October 3 Crop Progress and Harvest Report

Nebraska Harvest Moves Forward
Green Stems Holding Up Soybeans

Agricultural  Summary: 
For  the  week  ending  October  2,  2011,  soybean  harvest  moved  into  full  swing with  no  rainfall  during  the  week,  according  to  USDA’s National  Agricultural  Statistics  Service,  Nebraska  Field Office.    Green  stemmed  soybeans  were  making  early harvest difficult; however, harvest progress of all fall crops was on pace with average.   Dry bean harvest continued  to advance while  sugarbeet  harvest was  slowed with  the  hot weather.  About half of the winter wheat crop has emerged.  A  lack  of  moisture  to  carry  the  wheat  crop  through  the winter months is starting to be a concern.

Weather Summary:  
No precipitation was reported by recording stations for the week.  High temperatures were in the  90’s  and  lows were mainly  in  the  30’s.    The western half of  the  state  saw above normal  temperatures while  the eastern  half  was  near  normal.    The  Panhandle  averaged  6 degrees above normal for the week.    
Topsoil Moisture:  Very Short - 8%;  Short - 42%;  Adequate - 50%;  Surplus -  0%
Subsoil Moisture:  Very Short - 4%;  Short - 34;  Adequate - 62%;  Surplus - 0%
Season Average Rainfall:  NE - 20.87 inches, +5%;  EC - 24.01 inches, +13%;  SE -21.04 inches, -5%       
GDDs this season (normal):  Concord 2763 (3157);  West Point 2889 (3247);  Mead 3062 (3335)

Field  Crops  Report: 
Corn  condition  rated  2  percent very poor, 6 poor, 19 fair, 55 good, and 18 excellent, below 82 percent good to excellent last year but near 75 average.  Irrigated corn conditions rated 77 percent good to excellent and  dryland  corn  rated  67.   Corn mature was  75  percent, well behind 88 last year but equal to average.  Corn harvest was at 11 percent, behind 17 last year but near 12 average.  

Soybean  condition  rated  1  percent  very  poor,  3  poor,  18 fair, 58 good, and 20 excellent, near 77 percent good to excellent last year but above 74 average.  Soybeans turning color  was  98  percent,  near  99  last  year  and  average.  Soybeans  dropping  leaves  was  78  percent,  well  behind  90  last  year  and  88  average.   Soybean  harvest  was  at  20 percent, behind 29 last year but near 22 average.  

Winter Wheat  seeded was  82  percent,  above  79  last  year and 80 average.   Wheat emerged was 53 percent, ahead of 41 last year and 44 average. 

Sorghum  conditions  rated  1  percent  very  poor,  8  poor,  18  fair,  59  good,  and  14  excellent,  equal  to  last  year  and average.  Sorghum mature was 75 percent, ahead of 72 last year  and  56  average.   Sorghum  harvested was  7  percent, ahead of 5 last year and 4 average. 

The  fourth  cutting  of  alfalfa was  at  86  percent,  ahead  of  82 last year and 76 average.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report: 
Pasture and range conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 8 poor, 24 fair, 63 good, and 4 excellent, below last year’s 75 percent good to excellent but above 57 average.



Current Weather & Crops County Comments
Survey Date: 10/02/2011

BUTLER
Soybean harvest started in full force this past week. Ideal conditions for grain harvest as well as making hay. Much alfalfa and grass hay was cut and cured, with more hay than usual being made in relationship to high forage/hay prices. Some corn testing in the 20-22% moisture range.

CEDAR
Most soybeans are close or ready to harvest. Combines were rolling end of the week. Hi-moisture corn is also being harvested.

DIXON
By the end of the week harvest was getting into full swing. Soybeans and corn are going to be ready at the same time. Most of the hailed corn is harvested.

DODGE
Crops are maturing quickly with the dry ,windy days. Harvesting is the main activity.

DODGE
Was dry all week and all crops are drying down quickly.

DOUGLAS
Corn harvest is rolling slow with 19% moisture and up. Soybean harvest is going on. It is getting dry with no rain.

KNOX
Soybean harvest is in full swing. Yields are better than expected. Dryland corn harvest has also started. Pastures have pretty much dried up. Rain is needed as conditions are very dusty.

NEMAHA
Excellent weather has provided an opportunity for farmers to start harvesting.



