“The corn looks really good, growing fast,” said Justin Remus. “It’s tracking ahead of schedule, maybe a week or 10 days ahead of where it was at this time the past couple years. We’ve had the rain we need to maintain it. Production-wise, most farmers around here have things going right.”

He said the picture isn’t quite as bright for some soybean farmers.

“They’ve been really slow to come along,” said Remus. “Hail north of Sleepy Eye and New Ulm caused quite a bit of replanting. Soybeans are more finicky. The (Canadian forest fire) smoke we had early in the year affected soybean photosynthesis more than it did corn this year. Still, for the most part, most of Brown and Renville County looks really good.”

He said some fields look uneven around Hector, Lake Lillian and Litchfield.

Staff photo by Fritz Busch Corn grows under bright sunshine near Brown County Road 27 west of New Ulm Tuesday. Farmers say corn is growing ahead of schedule.

“They had some disastrous rain in spots,” said Remus. “Good insurance can save a lot of farms this year. Other farmers may break even or be in the red.”

He talked about the importance of agriculture success.

“When farmers don’t have cash to do extra things, it affects everybody including banks and the food supply,” said Remus.

He said some South American countries may have good crops but there is more to the story than that.

“The question may be the quality of South American crops. They don’t have the storage quality we have here,” said Remus.

Lincoln County farmer Bob Worth said he’s seen a variety of challenges this spring and early summer.

“It’s been a wild spring. It really has. It’s been interesting, never the same,” said Worth. “It started out beautiful. It was dry. We got our crop in the ground in record time. Then things came up. First it was wind, up to 50 mph. Frost in April and early May did damage. Then April 28 hail that was super small, like BBs. It was bad enough for me to replant some soybeans.”

Worth said his corn was waist to shoulder high, but beans are way behind.

He voiced political concerns.

“We need a Farm Bill. We need a five-year Farm Bill done bad. We need the certainty of it,” said Worth, current director and past president of the Minnesota Soybean Grower’s Association.

“Politicians need to be out there. (Congresswoman) Angie Craig, D-Mn) would be a great senator. She is the ranking House Agriculture Committee member. She’ll work with anybody on any subject. That’s part of our problem. Nobody wants to work together in Washington and get things done,” he said.

Craig has announced she’s running for a U.S. Senate seat.

According to the USDA, about 95% of Minnesota corn was in good to excellent condition on June 29, in better condition and emerging sooner than it has at this time in at least five years.

More than 90% of Minnesota soybeans were in good to excellent condition with more emergence by June 29, a higher percentage than at least the last five years.

Nearly all of Minnesota soybeans were in excellent condition by June 29.