The Farm Gal
Community Letter

This is the Farm Gal Community Letter, the weekly newsletter for Wisconsin Land & Farm News. Every week I round up the FSA and NRCS deadlines, the cattle and crop markets, hunting and habitat notes, rural events, and practical land knowledge for people who own, farm, hunt, or sell rural ground across West Central Wisconsin. This week there is no easing up: the two big program dates of the month close in under two weeks, the regular goose season starts today, and the Youth Waterfowl Hunt lands this weekend.

I cover Eau Claire, Dunn, Trempealeau, Chippewa, Buffalo, Jackson, and Clark counties first, then the rest of Wisconsin. Plain talk, local names, and real dates. Here is the week.

FSA and NRCS: Two Big Dates Left in September

September 30 is the acreage reporting deadline at your county Farm Service Agency office for value-loss and controlled-environment crops, and it is also the NAP sales closing date for fall-seeded small grains, forage crops, garlic, and the other value-loss crops. NAP is the safety net for crops without federal crop insurance, and the closing date locks in coverage for the coming year. That is two weeks from today, and the office line gets long at month-end, so beat it.

And Friday, September 18 is the Wisconsin apply-by date for the next NRCS EQIP batch. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program cost-shares fencing, livestock water systems, cover crops, and grazing and manure infrastructure. Miss the batch and your project waits for a year. Three days left; do not let a good practice sit.

For the conservation crowd: the Farm Bill extension that reauthorizes the Conservation Reserve Program runs through September 30, and Wisconsin's 2026 general signup accepted just under 16,000 acres. If you have marginal ground in mind, the continuous CRP sign-up runs year-round, so call your county FSA office.

And livestock producers on dry pasture: if your county is on the Drought Monitor, ask about the Livestock Forage Disaster Program. One phone call settles whether you qualify. Do not guess your way into January with a short hay supply.

Feeder Cattle Hit One-Month Highs, Then Caught Profit-Taking

Monday, September 14 was a real bid day for feeders: the October feeder cattle contract settled at $337.85 per hundredweight, up $5.35, part of a run that carried cattle futures to one-month highs. Then Tuesday brought profit-taking ahead of the week's direct trade and Friday's Cattle on Feed report: October settled at $333.85, down $4.00, and the September contract fell $3.30 to $340.27.

Cash held its own. The CME Feeder Cattle Cash Index, the benchmark for feeder sales, closed last week at $328.96 after a firmer finish, and auction commentary had cash sitting above nearby futures. Friday, September 18 is the Cattle on Feed report, so expect two-sided trade into the number.

For cow-calf country the message has not changed: weaning is here, the special fall feeder sales are filling the calendar, and the calves with a full preconditioning program draw the premium. More detail in this week's market update.

Silage Is a Third Done, and Corn Is Catching Up

The USDA's Wisconsin crop progress report for the week ending September 13 has the harvest clock moving fast: corn silage was 32 percent harvested, well ahead of the 21 percent five-year average, with 5.8 days of fieldwork in. Corn was 97 percent in the dough stage, 73 percent dented, and about 26 percent mature, slightly ahead of average, rated 61 percent good to excellent.

On the board, Tuesday's close had December corn at $5.35 3/4, up 2 1/2 cents, and November soybeans at $13.18 3/4, up 14 1/2 cents. At the elevators, one big Wisconsin co-op was posting #2 corn bids from about $4.22 to $5.15 and #2 soybeans from about $11.67 to $12.27 by location and delivery month, so delivery slots are worth a call.

The weather story is still dry. The Drought Monitor keeps a large share of the state in active drought, with central counties among the driest after some stations logged under half an inch of rain in a week, while parts of west-central Wisconsin caught 1 to 2 inches in the recent rounds. Silage is already a third in the bunk, so sample each field before you chop: in a dry finish the window narrows fast, and moisture is a number you measure, not feel.

Hunting and Habitat: Goose Opens Today, Kids Hunt This Weekend

The early Canada goose season wrapped up September 15, and today, September 16, the regular Canada goose season opens across the Northern and Southern Goose Zones, running through late December. The Mississippi River Zone opens October 3. The birds have been living on wheat stubble all month; as the corn comes off they will shift with the fresh-cut fields, so scout what your permission covers.

Then comes the weekend I look forward to all year: the Youth Waterfowl Hunt lands Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, for hunters 15 and under under the DNR's mentored rules. The timing is good: the Northern Zone regular duck season opens September 26, so the young hunters get first crack and the scouting is fresh.

Archery and crossbow deer and fall turkey have been running since September 12, both through January 3, 2027, and squirrel season is open statewide. Deer are on the early-fall classic: working standing corn and the last clover, bedding in the thickest cover on the place. Read where feed and cover meet and you know where to sit. And if you are buying or leasing hunting ground, walk it now while the leaves still let you read the trails and cover. I have a guide on what makes hunting land sell if you are on the selling side.

Rural Community Events on the Calendar

Two good ones are locked in for these parts. The Chippewa Falls Oktoberfest runs Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. And Saturday, September 26 brings the Fall Harvest with the Wisconsin Makers Market to the Chippewa Valley Expo Center in Eau Claire, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., free, with handmade goods and local food.

Beyond that, September and October are the months of harvest suppers, benefit shoots, and sale days, most listed nowhere but the co-op bulletin board. If you are new to the country, that is the point: showing up is the fastest education in these parts. Ask at the elevator and you will be on three lists by Sunday.

Practical Land Knowledge: Read the Fields While They Are Open

Right now is the one stretch of the year when a farm shows its bones. As the combines and choppers open the fields, the tile outlets, low spots, water movement, fence lines, and the true lay of the land all get a full look for the first time since spring. The summer green flatters every field; September tells the truth. If you are buying, selling, or renting, get on the ground in the next two weeks. More on what to check on a harvest-season land walk.

For timber owners, the fall harvest window is opening and county foresters are booking up. Get a forester out to cruise the stand before the leaves drop, and ask about the Managed Forest Law program while you have them on the phone; it can ease the tax load on ten or more acres of woodland.

And to sellers: the buyers walking property in September and early October are the serious ones, the ones who sign before Thanksgiving and close before snow. If you have been sitting on the decision, the next three weeks are the ones that count.