Minnesota's Unharvested Corn Worth $200M

January 4, 2010
AP

As the snow piles up, an estimated 5% of Minnesota's corn crop remains to be harvested, worth about $200 million.

Farmers hope to harvest the corn this spring and salvage some profit. They're hoping their losses will be offset by the money they save by letting the corn dry naturally instead of using expensive fuel to dry it.

Mark Schultz of Northstar Commodity tells Minnesota Public Radio News it's unusual to find so much unharvested corn in the winter. But a wet fall, followed by snowstorms, held farmers back. North Dakota producers have it hardest right now, with more than a quarter of their corn crop still in the field.

Schultz says heavy snow followed by a wet spring could delay planting on the affected acres, possibly cutting into next year's yields.