Wet fields dampen completion of soybean planting

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Soggy farm fields have put a damper on Wisconsin’s soybean crop.

For some farmers, it’s too late in the season to complete their soybean planting or to replant fields that have been flooded by heavy rain. Crop observers say flooding has occurred in Taylor, Crawford, Richland, Columbia, Dane and Green counties.

An progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says about 85 percent of Wisconsin’s soybean crop has been planted compared with 100 percent last year and a five-year average of 99 percent.

The Journal Sentinel says Wisconsin farmers grow about 75 million bushels of soybeans a year. The crop is one of the state’s biggest export items with 65 percent of the harvest sent to other countries.