Corn and soybeans dominate Wisconsin agriculture by a wide margin, but the state’s crop portfolio is far more diverse than its Corn Belt neighbors might suggest. Wisconsin ranks among the top national producers of cranberries, potatoes, snap beans, sweet corn for processing, and ginseng, and its dairy-driven economy supports enormous acreage of alfalfa and other forage crops. The mix reflects the state’s geography, which spans sandy plains ideal for irrigated vegetables, rich southern soils suited to row crops, and acidic northern bogs perfectly adapted to cranberry cultivation.
Corn and Soybeans Run the Show
Field corn is Wisconsin’s single largest crop by acreage, typically planted on well over three million acres each year. Much of it feeds the state’s massive dairy herd rather than heading to a grain elevator. Silage corn, harvested as the whole plant and fermented for cattle feed, is a bigger deal in Wisconsin than in most other states precisely because of that dairy connection. Grain corn is also substantial, used for animal feed, ethanol, and export.
Soybeans come in second, occupying roughly two million acres. The two crops are tightly linked in practice because rotating them year to year is one of the simplest ways to protect yields. Research conducted in Wisconsin and across the upper Midwest has consistently shown that rotating corn and soybeans outperforms planting either crop continuously. In one set of Wisconsin trials, yearly rotation boosted corn grain yields by 15 to 18% and soybean yields by 24 to 31% compared with continuous cropping.1Crop Science. Corn, Soybean, and Wheat Yield Response to Crop Rotation, Nitrogen Rates, and Foliar Fungicide Application Separate long-term data found continuous cropping reduced corn yields by about 10% and soybean yields by about 15% relative to rotated sequences.2Journal of Production Agriculture. Tillage and Crop Rotation Affect Corn, Soybean, and Winter Wheat Yields The rotation benefit is so reliable that the corn-soybean sequence has become the default cropping system across southern and central Wisconsin.
Potatoes and the Central Sands
Wisconsin is one of the country’s top potato-producing states, and nearly all of that production is concentrated in a single landscape: the Central Sands. This region, stretching across parts of Portage, Waushara, Adams, and surrounding counties, sits on deep deposits of sandy glacial outwash. The soil drains fast and warms early in spring, which potatoes love, but it also means irrigation is essential. Virtually every potato field in the Central Sands relies on center-pivot irrigation drawing from a shallow, productive aquifer beneath the sand.
Managing water on those sandy soils is a constant balancing act. Research on a large irrigated potato field in the Central Sands found that average soil water storage in the top half-meter ranged from about 70 to 110 millimeters across growing seasons, and that deep drainage below the root zone was substantial, ranging from roughly 170 to 240 millimeters per year depending on rainfall and irrigation inputs.3Agricultural Water Management. Spatial-temporal analysis of soil water storage and deep drainage under irrigated potatoes in the Central Sands of Wisconsin, USA Interestingly, that same study found a negative relationship between soil water storage and potato yields, suggesting that over-irrigation can actually hurt production. Getting the water right matters not just for the crop but also for the aquifer and the lakes and streams it feeds, a tension that has become politically charged in recent years.
The Central Sands also support irrigated rotations of sweet corn, peas, and field corn alongside potatoes. A multi-year lysimeter study in the region tracked groundwater recharge under irrigated potato, sweet corn, field corn, and pea rotations, confirming that crop type, soil texture, and year-to-year climate variability all influence how much water moves past the root zone and into the aquifer.4Vadose Zone Journal. Drivers of Potential Recharge from Irrigated Agroecosystems in the Wisconsin Central Sands The choice of what to plant, and how to irrigate it, has real consequences for the regional water table.
Vegetables for Processing
Wisconsin is a national leader in growing vegetables destined not for the fresh market but for canning and freezing. Sweet corn for processing, snap beans, and green peas are the big three. The state typically ranks first or second nationally in snap bean production and is a top producer of sweet corn for canning. Large processing facilities operated by companies with deep Wisconsin roots contract with local growers, creating a vegetable economy that is industrially scaled but still rooted in specific growing regions.
Sweet corn and snap beans are interesting cases because both have attracted attention from organic processors. There is significant interest from processors in sourcing organic sweet corn and snap beans, but scaling up organic production poses real challenges, particularly weed management. Research conducted in Wisconsin explored the feasibility of managing weeds in organic sweet corn and snap bean using methods practical at large scale, finding that while it is possible, the logistics of mechanical cultivation and other non-chemical approaches require careful planning to be economical for processing-scale operations.5Weed Technology. Feasibility of Organic Weed Management in Sweet Corn and Snap Bean for Processing
Peas for processing are often grown as an early-season crop, harvested by late June or early July, which leaves time for a second crop or cover crop on the same field. This kind of double-cropping fits naturally into the Central Sands rotation system, where growers need to keep sandy soils covered to prevent erosion and nutrient leaching.
