The late spring is causing headaches for northern Minnesota corn farmers, and U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson has asked federal officials to give them some slack.
Federal crop insurance won't fully cover corn crops planted after May 25 and May 31 for grain and silage, but Peterson sent a letter on May 20 asking USDA Risk Management Administrator Brandon Willis to change those deadlines and move the dates farther ahead.
"In many parts of my district, wet weather has prevented farmers from even getting fields ready for planting, much less actual planting," Peterson wrote. "My growers would rather produce a corn crop than collect a prevented planting [insurance] claim." Peterson is the ranking Democratic member of the House Agriculture Committee.
USDA reported Monday that growers have planted 53 percent of the corn crop in Minnesota, but Peterson noted that much of that work has been done in southern Minnesota, not in the northwest part of the state that he represents.
