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Minnesota crop progress edges ahead of average despite rain delays

Spring fieldwork is just beginning for southeast Minnesota farmer Ryan Buck.

“We’re just kind of getting rolling here, we’ve done a little bit of light tillage on some sod that we picked up on some new ground. Otherwise we haven’t done much.”

The Goodhue County corn and soybean grower tells Brownfield soils are drying out after a wet first half of April.

“A week ago today we got just shy of 3 inches, and then we’ve had a couple smaller showers come through at the end of last week. So we’re knocking on almost 4 inches of rain in the last two weeks.”

The USDA says corn planting is six percent compete in Minnesota, compared to the five-year average of four percent.  Soybeans are three percent planted, compared to one percent normally.