LUXEMBURG, Wis. — By the time the Kewaunee County Fair rolled around this July, Jeff Lambrecht was hoping his dairy farm in southern Kewaunee County would have seen a lot more rain.
“The summer has been awfully dry so far,” he said. “We’ve had about an inch of rain total since about the middle of May.”
He’s not alone. Drought conditions extend to most parts of Wisconsin.
Many of the crops grown in Wisconsin — alfalfa and corn for example — are back to the state’s dairy cattle. Lambrecht has some buffer there for now.
“We’ve been fortunate the last two years to have bumper crops the last couple of years where we’ve had an abundance of haylage and corn silage,” he said. “We’ve had enough carryover that we should be okay this year. But it’s a one-year deal, then we won’t have as much.”
New data released Thursday shows all areas of the state in abnormally dry to extreme drought conditions. “Extreme” areas are around Madison, while “moderate” to “severe” conditions cover almost all of eastern Wisconsin.
UW-Madison Division of Extension Regional Dairy Educator Aerica Bjurstrom said rainfall amounts around the Kewaunee County vary from an inch to almost nothing.
“With alfalfa, first crop was actually pretty good. Second crop was solid. Nobody was breaking any records with it,” she said. “Right now, they’re mostly worried about third crop and what they’re going to get for third crop. You can only put so much stress on a plant before it’s just going to stop producing.”
Kewaunee County is listed in the “moderate” range by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“With dairy farmers, right now they’re more concerned with milk prices,” Bjurstrom said. “But there’s a lot of stress right now regarding the crops and the drier than normal weather.”
While it’s anyone’s guess what the rest of the season holds, there’s one thing farmers across the state all want: rain.
“Oh, it’s pretty bad. We need rain,” Lambrecht said. “We’re getting to the point where we’re getting pretty desperate for rain."
The Kewaunee County Fair runs from Thursday through Sunday.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Aerica Bjurstrom's name. The error has been corrected. (July 14, 2023)