 10 agricultural events between 1950 and 2000

derived from a survey of North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ)

Hybridization and other improvements of crops.
Genetically modified crops that have been engineered to kill insect pests and tolerate herbicides. Most U.S. farmers adopted this technology in less than a decade, starting in the 1990s.
The discovery of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the chemical building block of heredity, by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. These researchers discovered the ladder-like double helix structure of DNA, helping to start the biotechnology revolution now underway.
Norman Borlaug's Green Revolution. Plant breeder Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 and now teaches at Texas A&M, developed high yielding dwarf wheat varieties that helped turn Third World countries such as India into food exporters.
The agricultural debt crisis of the 1980s, which started when the Federal Reserve Bank encouraged higher interest rates to slow inflation. This forced many full-time family farms out of business, created rural bank failures, and crippled small towns.
The 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring. Carson, a nature writer and former marine biologist, documented how the insecticide DDT accumulates in the environment and harms mammals and birds.
The use of antibiotics for livestock and poultry, approved by the Food and Drug Administration nearly 50 years ago. Adding antibiotics to the feed of hogs and chickens not only prevents diseases, it makes the animals grow faster. It also makes it easier to confine them in large buildings with fewer disease outbreaks.
Tie. NAAJ members gave equal votes to two developments: the adoption of no-till farming, which avoids plowing and slows soil erosion, and the fact that the farm population dropped below 2% of U.S. population for the first time during the 1990s.
The adoption of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, a cheap source of nitrogen fertilizer made by using natural gas. Until anhydrous ammonia was adopted in the 1950s, farmers relied on animal manure and leguminous plants such as clover to provide this key plant food. Without cheap nitrogen, the high yields of hybrid corn and dwarf wheat would not have been possible.
Integration of the poultry industry. Most farmers once owned a few chickens to raise for meat and eggs. In the 1960s, as chickens could be confined in large buildings thanks to antibiotics and abundant cheap corn, the ownership of chickens gradually concentrated with a few companies. Those companies pay farmers a fee for each bird they raise for the company. A similar process of vertical integration is taking place today in the hog industry.

Other key trends include:

the increasing mechanization of agriculture in general;
the U.S. grain export boom of the 1970s that followed sales to the former Soviet Union in 1972; and
the elimination of rail freight subsidies for grain in Canada, which led to more exports of Canadian crops and livestock to the United States.

Significant Agronomic Historical Events in Wisconsin

History of the Land Grant System