Southwest Wisconsin has a proud and rich farming heritage. Every town, village, and city is influenced by the crop and livestock industries. Growing up on a dairy farm, I understand the importance weather has on agriculture. After six straight weeks of little to no rain, all communities are being affected. Burn bans, limited watering of lawns and gardens, and cancelled fireworks are just some of the limitations characteristic of this year’s drought.

 

Governor Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in 42 counties in Wisconsin this week due to the drought that has plagued the southern part of the state. This declaration allows for the quicker issuance of irrigation permits by the DNR for farmers to temporarily use lake and stream water. This will hopefully bring relief to those crop and livestock farmers that have been affected by the drought.

 

UW-Extension advises that farmers should call their insurance agents as a first step before harvesting. As our area’s farmers are assessing their crop damage, many of them are finding themselves with a loss. In turn, livestock farmers are finding it difficult to secure quality feed for their animals. This may cause an increase in prices for both meat and crops for the rest of us.

 

For a list of your local Ag Agents from UW-Extension, please visit: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/ag/directories/county_quick.html

Additional resources on drought and crop insurance claim can be found at: http://www.aae.wisc.edu/pdmitchell/CropInsurance/DroughtInsurance2012.pdf

Information on forward contracts and crop insurance can be found at:

All drought related resources are located at:  http://fyi.uwex.edu/drought2012/

 

For Green County residents, please visit: http://green.uwex.edu/agriculture/

UW-Extension Green County is offering free dry matter testing for chopped corn silage for the two weeks after July 16^th. For more information, please contact Mark Mayer at mark.mayer@ces.uwex.edu .

 

For Lafayette County residents, there will be an emergency drought informational meeting on July 20^th at Talmer Bank in Darlington at 1pm. For more information, please contact Ted Bay at ted.bay@ces.uwex.edu .

 

For Richland County residents, please visit: http://richland.uwex.edu/ . Sauk County residents can also visit their local UW-Extension website here: http://sauk.uwex.edu/ . The Iowa County UW-Extension website will provide updates: http://iowa.uwex.edu/.

 

All water conservation efforts by all members of the community are appreciated. For everyday tips on how to conserve water during a drought and general resources for those affected by drought, please visit the Red Cross website: http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.86f46a12f382290517a8f210b80f78a0/?vgnextoid=852fa5f0f013b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

 

I encourage those individuals affected by the drought to utilize the resources provided to improve their current condition. I, along with all of you, hope the rain and relief is on its way. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (608) 266-7502 or Rep.Marklein@legis.wi.gov if you have additional questions or concerns.

 

 

###