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Hot, dry weather pushes and stresses Minnesota crops

Hot, dry weather pushed crop development but reduced soil moisture and crop condition ratings across Minnesota last week.

The latest report from USDA says just 36 percent of topsoil is rated adequate to surplus, and subsoil moisture ratings deteriorated to 57 percent short to very short.

The corn condition rating fell from nearly 70 percent good to excellent a week ago to under 60 percent as of Sunday.

Soybean emergence is a week and-a-half ahead of normal at 97 percent, but the condition of the crop declined from nine percentage points to 61 percent good to excellent.

Spring wheat is 66 percent jointed, five days ahead of the five-year average, with acreage considered good to excellent falling from 72 to 68 percent.

In their first condition ratings of the season, 72 percent of potatoes and 69 percent of sugarbeets are considered good to excellent.

And the first cutting of alfalfa hay reached 81 percent, a jump of more than 20 percentage points on the week.

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