Minnesota farmers continue to make progress on planting corn and soybeans, thanks to warm, dry weather, the Associated Press reports. According to the USDA's weekly crop-weather report for Minnesota, corn planting jumped to 88 percent planted.

Most of Minnesota's corn and soybean crops continue to thrive, despite last week's torrential rain and destructive weather. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports 83 percent of Minnesota corn is rated in good or excellent condition. As for soybeans, 74 percent of the acres are in good or excellent shape.

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.

It's only mid-September, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture says 12 percent of Minnesota's corn crop is already harvested. The Pioneer Press notes that is roughly three weeks earlier than last year. The soybean harvest is also well ahead of the five-year average with 16 percent complete.

Even though production was down, Minnesota's corn crop was worth a best-ever $7 billion. The estimate from the U.S. Department of Agriculture tops the previous record the year before. The state's soybean crop was down 13 percent from 2010.

Minnesota's cornfields will average 168 bushels an acre this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Pioneer Press reports this would be Minnesota's largest corn crop in state history and make the state the second largest corn producer in the country -- only trailing Iowa.

However, soybean and wheat crops will drop as much as eight percent because corn is more profitable. Minnesota's corn crop was valued at $7 billion last year. Corn planting is also expected to increase about four percent nationwide.