Washington Co., WI – Knee high by the Fourth of July is an old-timey saying in the farming community. An early visual that could signal a prosperous growing season.
Below, Ephraim Gall, almost 2, is standing in the middle of an 80-acre cornfield at Elderberry Manor on CTH M just south of Paradise Drive.
The soft soil was still a little damp following rain over the weekend.
“Knee high” was always the saying but with improvements in genetics and pushing early planting dates we usually expect growth over the waist.
I was surprised the corn didn’t look worse than it did by us after that period of drought.
The Gehring’s are a seventh-generation farm, Stone House Dairy, on STH 83 and CTH K in Hartford.
The early planted corn was established enough to push its roots deep utilizing subsurface moisture quite well.
The alfalfa looked quite well compared to our grasses as the alfalfa root system can be over 10-feet deep.
The biggest concern we had with the lack of rain is this time of year we make a substantial investment in fertilizing. Without rain, the fertilizer isn’t carried into the soil where it’s then available to the plant.
So far we look to be quite fortunate compared to other regions in Wisconsin and the US in general.
Feel free to submit your “knee high” corn photo. Be sure to tell us who is in the photo and where the field / farm is located.
