Warm weather spurs spring planting

Robert Carlson makes a final round planting corn under a setting sun Thursday, April 29, for his father-in-law, Pete Jessen, in western Rock County. Warmer weather in the last week of April prompted a flurry of spring planting in Rock County and the region. USDA’s latest crop report says more than 40 percent of Minnesota’s intended corn acres were planted, pushing overall progress to 60 percent. That’s 10 days ahead of normal, but two days behind last year. In Rock County, where it’s been drier than other parts of the state, many producers, including Jessen, are finishing with corn and moving on to soybean planting.