AgricultureID

State · US-WI

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) in the south and warm-summer humid continental (Dfb) in the north, with warm summers, cold, snowy winters, and reliable year-round precipitation. The cooler north favors forage and dairy over long-season grain.

Major crop systems

  • Maize for grain and silage and soybean
  • Alfalfa, hay, and forage for dairy
  • Potatoes, processing vegetables, and cranberries

Major livestock systems

  • Dairy — the core of "America’s Dairyland" and a national leader
  • Beef cattle
  • Confined hogs and poultry

Agricultural land: A landscape of dairy farms, forage, and grain in the south and west gives way to forest, cranberry marshes, and the irrigated Central Sands vegetable district; soils and terrain are varied, including the unglaciated Driftless Area. Irrigation: Most cropping is rainfed, with concentrated center-pivot irrigation on the sandy Central Sands potato and vegetable region.

Agroecological zones: Dfa (Hot-summer humid continental), Dfb (Warm-summer humid continental)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) — State department for agriculture, food safety, and consumer protection.
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension — Land-grant research and extension for dairy, crops, and horticulture.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Wisconsin are published by USDA NASS and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • Dairy links to the "cattle" entry here, but Wisconsin production is overwhelmingly dairy rather than beef — a distinction a broad species link does not convey.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 867 named soil bodies in Wisconsin, with surface pH from 3.1 to 8.2 and organic matter from 0.0% to 95.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Wisconsin, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
PenceSpodosols4.5–5.92–755–9.5Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained183in 18 survey areas
CascoAlfisols6.50.75–210–28.5Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained147in 18 survey areas
PlainfieldEntisols5.2–6.20.75–1.253–7.5Excessively drained120in 27 survey areas
CathroHistosols6–6.655–800–5Very poorly drained111in 33 survey areas
VilasSpodosols4.2–5.90.75–854–6Excessively drained105in 16 survey areas
PadusSpodosols5.92–36–10.5Moderately well drained to Well drained104in 17 survey areas
SeatonAlfisols6–6.51.34–2.515–18.5Moderately well drained to Well drained100in 18 survey areas
KeweenawSpodosols5–5.51.5–45–12.5Moderately well drained to Well drained94in 13 survey areas
RosholtAlfisols5.4–6.22–56–10Moderately well drained to Well drained93in 15 survey areas
SaynerSpodosols4.9–5.52–43–6Excessively drained92in 14 survey areas
FoxAlfisols5.8–70.75–210–27.5Moderately well drained to Well drained90in 15 survey areas
NewglarusAlfisols6.2–6.71.5–218–31Well drained88in 15 survey areas
BoyerAlfisols6.5–7.40.5–25–10Well drained84in 21 survey areas
HochheimMollisols7–7.21.5–310–28.5Well drained83in 13 survey areas
ElevasilAlfisols3.5–5.91.5–8010.5–11Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained82in 17 survey areas
HixtonAlfisols5.5–6.51.5–210–16Well drained80in 21 survey areas
KewauneeAlfisols6.5–7.21.25–23–50Well drained80in 13 survey areas
MenahgaEntisols5–6.20.75–750–6Excessively drained78in 14 survey areas
Pits5.50.1–0.50–3—72in 43 survey areas
NewoodSpodosols5.3–5.92–68–10.5Moderately well drained67in 9 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

70.4% of Wisconsin’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
6.3%
D0 · not drought
23.3%
D1
27.6%
D2
27.9%
D3
14.9%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

47 stations in Wisconsin publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
AFTON - JANESVILLE WWTP, WI US47.8°F37.43 in148.0
ALMA DAM 4, WI US45.8°F37.17 in138.0
ARLINGTON, WI US46.0°F35.51 in163.9
BEAVER DAM WWTP, WI US44.9°F36.27 in152.4
BELOIT, WI US45.4°F37.41 in142.0
BLOOMER, WI US43.3°F31.91 in169.6
BRODHEAD WWTP, WI US47.2°F38.30 in151.1
BURLINGTON, WI US46.1°F35.33 in154.9

Eight of 47 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12