dan martens

A mix of rain and sunshine recently has many central Minnesota farmers smiling. This week's crop report for Minnesota shows corn is 78% good-to-excellent and soybeans are 77% good-to-excellent.

Poultry produced in Minnesota, and other states affected by bird flu, is safe to eat. That's the message from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Dan Martens says the flocks are monitored closely.

With winter hopefully at an end farmers are looking towards Spring and an early planting season. University of Minnesota Extension educator Dan Martens says with the recent mild temperatures some farmers have already started work in the fields.

When it comes to farming Minnesota is the backbone of the industry according to a new report. Two Minnesota congressional districts rank in the top 10 national in agricultural products.

The overnight freeze is yet another blow to farmers who are trying to salvage their crops this year. We told you recently about the wet conditions hampering crop growth in some areas. Now, the early freeze may actually kill off some of those immature plants.

Some central Minnesota farmers will have an excellent corn harvest this fall while others will have one of their worst years. U-of-M Extension Educator Dan Martens says some of the topography in central Minnesota has flat farm fields with thick soils that don't drain well while others have sandy soils with more hills and slopes that allow rain to run off.

Our cold weather has pushed back the spring planting season in Minnesota. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Dan Martens says farmers are about two weeks behind schedule. He says farmers like to have all of their small grains planted by now, and are usually moving on to corn planting by the last week in April.