Growers appear to have made progress this week though wet conditions continued to cause headaches. Open weather this weekend could be crucial for producers racing to finish corn planting by May 15.

The mid-May deadline isn’t written in stone, of course. But popular yield models use it as a variable in key Midwest states. And Farm Futures research shows it’s even more correlated with yields in areas on the northern Plains where the pace lagged this year.

Growers in the Dakotas may have made better progress this week, however, with most areas receiving only scattered coverage there. One indication farmers were planting is lack of Feedback reports from the region this week – growers may have just been too busy, though the Feedback From The Field survey application is smart-phone friendly.

Overall, farmers posting progress this week said 68% of their corn was in the ground. Normally, around 78% of the crop is planted by May 15 nationwide.

“Very wet and very cold,” noted a farmer near Polo, in northwest Illinois. “A difficult start.”

Even producers who made progress faced challenges. Some 82% of Midwest fields had surplus moisture at the start of the week, so one or two open days wasn’t enough in many areas.

“Planting progress rapidly this last 4 days,” wrote a farmer north of Omaha on Wednesday, who then was hit with more rain. “Warm weather very welcomed.”

A grower in western Nebraska had only two days in the field after a week of drying: “Corn planted on April 24 not up yet, haven't seen any emergence in area.”

Despite the fits and starts, soybeans are also going in the ground. Farmers reporting this week said 33% of their beans are planted. That would be in line with average levels for mid-May.

Click this Feedback From The Field link to enter your data. For starters, we want to know how planting and emergence are going. You can also rate crops in your area as they emerge. We’ll update reports with the interactive map below that lets you see what other growers are saying around the country.

Follow season progress by clicking on the links below.

Feedback from the field - April 24, 2017 - Growers report slow start in northwest Corn Belt.

Feedback from the Field - April 28, 2017 - ‘Baby it’s cold outside’ isn’t the song farmers want to hear.

Feedback from the Field - May 8, 2017 - Emergence sputters as planting slows