News

Planting nearly done, time to get scouting

Warm weather is aiding crop development in Minnesota.

The USDA’s latest crop progress report says more than 90 percent of the state’s corn acreage has emerged, nearly a week ahead of the five year average.

Corn listed either good or excellent is 77 percent, a nine percent improvement from last week.

With soybean planting almost complete, 68 percent of that crop has emerged.

The first condition rating of the season for soybeans lists 74 percent in the good to excellent category.

Harmon Wilts, an agronomist for Dekalb/Asgrow in southwest Minnesota, says farmers need to be scouting.

“It’s a good idea to run around all your corn fields right now and just double-check and make sure that everything looks good and stable for the year.”

He tells Brownfield this is also a good time to evaluate planting by checking depths and row spacing.