Farmers delay spring planting due to wet, cool weather

St. Paul, Minn. — Many Minnesota farmers have delayed putting crops in the ground due to the recent cold and wet weather.

Wayne Schoper, an extension educator for Brown and Nicollet counties, said his area of south central Minnesota has received about half an inch to an inch of rain.

"It hasn't been so much the volume of precipitation as much as we just haven't had some of that good drying weather," Schoper said. "With the cool temperatures we've received we haven't had the soil warm up. So it's kind of a combination of moisture and the cooler temperatures that have kept us out of the field."

Schoper said Minnesota farmers typically plant corn around April 20th.

He said the delay in planting corn results in lower yields.

According to Schoper, the soil needs to warm up to 54 degrees to germinate corn.

The state Agriculture Department's crop report comes out later today at 3 p.m.