Cranberries
Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state, accounting for roughly 60% of the national crop in most years. The center of production is the marshes and bogs of central and northern Wisconsin, particularly in counties like Wood, Monroe, and Jackson. Cranberry cultivation depends on a specific set of conditions: acidic, peaty soils, a reliable water supply for flooding during harvest and frost protection, and flat terrain that can be engineered into shallow growing beds.
The harvest itself is distinctive. Most Wisconsin cranberries are wet-harvested, meaning the beds are flooded and the berries are knocked loose by mechanical beaters, then corralled floating on the water’s surface. This method is efficient and well-suited to the processing market, where cranberries are turned into juice, dried sweetened cranberries, and sauce. A smaller share is dry-harvested for the fresh market. Wisconsin’s cranberry acreage has expanded over the past few decades, and the crop generates hundreds of millions of dollars in farm revenue annually, making it one of the state’s most valuable individual crops despite occupying a fraction of the acreage devoted to corn or soybeans.
Forage Crops and the Dairy Connection
No discussion of Wisconsin crops is complete without addressing the forage side of the ledger. Wisconsin remains one of the largest dairy states in the country, and dairy cows need hay, haylage, and silage. Alfalfa is the premier forage legume, grown on well over a million acres. It is typically harvested three or four times per growing season, producing high-protein hay or haylage that forms the backbone of dairy rations. Oats are also commonly grown, sometimes as a companion crop seeded alongside alfalfa to provide quick ground cover while the alfalfa establishes.
Long-term economic analysis from the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial found that intensive rotational grazing systems and organic grain and forage systems that included alfalfa, oats, and field peas were among the most profitable production systems on highly productive southern Wisconsin land. When organic price premiums and government programs were factored in, returns for an organic forage system built around alfalfa, oats, field peas, and corn increased by 35 to 40% compared with conventional Midwest benchmarks like continuous corn or no-till corn-soybean rotations.6Agronomy Journal. Organic and Conventional Production Systems in the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial: II. Economic and Risk Analysis 1993–2006 The organic grain system, which rotated corn, soybeans, and wheat with red clover, saw returns jump by 85 to 110%. Those numbers reflect a specific era of organic premiums, but they illustrate an important point: Wisconsin’s crop diversity creates opportunities for alternative production systems that can compete economically with conventional row cropping.
Ginseng
Wisconsin is the dominant American producer of cultivated ginseng, growing the vast majority of the domestic crop. Marathon County, in the north-central part of the state, is the epicenter. American ginseng thrives in Wisconsin’s climate and well-drained soils, and the state’s ginseng industry has deep historical roots stretching back more than a century. Most of the crop is exported to East Asian markets, where ginseng root is prized in traditional medicine and as a culinary ingredient.
Ginseng is a slow, labor-intensive crop. The roots typically take three to four years to reach harvestable size, and growers must build shade structures over the beds because ginseng is naturally a woodland understory plant that cannot tolerate direct sun. The investment per acre is high compared with field crops, but so are the returns when markets are strong. Disease pressure, especially from fungal pathogens, is a constant concern, and once a field has been used for ginseng, it generally cannot be replanted with the crop for many years. Despite these challenges, Wisconsin ginseng remains a globally recognized specialty product.
Industrial Hemp
Hemp is a relatively recent addition to Wisconsin’s crop landscape, legalized for commercial production following the 2018 Farm Bill and corresponding state legislation. Growers have been exploring both fiber and grain hemp varieties, and early research is helping farmers figure out what works in Wisconsin’s climate. Trials conducted in 2019 and 2020 at Arlington and Chippewa Falls evaluated how cultivar, seeding rate, and nitrogen fertilization affect hemp yields. At the Chippewa Falls site, fiber yield increased by about 20% when nitrogen rates were raised from zero to moderate or high levels, and grain yield jumped by 52% with the same nitrogen boost.7Agronomy Journal. Cultivar and management effects on industrial hemp yields in Wisconsin
The hemp market has been volatile. Early excitement about CBD-producing hemp led to a rush of new growers, but prices crashed as supply outstripped demand. Fiber and grain hemp, which feed into textiles, building materials, food products, and animal feed, have a more stable long-term outlook but require processing infrastructure that is still developing in Wisconsin. The crop fits well into existing rotations and can be grown on conventional field-crop acreage, but it is still far from becoming a major acreage crop in the state.
