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A bright side to overcast weather during planting

A south central Minnesota farmer says there’s a bright side to overcast weather during planting.

Wright County farmer Dan Glessing says he was about three quarters of the way finished with corn planting when two inches of rain halted progress on Monday.

As he waits for conditions to dry out, Glessing tells Brownfield the overcast weather in the forecast the next few days could actually be helpful.

“It gives the soil a chance to drain underneath, before the top starts to dry out with the sunshine.  Sometimes it seems like when the sun shines on (the soil), the top is going to be dry; but once you get out there the water hasn’t had a chance to drain away.  With these cloudy days, it gives the water a chance to go through the soil structure.”

USDA’s crop progress report says corn planting in Minnesota is about half done, with scattered reports of emergence.