Minnesota Fall Harvest Winds Down As Wintry Weather Sets In

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The fall harvest is winding down in Minnesota as wintry weather sets in.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 87 percent of Minnesota's corn has been harvested. That's six days ahead of last year's pace and just 2 percentage points behind the five-year average.

The USDA also said in its weekly crop progress and condition report for Minnesota Tuesday that 97 percent of the state's soybean crop has been harvested. That's nine days behind last year and 10 days behind the five-year average. The state's sunflower harvest is 83 percent complete, six days behind average.

Winter cold and scattered precipitation resulted in only 3.5 days suitable for fieldwork in Minnesota last week.

Fall tillage is also winding down and came to a halt in many areas due to frozen ground.