You wouldn't know it by staring down the cornfield at Matt Kressin's farm west of Chippewa Falls, but a closer look reveals the corn crisis he and other farmers are dealing with right now.

"For us as a dairy farm, the prices of milk being so low, this year and the weather, I would say it's as bad as the great depression right now," Kressin said.

He doesn't expect his yield to be much different than a normal year, but it's the quality of the corn that's a big concern.

It took him just seconds to find us a moldy cob, and his crop isn't unique.

Jerry Clark with the Chippewa County UW-Extension office says this is probably the worst harvest-time conditions in about 16 years.

"We like to see those kernel moistures get down to that...for corn, it would be nice to harvest around 20%, 22% moisture," Clark said. "We're still seeing up in the 30's yet."

"Right now, our corn is running at about 35%-38% moisture," said Kressin.

The moldy corn can cause problems in breeding cows, but drying it with a machine can make it less dense and lighter. Since Kressin says corn is often sold by the pound, it's a double whammy.

He will also likely pay a co-op to dry it since he doesn't have machines for that.

"It's a tough, tough operation," Kressin said.

"If you're not born into it, i don't know anyone who would want to do it."

The silver lining to this dark cloud for corn producers is the relatively warm breezy weather that's tossing Kressin's stalks around right now.

He just hopes it's enough to salvage corn on his farm and lots of others.

The UW-Extension office in Pierce and Saint Croix Counties released some tips for farmers who have to deal with moldy corn. You can find them by clicking on the link above.