May 29 Crop Progress and Condition Report

Nebraska Sees a Mix of Weather, Crop Impact Last Week

Agricultural  Summary: 
For  the  week  ending  May  27,  2012,  weather  continued  to  impact  crops  in  most locations  with  hot,  dry,  and  windy  conditions,  while  storms provided  some much  needed moisture  in  portions  of  central and  northeastern  Nebraska,  according  to  USDA’s  National Agricultural  Statistics  Service,  Nebraska  Field  Office.   Hail and tornadoes damaged crops and property in areas of the state and  some  replanting  of  spring  crops will  take  place.    Pivots were  running  to  aid  in  crop  germination  and  emergence.  Planting of  soybeans was nearly completed  and  three-fourths of  the  sorghum  crop  had  been  planted.   Wheat  was  mostly headed and 22 percent of the crop was turning color.  Progress of  the  first  cutting  of  alfalfa  was  over  3  weeks  ahead  of average. Proso millet and dry bean planting continued.  
 
Weather Summary:  
Temperatures averaged near normal in the northern half of  the state and 3  to7 degrees above normal in the southern half.  High temperatures reached triple digits in several  locations  and  lows  of mid  30’s were  recorded  in  the Panhandle.   Heaviest levels of precipitation fell in the Central and Northeast Districts with accumulations of over 2 inches in isolated  pockets.  The  Southeast District  received  little  to  no moisture.  Topsoil  Moisture (%):  Very Short  11, Short   41, Adequate  47, Surplus   1.  Subsoil Moisture (%):  Very Short  12, Short  42, Adequate  46, Surplus    0.  GDD since April 15 (normal):  Concord 562  (447),  Elgin 536  (440),  West Point 584  (463),  Mead 631  (478).  Rainfall inches since April 1 (% of normal):  NE 6.37 (108%),  EC 5.85 (93%),  SE 4.88 (76%).
 
Livestock, Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and  range conditions  declined  and  rated  2  percent  very  poor,  10 poor, 40  fair,  44 good,  and  4  excellent, below 74 percent good to excellent last year and average.
 
Field Crops Report:
Corn emerged stood at 97 percent, well ahead of 71  last year and 75  average.   Corn conditions  rated  3  percent  poor,  18  fair,  72  good,  and  7  excellent,  above  last year’s 46 percent good to excellent.

Soybean  planting was  96  percent  complete,  ahead  of  75  last year  and  12  days  ahead  of  77  average.    Soybeans  emerged were 73 percent, ahead of 36 last year and average.

Sorghum  planting  was  73  percent  complete,  ahead  of  43  last  year  and  11  days  ahead  of  48  average.   Sorghum emerged was 31 percent, ahead of 15 last year and 16 average.

Oats  headed  was  47  percent,  well  ahead  of  5  last  year  and  3 weeks ahead of 7 average.   Oats conditions  rated 2 percent poor, 25 fair, 71 good, and 2 excellent.

Wheat  headed  was  95  percent,  ahead  of  26  last  year  and  21  days  ahead  of  37  average.    Wheat  turning  color  was  22  percent.  The  impact  of  hot  and  dry  conditions  and  low temperatures on wheat  in  the Panhandle  is being  felt.   Wheat conditions  declined  and  rated  3  percent  very  poor,  10  poor,  37  fair,  45  good,  and  5  excellent,  below  53  percent  good  to excellent  last year and 64 average.  

The  first  cutting  of  alfalfa  was  81  percent  complete,  well ahead  of  7  last  year  and  25  days  ahead  of  18  average. Concerns  continued  over  insect  activity.    Alfalfa  rated  1 percent very poor, 9 poor, 31 fair, 52 good, and 7 excellent, below 74 percent good to excellent last year and average.    Wild hay harvest had begun at 5 percent completed.  Wild hay conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 5 poor, 24 fair, 68 good, and 2 excellent, equal to last year’s good to excellent.



Current Weather & Crops County Comments
Survey Date: 05/27/2012

BOONE
Crops have been suffering from dry conditions all week until Saturday evening when the county received hail, strong winds and drenching rainfall. The county received hail in various areas throughout the county with some reported as dime size and some being reported as much larger. Several tornados were also reported and one pivot was knocked over in the east part of the county.

BURT
Storms on Wednesday & Friday night caused some damage. Hail and straight line winds damaged crops, grain bins, storage sheds and pivots.

DIXON
Excellent moisture over the past week has improved crop conditions across the board. Cool season pasture in general has been held back by the dry March and April weather. 3.5 to 4 inches of rain over the past two weeks will give forage crops opportunity for rapid recovery.

DODGE
Cooler temps this week and a good rain of 1 to 1.5 inches on the north 1/2 of the county will help bring the beans up. Pastures that have been grazed look like they are in mid summer condition because of the early heat and dry conditions, but the rain this week will help the pastures as well.

