March 2018 Wisconsin Ag Reports and Ag Prices

Spring has finally arrived, but soil temps are still cold in many counties. Less than 5% of potatoes have been planted, 2 weeks behind last year.

A week of sunny and breezy days helped some farms get in to prep their fields, followed by rains to green up alfalfa and winter wheat. More rain is expected this week, which will help topsoil and subsoil moisture, but could decrease suitable fieldwork days and slow planting in some areas.

REMINDER: Drive safely on the rural roadways with heavy farm equipment moving between fields.

Here are some highlights from the Wisconsin Ag reports and prices for March 2018, according to the USDA:

Milk prices in Wisconsin for March 2018 were on average $16.20 per hundredweight (cwt). This was 60 cents higher than last month’s price but $1.80 lower than last March’s price.
The average number of milk cows during March, at 1.27 million head, was down 1,000 from last month and down 6,000 from last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,040 pounds, up 10 pounds from last March.
Wisconsin corn was $3.46 per bushel, while the March soybean price was $9.80 per bushel. Both were up from February and only a few cents above where we were last March.
The March oat price was $3.31 per bushel, was up $0.25 from the February price and $0.88 above March 2017. All hay prices in Wisconsin averaged $124.00 per ton in March, down $5.00 from February but $38.00 above March 2017.
In March 2018, Wisconsin’s egg production was up 12 percent from last month and 13 percent from last year at 161 million eggs.

Sources: The complete report can be found under Publications on the USDA NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov or links to data are available at www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy.