Lyng Finds Widespread Corn Damage

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Wisconsin’s corn crop looks a little greener than that of other drought-stricken states, but that does not diminish the help needed by Wisconsin farmers, Agriculture Secretary Richard E. Lyng said Thursday.

Lyng, wearing a “Think Rain” button, inspected the 285-acre farm of Ken and Mary Ellen Falch as part of a 10-state tour through the parched Farm Belt.

“We’ve seen corn that’s terribly disappointing,” Lyng told a crowd of about 250 people at the farm. “I don’t think there’s anyplace where we haven’t seen corn that’s totally unusable.”

While the agriculture secretary was in Chippewa Falls, Republican Gov. Tommy G. Thompson was at the farm to sign a bill to provide farmers with a 10% property tax credit, up to a maximum of $1,000, on this year’s bills.