June 11 Crop Progress and Condition Report

NE CROPS COULD USE A RAIN STATEWIDE
Agricultural  Summary:  
For  the  week  ending  June  10,  2012,  above  normal  temperatures  and  little  or  no precipitation continued to stress dryland crops and lower crop and pasture condition ratings statewide, according to USDA’s National  Agricultural  Statistics  Service,  Nebraska  Field Office.  Wheat  harvest  began  in  Southeastern  counties  and was  expected  to move  quickly westward  across  the  southern tier  of  counties.   Pivot  irrigation  was  active  with  gravity operations  getting  underway.    Alfalfa  and  pastures  were showing little growth in many areas.   
 
Weather  Summary:  
Temperatures  averaged  4  degrees above  normal  with  triple  digit  highs  in  portions  of  the Southwest and 90’s mainly elsewhere.   Lows were in the mid to lower 50’s.  Little to no precipitation fell across much of the state  with  only  isolated  areas  in  extreme  Southeastern Nebraska receiving significant amounts late Sunday night.  GDD since April 15 (normal):  Concord  799  (701),  Elgin 767  (685),  West Point 826  (728),  Mead  892  (752).  Rainfall inches since April 1, by district (% of normal)  NE - 8.01 102%),  EC - 7.22 (87%),  SE - 5.46 (65%).   Topsoil Moisture (%):  Very Short  18, Short   53, Adequate  28, Surplus   1.  Subsoil Moisture:  Very Short  17, Short  50, Adequate  33, Surplus  0. 
 
Field Crops Report:
Corn  conditions  rated  1  percent  very poor,  6  poor,  23  fair,  62  good,  and  8  excellent,  below  last year’s 73 percent good to excellent and 78 average.

Soybeans emerged were 97 percent, ahead of 79 last year and average.   Soybean  conditions  rated  1  percent  very  poor,  7 poor, 28 fair, 57 good, and 7 excellent.

Sorghum  planting  was  94  percent  complete,  ahead  of  88  last  year  and  81  average.   Sorghum  emerged  was  79  percent,  ahead  of  61  last  year  and  53  average.  Sorghum conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 6 poor, 32 fair, 60 good, and 1 excellent.

Oats  headed was  79  percent, well  ahead  of  33  last  year  and  near  3  weeks  ahead  of  40  average.    Oats  conditions  rated  4  percent  poor,  30  fair,  61  good,  and  5  excellent,  below  87 percent good to excellent last year and 86 average. 

Wheat  turning  color  reached  82  percent,  3  weeks  ahead  of  3  last  year  and  11  average.  Wheat  ripe  was  15  percent, compared  to  0  last  year  and  average.   Wheat  harvested was  3  percent,  compared  to  0  last  year  and  average.    Wheat conditions rated 3 percent very poor, 13 poor, 40 fair, 42 good, and 2 excellent, well below 58 percent good  to excellent  last year and 66 average.  

The  first  cutting  of  alfalfa  was  92  percent  complete,  well ahead  of  50  last  year  and  18  days  ahead  of  53  average. The second  cutting  of  alfalfa  was  19  percent  complete  with  re-growth slow in most areas.  Alfalfa rated 2 percent very poor, 16  poor,  37  fair,  42  good,  and  3  excellent,  well  below  82 percent good to excellent last year and 76 average.    Wild  hay  harvest  was  18  percent  complete.    Wild  hay conditions rated 5 percent very poor, 5 poor, 28 fair, 62 good, and 0 excellent, below last year’s 74 percent good to excellent.
 
Livestock, Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and  range conditions rated 5 percent very poor, 16 poor, 38 fair, 41 good, and 0 excellent, well below 80 percent good  to excellent  last year and 79 average.  Culling has begun in some areas due to poor pastures.



Current Weather & Crops County Comments
Survey Date: 06/10/2012

BOONE
Dry weather continues throughout the County. Producers have finished replanting after hail destroyed some crops in the northern part of the county. Some producers were already irrigating and more are starting their pivots.

BURT
Farmers were busy in the field spraying and fertilizing. Some are replanting soybeans due to hail and poor stands.

DIXON
A lack of subsoil moisture means timely rain will be important as we move into the summer. Producers remain optimistic on conditions for crops and livestock.

DODGE
Irrigation systems are being turned on. Crops are beginning to show stress with lack of moisture. Pastures are very short with no regrowth. The same is true for the alfalfa. After a good first cutting, the 2nd cutting will be a lot shorter and very slow regrowth unless it's irrigated.

GAGE
Looking forward to the "opportunity" of replacement crops for failed corn acres.

KNOX
Primary activities were crop spraying and fertilizer application.

