Minnesota Farmers Make Progress Planting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Good weather has allowed Minnesota farmers to make rapid progress planting crops, but crops are still behind average.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Minnesota farmers had a season high of five days suitable for fieldwork last week.

Eighty-one percent of Minnesota's expected corn acreage has been planted.  That's a jump of 28 percentage points over last week, but 11 points behind the five-year average.

There were scattered reports of corn being replanted in western Minnesota.

Soybean planting was 49 percent complete, compared with an average 67 percent. Nearly half of the spring wheat crop was planted during the week.

Minnesota sugar beet farmers also made rapid progress. Sugar beet planting now stands at 86 percent complete.

The first cutting of alfalfa hay has started across southern Minnesota.