Dry Weather Speeds Up Minnesota Soybean Harvest

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Drier weather allowed Minnesota farmers to harvest over a quarter of the state's soybean crop last week alone.

In its weekly crop progress and condition report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that soybean farmers took advantage of the 4.9 days suitable for fieldwork last week. The total soybean harvest now stands at 40 percent of the crop. That's in line with the five-year average of 42 percent. Soybean condition is rated 82 percent good to excellent. Still, some fields remain too wet to harvest.

Eight percent of Minnesota's corn-for-grain crop has been harvested, about a week behind average. But 87 percent of the corn crop is mature, which is eight days ahead of the average. Corn condition is rated 85 percent good to excellent.