Minnesota farmers get an early start on crops

May is barely here and Minnesota's wheat crop is already almost completely in the ground, thanks to a warm and not-too-wet spring.

Farmers had sown 93 percent of Minnesota's spring wheat crop as of April 29, up from only 2 percent during last year's waterlogged spring, and well above the five-year average of 28 percent.

And while spring wheat tends to herald the new crop year, Minnesota farmers have also gotten an early start on planting everything from corn to canola, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's St. Paul office.

"People just took advantage of the nice weather to plant their crop," said Dave Torgerson, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers.

Spring wheat, grown primarily in the state's northwest, is Minnesota's third-largest crop behind corn and soybeans.

As of Sunday, 48 percent of the state's corn acreage had been planted, compared with 1 percent a year ago and a five-year average of 31 percent. Land prepared for soybeans -- the last major crop planted each year -- was also running well ahead of the usual pace.

For just about all crops, the earlier the planting, the better.

Oats, famous fodder for breakfast cereals, were 87 percent planted, up from 8 percent a year ago and 41 percent on average over five years.

With generally mild weather through much of the United States this spring, plantings of all major crops tracked by the USDA are ahead of their five-year averages.