Planting hit another slowdown last week thanks to the weather. The weekly U.S.D.A. crop report out Monday says there were only 3 suitable days for field work last week — slowing down a big leap in planting the week before. Eighty-four-percent of the corn crop is planted. That’s 21-percent of last year, but four percentage points behind the five-year average.
There was frost and below normal temperatures across much of the state, which impacted plant growth. The report says 28-percent of the corn has emerged and that is eight days behind normal. Soybean planting moved ahead to 40-percent complete, with is 10-percent behind the five-year average.