Minnesota Crops Fall Behind Due to Wet, Sunless Spring
A wet and sun-depraved spring season has put Minnesota's corn crop behind schedule
According to a recent MPRnews article, Minnesota’s crop progress has fallen behind yearly averages, much in part due to a wet, sunless spring across most of the state.
A StarTribune article indicates Minnesota’s corn fields made some positive movement in the last week, growing 7 inches and amounting to a total of 17 inches to date. However, this number lags behind last year’s height (47 inches) and the yearly to-date average of 32 inches.
Decreased corn growth could, in part, be due to the fact corn is still more than a week behind schedule in some parts of the state, according to the MPRnews article. Crop consultant Pete Kramer says "We're at least a week behind in a lot of areas, and maybe even up to 10-14 days in other areas, depending on when the crop was planted and how much rain has fallen to hold the crop back."
According to the latest “USDA Crop Progress Report,” 58% of Minnesota’s corn crop was rated “good” to “excellent,” compared to 82% a year ago. Kramer believes the improved weather of late could boost crop growth, but he remains worried that there might not be enough warm days left in the summer to get the crop back on track. Kramer also worries that an early frost this year (as early as September) could damage late-maturing fields. "Last I checked, we're going to be looking at an average, or slightly cooler than average upcoming couple of months," he says. "That danger of frost this fall could be a real issue."
The wet spring season in Minnesota has put corn producers behind yearly averages, and experts worry the slow pace could affect late-maturing fields that may have to contend with early season frost.