You may finally see farmers head out to their fields in the coming days to get some much-needed work done. The United States Department of Agriculture reported that farmers had a little more time to catch up this week with 2.6 days suitable for fieldwork, but for the most part, the cool temperatures kept soil conditions much too wet and cold to do much. The National Weather Service gives some hope to farmers with high temperatures closing in on 60 degrees for the next week and only a chance of rain predicted for Tuesday night. That could send more equipment into the fields for manure hauling and planting. Adam Barta from Rio Creek Feed Mill says it is essential for implement drivers to watch out for motorists and vice versa.

On average, farmers are over three weeks behind on spring tillage and two weeks behind in planting corn and oats. They are even further behind compared to last year, according to the USDA’s Crop Progress Report.