Weed Resistance and the Herbicide Challenge
One of the most pressing agronomic problems facing Wisconsin corn and soybean growers is the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds. Giant ragweed and waterhemp are the two most troublesome species in the state’s row-crop systems. Both are aggressive competitors that can devastate yields if left uncontrolled, and both have evolved resistance to multiple classes of herbicides.
Field experiments at sites in southern Wisconsin tested a range of post-emergence herbicides against giant ragweed and herbicide-resistant waterhemp. The results were sobering. Older herbicide chemistries provided poor control, and even the best-performing products achieved only 74 to 87% control of waterhemp. No single herbicide evaluated in the study reached 90% control of waterhemp.8Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. Evaluation of foliar‐applied post‐emergence corn–soybean herbicides on giant ragweed and waterhemp control in Wisconsin The takeaway for growers is that relying on a single herbicide application after weeds have emerged is no longer a viable strategy. Effective management now requires layering multiple herbicide modes of action with pre-emergence applications and incorporating non-chemical practices like cover cropping and mechanical cultivation. This is not just a Wisconsin problem, but the state’s heavy reliance on corn-soybean rotations makes it especially vulnerable.
How Climate Change Could Shift the Mix
Wisconsin’s growing seasons have been getting warmer, and that trend is expected to continue. The implications for crop yields are not straightforward. An analysis of Wisconsin corn and soybean yield trends found that for each additional degree Celsius of warming during summer months, corn yields could decrease by about 13% and soybean yields by about 16%.9Environmental Research Letters. Impacts of recent climate change on Wisconsin corn and soybean yield trends That is a meaningful hit. On the other hand, if total summer precipitation increases modestly, say by around 50 millimeters, yields could get a 5 to 10% boost, partially offsetting the heat penalty.
The net effect depends on which changes actually materialize. Warmer winters and longer frost-free seasons could theoretically open the door to crops that currently struggle in Wisconsin, or allow earlier planting and later harvests for existing ones. But hotter summers during the critical pollination window for corn are a clear threat. More intense rainfall events, which climate models project for the upper Midwest, could also increase erosion and nutrient runoff on the state’s sloping fields, particularly in the unglaciated Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin where the topography is steep. Growers in the Central Sands face a different version of the problem: if summer droughts become more frequent, irrigation demand will rise and the already contentious draw on groundwater will intensify.
Some of these pressures may encourage diversification. Crops that tolerate heat better, or that fill shorter windows in the growing season, could become more attractive. Cover crops and longer rotations, which improve soil health and water-holding capacity, are tools that help buffer against both drought and heavy rain. Wisconsin’s existing crop diversity gives it a broader foundation to adapt from than states locked into just one or two commodities, but the transition will not be painless for the growers most dependent on corn and soybeans for their livelihood.
Wheat, Oats, and Other Small Grains
Small grains play a supporting role in Wisconsin agriculture that is easy to overlook. Winter wheat is planted in fall and harvested in midsummer, fitting into the calendar gaps left by corn and soybeans. It serves double duty as a cash crop and a soil-conserving cover during the months when fields would otherwise be bare. Spring wheat and oats round out the small-grain picture, with oats particularly common as a nurse crop when establishing new alfalfa stands.
Wisconsin is not a major wheat state by Great Plains standards, but small grains matter here for reasons beyond their direct economic value. They break up pest and disease cycles in corn-soybean rotations, reduce erosion over winter, and provide flexibility in the cropping calendar. The Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial included wheat with red clover as part of an organic grain rotation that proved highly profitable over its study period.6Agronomy Journal. Organic and Conventional Production Systems in the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial: II. Economic and Risk Analysis 1993–2006 For growers interested in organic production or simply in reducing input costs, adding a small grain to the rotation is one of the more proven strategies available.
Mint, Maple Syrup, and Other Niche Crops
Beyond the headline crops, Wisconsin supports a range of niche agricultural products that contribute meaningfully to local and regional economies. The state has historically been a significant producer of spearmint and peppermint oil, with mint grown on muck soils in central Wisconsin. Maple syrup production, concentrated in the northern hardwood forests, has expanded as consumer interest in locally produced sweeteners has grown. Christmas tree farms dot the northern and central counties, and fruit crops including apples, tart cherries, and various berries are cultivated around the state.
None of these individually rivals corn or soybeans in economic weight, but collectively they reflect the agricultural diversity that Wisconsin’s varied landscapes and climate zones make possible. A grower in the Driftless Area raising grass-fed beef on steep hillside pastures, a cranberry marsh operator in Wood County, a ginseng farmer in Marathon County, and a corn-soybean operator in Rock County are all practicing Wisconsin agriculture, just very different versions of it. That diversity is both a strength and a complication: state agricultural policy, research priorities, and extension resources have to stretch across a wider range of crops and production systems than many peer states.