Chuck Frase checks the organic vegetables on his community-supported agriculture farm he co-owns with Terry Vlossak near Hartford. The long drought has affected some of his plants, but the farm’s use of drip tape is an economical way of keeping leafy plants from drying out. Credit: Gary Porter

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With each day of scorching heat and little rain, the odds of reaping a bountiful vegetable harvest dwindle for Wisconsin farmers such as Chuck Frase and Terry Vlossak.

As the owners of Full Harvest Farm in Hartford, they have used miles of "drip tape" - plastic tubing that drips water onto plants - to irrigate organic vegetables.

But even that hasn't kept up with the hot, dry weather. Certain plants that aren't watered as much have turned brown on their edges and are at risk of dying.

The rest of the crops are growing slowly.

"Our rain dances have been ineffectual. We will have to work on our technique," Full Harvest Farm wrote in a letter to its community-supported agriculture customers.

Full Harvest, and other farms like it, sell shares of their crops to urban customers who get fresh fruits and vegetables as they become available. In return, the customers assume some of the risk associated with farming, including poor weather.

"We roll the dice in terms of what we do," Frase said.

The double whammy of intense heat and little rain in southern Wisconsin has farmers worried that crop yields will be depressed, or even wiped out, this fall.

"No rain this week will result in some acres not producing anything," a Rock County agricultural agent wrote in a June 25 crop report.

On Friday, state officials requested two federal disaster declarations to help farmers who sustained crop losses this spring and summer as a result of extreme weather.

The first request would provide financial assistance to orchards that lost apples and cherries when warm weather in March caused fruit trees to flower early - but an April frost killed the buds.

The second request was for maple syrup operations that also had a poor season.

If the current hot, dry conditions continue much longer, other farmers could be turning to federal programs and crop insurance to supplement their income.

Crops in poor shape

More than a third of the state's corn was described as being in fair-to-poor condition in the June 25 report that didn't include this week's hot, dry weather. The soybean crop was in similar shape.

In many areas, the corn isn't going to be as healthy this year as it could have been. Alfalfa fields have turned brown from a lack of rain, and soybeans have languished in the drought-like conditions.

Much of the damage can't be undone.

"We have had a lot of corn that is simply not going to make it," said Bob Oleson, executive director of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association.

The next two weeks of weather are especially important as plants go through their next growth stage.

An inch of rain would help a lot, said Gary Kropp, an Outagamie County farmer.

Much of the corn in his area is waist-high, Kropp said, but some fields have been damaged.

The blistering heat has been worse in other parts of the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana and Kansas, where crops have suffered in temperatures exceeding 110 degrees.

"It's not just unusual. It's record-breaking," said Kevin Jarek, a University of Wisconsin Extension agent in Outagamie County.

Corn prices hit nine-month highs this week, to more than $6.50 per bushel, as poor growing conditions and forecasts of continued hot, dry weather shook the market.

"The corn crop was fighting for its life and traders took notice," said Alex Breitinger, a commodities broker in Valparaiso, Ind.

More acreage

Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a report showing that farmers planted an additional 600,000 acres of corn this year. But traders focused on the possibility that drought conditions might cripple large portions of the crop during its critical pollination stage, causing yields to fall as much as 80% in some areas, according to Breitinger.

Dairy cattle and other livestock also have been affected by the extreme heat.

A dairy farm could lose up to 20% of its milk production, said Mike Ballweg, a University of Wisconsin Extension agent in Sheboygan County.

Almost everything at the grocery store, including meat and dairy products, would be more expensive if commodities prices remain high.

"I think consumers will start to take notice in 2013," said Darin Newsom, an analyst with DTN/Progressive Farmer, an agricultural information service based in Omaha, Neb.

The crops look good in some places. But in other places, farmers say, it reminds them of the drought in 1988 that wiped out thousands of acres of Midwestern agricultural products.

New seed varieties developed in the past 24 years are more resilient in tough growing conditions. Still, Newsom said, corn can't survive unrelenting heat and no rain.

"You're still going to end up with a dead crop," he said.