ALDEN — “Better late than never” may have been what some farmers were thinking when they planted corn this spring, but that outlook has seriously improved in the past weeks.

The hot, humid weather with decent rainfalls has corn farmers happier than they were in April. Though most farmers didn’t finish planting until late May, crops are getting tall, and yields may creep back close to last year’s numbers.

“It seems like even if we have a late spring, we can pick up a lot in the summer by having a lot of heat units,” said Dan Erickson, a farmer from Alden and regional representative for the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. “It actually does really well on the corn.”

Erickson added serious heat can be hard on the corn if the nights don’t cool off, as the plants essentially don’t get to “rest.” However, he and other farmers aren’t worried at this point of the summer, even with extremely high temperatures this month.

“I don’t think it’s something we need to be concerned about quite yet,” Erickson said.

Jon Hillier, agronomist with Northern Country Co-Op, said his crops are doing well. But he is hoping for favorable weather in September. Regardless, he’s quite certain farmers will be in the fields late this year. Though he said there’s still potential for above average yields, he doesn’t think they will rival last year’s numbers.

Soybeans are starting to take off, too. Many farmers are applying their second round of pesticides to the crops, and August will be the indicator of how things turn out.

“Beans are made in August,” Erickson said.

Erickson said aphid populations are low right now, but farmers will monitor the situation a little closer, as the pest usually shows up in August.

Other concerns have been heavy rains, high winds and hail damage. However, heavy rains in the last few weeks haven’t done much damage locally, as the water has mostly run off instead of soaking in.

The best news for farmers will be the record-high payouts for their corn this year at roughly $7 a bushel. Demand nationally and internationally has been very high, and Hillier doesn’t think that will curb off next year, either.

Agricultural exports from Minnesota increased by $900 million from 2009 to 2010 — totaling $5 billion, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.