LANCASTER
Lancaster county badly needs a rain. As of Friday, I found a field of soybeans starting to bloom on June 5.

MERRICK
Rain is desperately needed. Many farmers are irrigating.

OTOE
Hay and pasture conditions have deteriorated rapidly. The second cutting of alfalfa was very, very short. Soybeans are looking tough and we estimate about 30% have not emerged and probably won't at this time.

YORK
Very dry. Pivots are running continually. Need rain.



Check out the latest national numbers here... http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-06-11-2012.txt. 



IOWA CROPS BEGIN SHOWING STRESS FROM NO MOISTURE

Warm, dry conditions are beginning to stress Iowa row crops. Although crops  continue  to  be  rated mostly  good  to  excellent,  crop  conditions declined  slightly  for  the  third  straight  week.  The  week’s  activities included  spraying  crops  and  cutting  hay,  with  some  farmers  starting their second cutting.

There were 6.7 days suitable  for  fieldwork during  the week, compared to  5.2  days  the  previous  week.  Topsoil  moisture  levels  dropped  to 26 percent  very  short,  40  percent  short,  34  percent  adequate,  and 0 percent surplus. South Central Iowa is the driest with 97 percent of the topsoil  moisture  rated  short  to  very  short.  Subsoil  moisture  also decreased  and  is  now  rated  20  percent  very  short,  39  percent  short, 41 percent adequate, and 0 percent surplus. 

There are scattered reports of corn silking, primarily in the eastern part of the state. Corn condition is reported at 2 percent very poor, 6 percent poor, 25 percent fair, 52 percent good, and 15 percent excellent.

Ninety-four percent of  the  soybean  crop has emerged, ahead of  last year’s 88 percent  and  the  five-year  average of 84 percent. Soybean  condition  is rated  2  percent  very  poor, 8  percent  poor,  28  percent  fair,  52  percent good, and 10 percent  excellent.

Eighty-six percent of  the oat  crop has headed,  almost  3  weeks  ahead  of  normal.  Oat  condition  is  rated  2 percent very poor, 5 percent poor, 27 percent fair, 54 percent good, and 12  percent  excellent. 

The  first  cutting  of  alfalfa  hay,  at  97  percent complete,  is well ahead of  last year’s 56 percent and five-year average of 46 percent.   The  second  cutting of  alfalfa hay  is underway  in  each district  of  the  state.  Hay  condition  is  rated  3  percent  very  poor,  8 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 51 percent good, and 9 percent excellent. 

For  the  first  time  this year,  less  than half of  Iowa’s pasture and  range land  is  rated  good  to  excellent.  Pasture  and  range  condition  rated 5 percent very poor, 14 percent poor, 36 percent  fair, 40 percent good, and 5 percent excellent. The warmer weather caused  little  if any stress to livestock as no issues were reported for the week. 



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

It was a warm and dry week across Iowa.  Temperatures averaged from near normal over far southeastern Iowa to 6 to 8 degrees above normal across  the west.   The  statewide  average  temperature was  4.4  degrees above normal which at this time of year results in about 15 to 20 percent more  evaporation  than  normal.   The  mildest  weather  came  on Wednesday  and  Thursday  with  Elkader  reporting  the  lowest temperature at 45 degrees on Thursday morning.  Highest temperatures came  on  the  weekend  with  Dakota  City  reaching  93  degrees  on Saturday  (9th)  and  Des  Moines,  Guthrie  Center  and  Red  Oak  also reaching  93  on  Sunday  (10th).  Rainfall was minimal with  just  a  few scattered  thunderstorms  across  the  northeast  one-third  of  Iowa  on Sunday (3rd) night into Monday (4th).  Isolated storms dropped rain on a few  areas  in central  Iowa on Tuesday and  from northwest  into central Iowa on Thursday.  Many areas, especially  in  the southwest and south, reported no  rain  for  the week while Lake Park  reported  the most with 0.86  inch.   The  statewide  average  precipitation  was  0.07  inch  while normal for the week is 1.19 inches.  This was Iowa’s driest week since in 17 weeks (early February).  Thunderstorms brought welcome rain to all  but  extreme  northwest  Iowa  Sunday  (10th)  afternoon  into Monday (11th) morning.  However,  this rain came  too  late  to be reflected  in  the crop  condition  and  soil  moisture  reports  and  the  rain  totals  will  be included  in  next  week’s  summary.   The  late  weekend  rain  averaged about one-half inch.  Substantial rains of an inch or more from Sunday night were mostly  across western  Iowa,  roughly bounded by Spencer, Creston, Shenandoah and Council Bluffs.