Minnesota's agricultural landscape is now dotted with tractors, a sure sign of spring — though planting conditions vary between different parts of the state.
Nearly 40% of Minnesota corn farmers had their crop in the ground by Sunday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Minnesota field office. This is roughly a week ahead of last year, when only 8% had been planted by the first week of May.
Farther north, however, in the wheat and potato and sugar beet fields nearer the Canadian border, conditions are premature for planting. Just 7% of spring wheat, 16% of potatoes and 23% of sugar beets are currently in the ground — all falling below the five-year average.
Soybeans, the state's second-largest crop, are slightly behind the five-year average with 13% planted.
Wet and cold weather in 2022 delayed planting across the state's commodities. A drier April in 2023, by comparison, allowed some farmers along the Interstate-90 border just north of Iowa to get into their fields before May, said Brandon Fast, a farmer near Mountain Lake.
The massive snowpack from Minnesota's 2022-2023 winter may remain legendary. But Fast said the season's snow will not alleviate concerns about drought from the past two dry summers that still linger in many farmers' minds.
Fast, who also owns a chemical and seed company, said one of his customers who planted soybeans told him the crop has not yet swelled with moisture. It's been seven days, and that process usually only takes about half a week.
"If we don't get rain throughout the summer, we're definitely not going to end up having the crop we've had the last couple, three years," Fast said. "We need the moisture in late July and August."
Still, planting conditions have been good for tractors — "like a garden," Fast said.
Last year's delayed planting didn't necessarily dampen crop production for farmers. Year-end totals showed farmers harvested more bushels of corn and soybeans than in 2021. Beets, however, posted 11.1 million tons, down over 5 million tons from the year before.
