South Dakota farmers are being heavily challenged getting their corn in the ground. We are way behind due to the rain during the last week of April.

The first week of May has been very promising with sunshine and warmer temperatures. But a lot of ground is still drying out.

Farmers must wait for the field to be ready. Going out too soon can cause compaction of the soil which leads to root development problems later on.

Only 12 percent of the corn is in according to a report from the USDA. The five year average is 24 percent. Those are the numbers for South Dakota.

However, nationally, corn producers are well ahead of schedule with 45 percent in the ground. That's well above the five year average of 30 percent.

Iowa is 57 percent complete, Minnesota is 59 percent and Nebraska is 26 percent done.

For soybeans, 8% of the nation’s crop has been planted vs. a 6% five-year average.


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