Farmers make rapid harvest progress

Minnesota farmers are making rapid progress on the fall harvest after a slow start to the growing season.

In its weekly crops and weather report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says more than a fourth of the state's corn crop got harvested last week thanks to dry weather that made an average of 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork. Minnesota's total corn harvest was 48 percent complete as of Sunday. That's 13 percentage points short of the 61 percent average, but the cold, wet spring delayed crop development by a week or two across the state.

For the first time this season, however, the progress of the state's soybean crop is ahead of normal. Minnesota's soybean harvest is 91 percent complete. That's 3 percentage points ahead of the average.