October 26 Crop Progress & Condition Reports - NE - IA - US

NEBRASKA CROP PROGRESS AND CONDITION

For the week ending October 25, 2015, above normal temperatures for the second week in a row supported harvest activities, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Temperatures averaged six to ten degrees above normal. Precipitation of up to one inch late in the week slowed fieldwork activities, but lowered dust levels and supported establishment of winter wheat stands. There were 5.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 7 percent very short, 28 short, 63 adequate, and 2 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 6 percent very short, 30 short, 63 adequate, and 1 surplus.

Field Crops Report:
Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 5 poor, 18 fair, 54 good, and 22 excellent. Corn harvested was at 57 percent, ahead of 38 last year, but behind 62 for the five-year average.

Sorghum condition rated 0 percent very poor, 1 poor, 24 fair, 57 good, and 18 excellent. Sorghum harvested was at 55 percent, ahead of 47 last year, but near 57 average.

Soybeans harvested was at 90 percent, ahead of 84 last year, but near 92 average.

Winter wheat condition rated 0 percent very poor, 5 poor, 34 fair, 53 good, and 8 excellent. Winter wheat emerged was at 92 percent, near 93 last year, but ahead of 87 average.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 3 percent very poor, 9 poor, 28 fair, 54 good, and 6 excellent.   Stock water supplies rated 2 percent very short, 11 short, 86 adequate, and 1 surplus.


Access the National publication for Crop Progress and Condition tables at:
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/CropProg/2010s/2015/CropProg-10-26-2015.pdf.

Access the High Plains Region Climate Center for Temperature and Precipitation Maps at:
http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/maps.php?map=ACISClimateMaps. 

Access the U.S. Drought Monitor at:
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NE.



IOWA CROP PROGRESS & CONDITION REPORT

 Harvest activities continued rapidly early in the week, but slowed down Friday due to rain, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Statewide there were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending October 25, 2015. Down 1.5 days from the previous week. Iowa farmers were still able to harvest one-fifth of the State’s corn crop during the week. Fieldwork activities for the week included harvesting corn for grain, harvesting soybeans, fall tillage, tiling, terracing, seeding cover crops, and applying dry fertilizer. Other activities included chopping and baling corn stalks, as well as manure hauling and spreading.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 5 percent very short, 19 percent short, 73 percent adequate, and 3 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 4 percent very short, 14 percent short, 77 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus.

Seventy-three percent of the corn crop for grain has been harvested, 12 days ahead of last year, and 3 days ahead of the 5-year average. Moisture content of all corn being harvested was at 16 percent, down 1 percentage point from the previous week with scattered reports of grain coming out of the field and going straight into the bin.

Ninety-two percent of the soybean crop has been harvested, 9 days ahead of last year, and 2 days ahead of normal. Harvest progress of both corn and soybeans in southwest and south central Iowa continued to lag behind the rest of the State.

Grain movement from farm to elevator was rated 9 percent none, 24 percent light, 43 percent moderate, and 24 percent heavy. Off-farm grain storage availability rated 21 percent short, 75 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. On-farm grain storage availability rated 28 percent short, 68 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus.

Pasture condition rated 56 percent good to excellent. Livestock conditions were described as excellent, with reports of some cattle being turned out to graze corn stalks.



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

Widespread rain returned to Iowa for the first time since September 29. Showers and thunderstorms brought rain to about the southeast one-half of the state on Tuesday (20th) with greatest amounts of an inch or two across east central Iowa from Williamsburg to Muscatine. Another area of showers and thunderstorms dampened about the southeast two-thirds of Iowa on Wednesday (21st) morning with greatest rain amounts of around one-half inch in the Ames area. Finally, rain moved into western Iowa late Thursday (22nd) night and exited northeast Iowa Saturday (24th) morning. Rain fell statewide with this last system with greatest amounts over far northwest Iowa where amounts of an inch or more fell. Greatest rain totals for the week occurred in northwest and east central Iowa with 2.76 inches at Sheldon and 2.25 inches at Iowa City. The northeast corner of the state saw the least rain with 0.13 inches at Dorchester. The statewide average precipitation was 0.63 inches or just slightly more than the weekly normal of 0.56 inches. Meanwhile, temperatures were well above seasonal normals from Monday (19th) through Friday (23rd). Seasonal temperatures returned at the week end. Extremes ranged from afternoon highs of 82 degrees at Red Oak and Shenandoah on Monday (19th) to morning lows of 28 degrees at Battle Creek, Decorah, Newton, Stanley and Webster City on Sunday (25th). Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged 8.1 degrees above normal. Soil temperatures as of Sunday (25th) were averaging near 50 degrees across northern Iowa to the mid-fifties over the south central and southeastern portions of the state.



USDA Weekly Crop Progress - Corn 75% Harvested; Soybeans 87%

Three-quarters of the nation's corn and 87% of the soybeans were harvested as of Oct. 25, according to USDA's latest weekly Crop Progress report.

Corn is 75% harvested, compared to 59% last week and a 68% five-year average.  Soybeans are 87% harvested as of Sunday, compared to last week's 77% and the five-year avereage of 80%. 

Ninety-five percent of sorghum is mature and 71% is harvested, compared to 94% and 61% last week and five-year averages of 92% and 61%, respectively.

Winter wheat planting is 83% complete, compared to 76% last week and an 85% five-year average. Sixty-two percent of the crop is emerged, compared to 49% last week and a 62% five-year average.  USDA reports 47% of winter wheat was rated good-to-excellent, down from 59% a year ago.

Ninety-five percent of the cotton crop has bolls opening, compared to 94% last week and the five-year average of 94%. Cotton is 42% harvested, compared to 31% last week and a 43% five-year average.



Brazil Soy Planting Still Behind

A lack of rain and high temperatures again delayed soybean planting in the key Center-West region last week, causing fieldwork in Brazil as a whole to fall further behind schedule.

Farmers had planted just 20% of the Brazilian 2015-16 soybean crop as of Friday, some 10 percentage points behind the five-year average, AgRural, a local farm consultancy, forecast.

The planters are normally running at full tilt across the whole of Brazil by the third week of October, but for the second year running, the El Nino weather phenomenon appears to have delayed the return of spring rains.

In Mato Grosso, farmers had planted 20% of forecast area, well behind the five-year average of 52%. AgRural reported that farmers were anxious for the rains to arrive.

In neighboring Goias, the crop was 6% planted against the average of 38%. But rain did return to the top-producing southeast on Thursday, offering hope that fieldwork might accelerate.

In contrast, soybean planting continues to move forward quickly in the southern state of Parana amid abundant showers. Fieldwork there is 57% complete, up from the five-year average of 47%.

Planting is just starting in Rio Grande do Sul, where 2% of soybeans are in the ground compared with an average of 8%. The state has received a series of deluges, and areas such as Ijui are too wet for many to plant.

Soybean planting moved forward seven percentage points over the past week.

The good news for Brazilian farmers is that weather maps indicate the return of rain to Mato Grosso over the next couple of days, alleviating the dry spell that has extended as long as 20 days in some parts.