Knee High by the Fourth? Green County Corn Is Doing Better
The old cornfield saying still gets repeated every summer, but UW Extension’s Jordyn Sattler says modern genetics, planting dates, spring moisture swings and recent heat tell a more complicated story in fields around New Glarus and Green County.
By the time July arrives in Green County, almost everyone has heard the old line: “Knee high by the Fourth of July.”
It is catchy, memorable and still repeated by people who may not know much else about corn. But in modern farm country, where hybrids are stronger, planters roll earlier and crop management has changed dramatically, the old adage is more nostalgia than agronomy.
Jordyn Sattler, regional crops and soils educator for UW Extension serving Grant, Green, Iowa and Lafayette counties, said this year’s corn crop around Green County is not following one simple storyline.
“It’s kind of all over the place,” Sattler said.
Some fields are still around the V4 stage, with about four leaves, while others are closer to V12, with about 12 leaves and ready to gain height quickly. Sattler said the differences are tied less to one part of the county outperforming another and more to planting dates and the conditions those fields faced after planting.
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