Warm, Dry Weather Depletes Minn. Topsoil Moisture

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota's topsoil moisture has dwindled for the eighth consecutive week due to the continued warm and dry weather.

In its weekly crop weather report for Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that topsoil moisture is rated 9 percent very short and 30 percent short. Sixty percent is rated adequate and 1 percent surplus.

But the report notes that while the warm, dry weather has depleted topsoil moisture, it also has helped farmers with harvest.

Minnesota's small grain harvest is nearly complete. Ninety-seven percent of the state's spring wheat has been harvested and 99 percent of barley.

Soybean development continues to lag behind last year and the five-year average. Only 39 percent of the state's soybeans are turning yellow and only 9 percent are shedding leaves.

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