spring planting

With some forecasts calling for a cool, wet spring, will farmers plant more soybeans and less corn?

Once the calendar turns to April, it's usually time to start exchanging those snow shovels for lawn and garden tools. But, a cold start to April and more snow is pushing back any plans of "thinking spring".

Gardening season is here, but an extension educator in horticulture says you may want to wait on direct seed vegetables like beans, beets, carrots and sweet corn until the danger of frost has passed.

A cool and wet April has prevented many farmers from getting into the fields to plant their crops. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says as of last week, Minnesota's corn crop is only 12% planted, which is 13 days behind last year and nine days behind average.

The long winter and rainy spring has not been kind to Minnesota farmers. The latest crop report says farmers are way behind the five-year average when it comes to planting corn.

Spring fieldwork is off to a late start because of winter's stubborn grip on Minnesota. But yields shouldn't be hurt as long as farmers can get into their fields soon after Easter.

Minnesota farmers who've had trouble completing their spring planting due to a muddy May are facing some important decisions this month. About 1.2 million acres of corn has yet to be seeded, and nearly half the state's soybean acres have yet to be planted.

Despite the sudden warm weather, Minnesota farmers are still waiting for the chance to get into their fields.

Some farmers already are planting in central and southern Minnesota, thanks to the mild, dry winter and record warmth in March.

The mostly dry weather of the past week has allowed Minnesota farmers to come close to finally finishing planting several key crops. In its weekly crop weather report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that six days were rated suitable for fieldwork last week, the highest number so far this year.