For farmers like Brey Cycle Farm’s Jacob Brey, what goes into the ground can be just as important as what comes off it. According to the USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report, the corn silage harvest was 32% complete after nearly six days suitable for fieldwork across the state last week. That is 10 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.

Some farmers are even harvesting corn for grain if their fields were exceptionally dry over the summer. Brey Cycle Farm was planning to harvest its corn for silage this week if Mother Nature allowed, while also getting equipment ready to plant cover crops such as triticale with a grain drill close behind.

Brey says they do it this way to take advantage of every opportunity to get the cover crop established before winter settles in.

Winter wheat planting is about on par with the average at 17% complete, while 27% of soybeans were dropping leaves, about 7 percentage points ahead of the five-year average.