2015 US Corn Belt Crop Tour: Wisconsin

Jul 20, 2015

Eleventh state in a 12-state tour

The 4^th annual Farms.com US Corn Belt Crop Tour is continuing to make its way through the American Midwest, visiting some states along the way that, for better or worse, could impact the national yield and commodity prices going forward.

Led by Farms.com Risk Management’s Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino, the team began the tour in Ohio and traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

The second-last state to be visited during the 12-state tour was Wisconsin.

“I’m not seeing any disease, weed or moisture pressure so far,” Agostino said standing in front of a corn field. “We’ve got chest to head high corn. It may be a little bit behind but we’ve got lots of heat.”

As the tour got closer to Black River Falls, Wisconsin, some pressures started to appear.

“We’re starting to see a little bit of moisture stress,” said Agostino. “But not what we’ve seen in some of the other states.”

From Black River Falls, the tour traveled near Beloit, Wisconsin where some corn crops appeared to be behind.

“Very little tasseled corn in Wisconsin,” Agostino said. “We do see some ears forming.”

Overall, Wisconsin seems to be performing well, but because it isn’t a large producing state, it may not have a large impact going forward.

“Wisconsin looks good compared to most other states,” Agostino said. “Unfortunately it doesn’t rank high in terms of corn and soybean production and doesn’t really rank at all when it comes to wheat production. I’m not sure it’s really going to add to the national yield.”

Be sure to follow the Corn Belt Crop Tour on Twitter using the hashtag #CornBelt15.

Michigan will be the next and last state visited on the tour.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.