An official with Minnesota's Ag Department says farmers should be able to find some type of corn seed to plant this spring, but the most popular varieties may not be available. High prices have farmers all over the country boosting corn acreage. Minnesota expects about a ten percent increase over last year.

Strong crop prices have farmers around the country planting more acreage. Ag officials are advising growers to get their seeds now because the most popular varieties of corn may not be available later.

State farmers will benefit in two ways: drought has helped to drive corn prices higher, and Minnesota farms are producing high yields compared to farms in other states, where dry conditions have shriveled crops, WCCO reports.

Minnesota corn farmers are expected to plant a record number of acres this spring. And nearly half those acres are already planted by the end of April. It's an improvement over last year, when a soggy spring delayed planting and pushed back the whole growing season.

According to the USDA's first official assessment of the season, nearly 100 percent of the state's record 8.7 million acres of corn is now planted. As of Sunday, 81 percent of the soybean acres were also planted.

Major seed companies including, Twin Cities-based Syngenta, saw production fall 15 to 25 percent last summer because of poor weather conditions. The President of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association told MPR the reduced seed supply is starting to cause concerns among farmers eager to plant the high profit commodity.

Last July, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed and more than a dozen railcars carrying corn spilled into Locke Lake. Ten months later, neighbors tell KARE 11 the corn is causing foul odors and attracting more geese to the area. A railroad spokesperson says crews have already removed about 25 tons of corn, but aren't able to remove it all. A bike path that runs underneath the rail line also remains closed, but is supposed to reopen in July.