DODGE
Where crops did not get hail, they are looking good. Some areas in Dodge County will need to replant because hail destroyed the crop.

GAGE
Dry period is starting to take a toll on dry range and alfalfa while some corn and bean fields will need replanting. So far the fields affected are few and other issues were part of the mix. If dry conditions persist, more fields will be at risk.

GAGE
We need rain badly, particularly in the southern half of the county.

KNOX
The first cutting of alfalfa was short but harvested far earlier than normal. There was considerable insect damage.

NEMAHA
Very dry conditions. Soybean emergence is poor in several fields do to the dry conditions.



Click here to see the latest national numbers from USDA...  http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-05-29-2012.txt. 



Lack of Rainfall Affecting Some Iowa Soybean Germination

Although recent weeks of dry weather allowed rapid planting, a lack of significant  rainfall  in  some    areas has  resulted  in poor  soybean  stands with  seeds  lying  in  dry  soil.   Persistent  high winds  through  the week slowed spraying and dried out soils.

There were 5.5 days suitable  for  fieldwork during  the week, compared with 6.6 days the previous week.   Rainfall amounts  in Northwest Iowa ranged from 1  to 4  inches for  the week,  leaving only 3.4 days suitable for fieldwork while farmers in the rest of the State were able to work in their  fields at  least 5.0 days.   Topsoil moisture  levels  rated 15 percent very short, 36 percent short, 47 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus.  South central Iowa  is  the driest with 83 percent of  the  topsoil moisture rated short  to very short while northwest Iowa has only 9 percent rated short  to  very  short.    Subsoil  moisture  rated  10 percent  very  short, 32 percent short, 56 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus. 

Ninety-five percent  of  the  corn  crop  has  emerged,  11  days  ahead  of normal.   Corn condition has decreased  slightly  to 1 percent very poor, 3 percent  poor,  19 percent  fair,  59 percent  good,  and  18 percent excellent. 

Soybean planting stands at 97 percent complete, ahead of last year’s  84 percent  and  the  five-year  average  of  83 percent.    Sixty-six percent of the expected soybean acreage has emerged, ahead of last year’s  43 percent  and  the  five-year  average  of  40 percent.   

Thirty-five percent of  the oat crop has headed, over 2 weeks ahead of normal.  Oat condition decreased slightly to 0 percent very poor, 3 percent poor, 24 percent  fair,  61 percent  good,  and  12 percent  excellent.  

Weather conditions  have  been  near  optimal  for  cutting  alfalfa  hay  with 72 percent of  the first cutting complete, compared  to  just 4 percent  last year  and  the  five-year  average  of  12 percent.   Hay  condition  is  rated 1 percent  very  poor,  5 percent  poor,  25 percent  fair,  57 percent  good, and 12 percent excellent.

Fifty-seven percent of Iowa’s pasture and range land is now rated good to  excellent,  an 11 percentage point decrease  from  the previous week.  Pasture and  range condition  rated 2 percent very poor, 8 percent poor, 33 percent  fair,  44 percent  good,  and  13 percent  excellent.    Livestock conditions  have  been  generally  good with  some  reports  of  heat  stress over the weekend, increasing insects, and coughing.



IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY
Provided by Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship

The past reporting week began with dry weather on Monday (21st) and Tuesday  (22nd) with  thunderstorms bringing  rain  to  the northwest one-quarter of the state on Wednesday (23rd) night where one to two inches fell.    Rain  was  scattered  over much  of  Iowa  on  Thursday  (24th)  and Friday  (25th);  however,  amounts were mostly  light  except  for  a  small portion of northeast  Iowa where one  to  two  inches of  rain  fell.   Some rain persisted  into Saturday (26th) morning over  the northeast.   Sunday (27th)  was  dry  until  thunderstorms  moved  into  the  far  northwest  late however this last rain event came too late to be reflected in this week’s report.  This week’s rain was very welcome; however amounts were on the  light  side  over  most  of  the  southern  two-thirds  of  Iowa  where additional rain is needed to moisten parched topsoil.  Weekly rain totals varied from just sprinkles at Wapello, Washington, Mount Pleasant and Keokuk to 3.46 inches at Clermont in Fayette County and 3.09 inches in south  central Woodbury County.   The  statewide  average  precipitation was 0.76 inch while normal for the week is 1.05 inches.  Temperatures began on  the  low  side with highs mostly  in  the 70’s on Monday with Elkader starting the day with a morning low of 37 degrees.  Highs were mostly in the 80’s on Tuesday and Wednesday with a few low 90’s.  A cool front split  the state on Thursday and Friday with highs in  the mid 60s northwest  to  the mid 80’s southeast.   Hot weather  returned for  the weekend with  highs  in  the  90’s  south  on  Saturday  and  over most  of Iowa  on  Sunday.    Bloomfield  reached  94  degrees  on  Saturday  while Jefferson reported 96 degrees on Sunday.  Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 5.9 degrees above normal.