Click Here for the Latest National Numbers...  http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-10-03-2011.txt



Dry Conditions in Iowa Lead to Fires, Delays

Dry  and  windy  weather  resulted  in  numerous  field  fires  with  law enforcement  in  some  areas  asking  farmers  to  temporarily  cease harvesting due to the elevated risk of fires.  As moisture levels continue to drop, more farmers  are  harvesting  corn,  but  the  primary  harvest  focus  has  been  on soybeans.

There were 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork statewide during  the past week.  Topsoil  moisture  levels  rated  22 percent  very  short,  36 percent  short, 41 percent  adequate,  and  1 percent  surplus.    Subsoil  moisture  rated 18 percent very  short, 36 percent  short, 45 percent  adequate, and 1 percent surplus.    With  row  crop  harvest  beginning  to  hit  its  stride,  twenty-eight percent of the State is seeing moderate to heavy grain movement from farm to elevator.

Ninety-one percent of  the corn crop  is now mature, 6 days behind  last year but one week ahead of normal.   Twelve percent of  the corn crop has been harvested  for  grain  or  seed,  behind  2010’s  18 percent  but  ahead  of  the 10 percent  five-year  average.    The  moisture  content  of  the  corn  left  to harvest  throughout  the  State  dropped  3 percent  from  previous week  to  an average  of  24 percent,  with  the  corn  currently  being  harvested  running 21 percent moisture content.   Corn  lodging  remains a greater problem  than last  year,  with  16 percent  of  Iowa’s  corn  crop  experiencing  moderate  to heavy lodging compared to 5 percent at this time last year.  Eight percent of the corn crop  is experiencing moderate  to heavy ear droppage compared  to 4 percent in 2010.  Corn condition stands at 5 percent very poor, 10 percent poor,  27 percent  fair,  45 percent  good,  and  13 percent  excellent.  

Ninety-eight percent of  the  soybean  crop has  turned  color,  equal  to both  last year and the five-year average.  Eighty-two percent of Iowa’s soybean fields are dropping  leaves,  but  development  still  lags  3  days  behind  last  year  and normal.  Just 21 percent of the soybean crop has been harvested, behind last year’s  34 percent  and  the  normal  30 percent.    Soybean  lodging  is  slightly worse than the previous year, but shattering levels are nearly identical to last year at this time.  Soybean condition stands at 4 percent very poor, 8 percent poor, 23 percent fair, 48 percent good and 17 percent excellent.  

Pasture  and  range  condition  rated  13 percent  very  poor,  22 percent  poor, 37 percent  fair,  24 percent  good,  and  4 percent  excellent.        Livestock conditions continue to be good with only a few insect issues reported.


 
IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY
Provided by Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist

Mostly  dry  weather  with  highly  variable  temperatures  prevailed  over  the past reporting week.  A slow moving storm system centered over the Great Lakes brought occasional showers  to eastern  Iowa  from  late Sunday  (25th) into  Thursday  (29th).   A  few  areas  of  northeast  and  east  central  Iowa received more  than  one  inch  of  rain, with most  of  it  falling  on Monday.   Greatest  totals were 1.66  inches at Waukon and 1.61  inches at Davenport.  No rain fell across the western one-half of the state.  The statewide average precipitation was 0.29  inch while normal  for  the week  is  0.68  inch.  This was the ninth week of the past ten to bring below normal precipitation.  The dry weather has been great for drying down the corn and soybean crop and facilitating harvest but pastures statewide are seeing minimal growth.  Very dry air has been dominating  the state allowing wide swings  in  temperature from  unseasonably  cool  nights  to  occasionally  very warm  days.  Daytime highs reached into the 80s over all of western Iowa on Wednesday (28th) and in a few areas on Tuesday (27th) and Sunday (2nd).  Meanwhile, freezes were reported  in  some  areas  on  Friday  (30th),  Saturday  (1st)  and  Sunday  (2nd) mornings.   Temperature  extremes  for  the  week  varied  from Wednesday afternoon  highs  of  88 degrees  at  Little  Sioux,  Onawa  and  Sioux  City  to Saturday  morning  lows  of  26 degrees  at  Battle  Creek  and  Mason  City.  Temperatures for  the week as a whole averaged 1.1 degrees below normal.  Finally, high winds on Thursday  allowed  the  rapid  spread of  field  fires  in many areas, especially over northern Iowa.  Mason City reported the highest wind with a gust to 59 mph.