Nebraska farmers making progress, but still behind averages

Good weather has helped Nebraska farmers make progress planting crops last week, but they remain behind historic averages.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that for the week ending Sunday, there were five days suitable for field work.

Thanks to better weather, farmers managed to raise the amount of corn planted to 70 percent of the anticipated crop.

That’s still behind 86 percent last year and for the five-year-average.

About 27 percent of the corn crop had emerged, significantly behind 49 percent last year and for the five-year-average.

For soybeans, farmers planted 40 percent of the crop, behind last year’s 64 percent and 54 percent average.