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Minnesota

USDA says Minnesota harvests

pick up but continue to lag

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s corn and soybean harvests are starting to pick up after delays due to wet field conditions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday in its weekly crop progress and condition report for Minnesota that farmers took advantage of 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork last week, though muddy fields remain a challenge in some areas.

The report says only 7 percent of the state’s corn-for-grain crop has been harvested, which is 22 days behind the average pace. The state’s soybean crop is only 45 percent harvested, compared with a five-year average of 82 percent. Still, those numbers represent progress from a week earlier.

Sugarbeets were 74 percent lifted, just 3 points behind average.

Fortunately for farmers, the forecast calls for sunny, relatively warm days through Friday across much of Minnesota.

State Department grants permit for

Alberta Clipper pipeline

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The State Department has granted Enbridge Energy a presidential permit for the final piece of its project to boost the capacity of its Alberta Clipper oil pipeline.

Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge has been operating the pipeline, formally called Line 67, since 2010. The company upgraded its pumping stations in 2014 and 2015 to nearly double its capacity to 800,000 barrels per day.

But Enbridge needed the permit for the 3-mile segment that crosses the U.S.-Canadian border near Neche, North Dakota. After nearly five years of review, the State Department said Monday that issuing the permit serves the national interest.

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