The rain puts a temporary halt to an already late spring planting season -- possibly as much as another week, said Grand Forks County extension agent Morris Davidson. Generally, however, farmers in the county shouldn't be in dire straits yet.

The National Weather Service's state forecast calls for clearing through today, with highs warming to the 70s in the west.

"It's nice to get an early start, but we aren't to the point where we would be pushing any panic buttons yet," Davidson said. "It's just that we know there's a whole lot of work to do in a short time now, and we are definitely going to need some nice weather now in order for things to happen when they are supposed to."

In Traill

Spring fieldwork essentially was at a standstill Monday in Traill County as well.

"We're -- in a word -- wet," said Traill County extension agent Clint Gienger. "Across the county, we got anywhere from 11/2 inches to 3 inches."

A week ago, Traill County farmers were just starting to make progress putting in their 2001 crop. As in Grand Forks County, those efforts were called on account of rain, likely for the remainder of this week.

Crop planted up to the point when the rain began generally was either wheat or corn, Gienger said, as well as some sugar beets.

"They were just getting going last week, kind of hit-and-miss," Gienger said. "Now, things are pretty soaked up. It's going to be a while before they get started up again. Barring any more rain, I'd say the end of the week."

Polk County

Field conditions in Minnesota's Polk County vary somewhat, mirroring rain amounts various areas of the county received, said Polk County extension agent Russ Severson.

"I guess we had amounts that varied from about seven-tenths of an inch in the Crookston area to 2 inches or more up closer to East Grand Forks," Severson said. "So, obviously, growers in the Crookston area will probably be back in the field a lot sooner than in other areas."

Field conditions generally had been improving day by day before the weekend's rains, Severson said. Now, depending on how much rain fell, many farmers in the county could be waiting out much -- if not all -- of this week.

"With forecast highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s, I don't think there'll be much activity until late this week," Severson said.