Report: Hot dry weather helps Minn. farmers plant

The hot, dry weather last week let farmers stay in the fields to nearly complete planting the Minnesota corn crop, but topsoil moisture is drying up.

That's from the weekly crop weather report put out Tuesday by the Minnesota field office the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The report says high winds last week eroded soils and damaged newly emerged crops in some areas. Farmers need rain for the crops to keep growing, especially soybeans recently planted in dry ground.

Topsoil moisture supplies rated 11 percent very short, 27 percent short, 53 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus across the state. There were more than six days suitable for field work.

Corn planting is 96 percent complete. Seventy-one percent of the corn acres have emerged compared with, 30 percent last year and a five-year average of 63 percent.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)