Crops catching up in Otter Tail County

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Rainfall and warm temperatures the past few days have been good news for farmers in Otter Tail County who are seeing rapid growth with corn, soybeans and other crops.

“Crops are catching up nicely, following the slow start this spring,” said County Extension Educator Vince Crary who works at the extension office in New York Mills.

Crary said many farmers in the eastern part of the county are taking in the second crop of hay.

“Even though crop growth is doing well, farmers need to still be aware of insects and crop disease,” he said. “Questions can be directed to the nearest extension office.”

Statewide, according to the Associated Press, warm weather continued to aid small grains, with nearly three quarters of the crop reaching the heading stage. However, the A.P. report said that while small grains started ripening last week, development was still behind historical averages for this time of year.

The Minnesota field office of the U.S. Agriculture Department said there were nearly six days suitable for field work last week. Statewide topsoil moisture supplies were six percent very short, 24 short, 66 adequate, and four percent surplus.

The average corn height was estimated at 46 inches compared with 59 inches for the five-year average. The average soybeans height was 13 inches compared with 16 inches for the five-year average.

The report said that 71 percent of corn and 69 percent of soybeans were rated in good or excellent condition.