Farmers were able to get into their fields last week, but Mother Nature is not making it easy. According to the weekly USDA Crop Progress and Conditions report, Wisconsin farmers had 3.3 days suitable for fieldwork last week, with local operators slightly behind that average at 2.8 days.

Above-average temperatures allowed some farmers to complete tasks such as fertilizing, spreading manure, spring tillage and planting in certain areas. Oat planting (14%) and spring tillage (17%) remain far behind the five-year averages of 27% and 28%, respectively. It is even worse in northeast Wisconsin, where those numbers sit at 3% and 5% complete, respectively.

With temperatures hovering in the low 50s through Saturday and more rain in the forecast for Monday, Salentine Homestead Dairy owner Josh Salentine says the wind will have to do the heavy lifting this week to dry out his fields in Luxemburg, but also stresses that patience is key at this time of year.

The USDA reports there is still plenty of water in the fields, with topsoil moisture levels at 67% surplus and subsoil moisture levels at 57% surplus. Despite the cool and wet start, Salentine adds that alfalfa fields are off to great start, which is good news for farmers who grow the crop to feed their cows.