Local farmers in some of the worst hit drought areas say if they don't get rain soon, the drought will start costing them in a big way.

UW-extension agents say the southern half of Dunn county has had enough rain to get crops going, but the northern half is still high and dry, farmers we talked to say they don't know how their crops will look if they don't get rain soon.

Frank Retz’s farm has been in the family for 130 years. He watched as last week's storms passed him by to the south. He says he could count the number of drops on the hood of his tractor.

“I can’t remember a year quite this dry." Says Retz.

Retz farms near Boyceville in northern Dunn County and says he depends on the rain because he doesn't have an irrigation system and this year, Dunn County has been in a drought for more than a month and a half, with little relief in sight. Retz says, “Well being we were so short in may prolly 2 inches in the next week or so to make a second harvest."

Chief meteorologist Nate Larscheid says one storm wouldn't do enough to eliminate the drought.
He says farms need to hope for rain that lasts for days on end.

“A year ago this field was about just about up to my arm pits normally this field gets more.” Says Retz. He has had a rough start to his growing season and Dunn county agricultural agent Jim Faust says he hasn't seen it this bad, in the last 20 years.

Faust says, “In 1988 was a bad year it started out dry and got worse and part of the county this is the fifth yea in a row that we have experienced some sort of drought." He says all crops are affected by drought, but he says for now, corn is doing fine.

Faust says, “The corn could be in pretty good shape, it’s ahead of normal but the crop isn't using a lot of moisture at this time."

Retz says he's lost about fifty percent of his first harvest of hay and while corn still has some time, he hopes it'll be raining in July and August.