Wet April Keeping Farmers Out of Farm Fields

ST. CLOUD -- 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.

Dan Martens is a U-of-M Extension Educator for Stearns, Benton and Morrison counties. He says here in central Minnesota, we are likely a little behind those figures.

Martens says there's still time to get the seeds in the ground. May 25th is the unofficial deadline to get corn planted and June 10th is the target date for soybeans. He says after that, they need to make adjustments to the yield potential due to a shorter growing season.