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Farmers start to see results of planting in poor conditions

The price of planting into less-than-ideal soil conditions is becoming evident across the Corn Belt.

Chad Willis grows corn and soybeans in west-central Minnesota.

“The soybeans look pretty good, even though they got planted late. The corn in this area, you see a lot where it got planted into cold, wet ground. And there’s a lot of black spots as you drive by some fields.”

He tells Brownfield it was difficult to wait for fields to firm up this spring.

“For me, it was (about) the calendar. We were so late it was time to get the corn in the ground, and I guess you just have to weigh that and see knowing you’re probably going to have some yield loss. But if you waited and got another shot of rain, you might not get in at all.”

Willis says by the look of corn in his area, the high yields they’ve been accustomed to won’t be there this year.