With Warm Weather, Harvest of Many Crops Starting in Nebraska
Agricultural Summary:
For the week ending September 4, 2011, above normal temperatures continued to move crops toward maturity, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Nebraska Field Office. Irrigation of corn was near completion with soybean irrigation in its last stages. Corn for silage, high moisture corn, and seed corn harvests have started on a limited basis. A few early fields of sorghum and dry beans were harvested as well. Winter wheat seeding was underway in the west. Grasshoppers continue to be a concern in portions of the Panhandle.
Weather Summary:
Temperatures for the week averaged 5 degrees above normal. Highs were mainly in the 90’s but did reach triple digits. Lows were recorded in the 40’s and 50’s but dipped into the upper 30’s in portions of the west. The East Central District recorded the highest levels of precipitation in the state followed by the South Central and Southeast Districts. Other areas received less than one inch of precipitation. Topsoil Moisture: 3% surplus, 75% adequate, 20% short, 2% very short; Subsoil Moisture: 2% surplus, 77% adequate, 19% short, 2% very short. Average Rainfall Totals this season (depart from noraml): NE - 20.63 inches (+19%), EC - 23.63 inches (+29%), SE - 20.42 inches (+8%). GDD since April 15th (depart from normal): Concord 2475 (-284), West Point 2584 (-249), Mead 2746 (-158).
Field Crops Report:
Corn condition rated 2 percent very poor, 6 poor, 17 fair, 57 good, and 18 excellent, below 81 percent good to excellent last year but near 74 average. Irrigated corn conditions rated 79 percent good to excellent and dryland corn rated 69. Corn having reached at least the dough stage was 97 percent, behind 99 last year but equal to average. Corn in dent or beyond was 72 percent, behind 81 last year and 77 average. Corn mature was 2 percent, behind 7 last year and 10 average.
Soybean condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 17 fair, 57 good, and 22 excellent, near 78 percent good to excellent last year but above 72 average. Soybeans turning color was 12 percent, behind 26 last year and 27 average.
Winter Wheat seeded was 10 percent, near last year’s 8 and 7 average.
Sorghum conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 8 poor, 14 fair, 62 good, and 15 excellent, near last year’s good to excellent rating of 80 percent but above 73 average. Sorghum turning color was 75 percent, ahead of 65 last year and 55 average.
Alfalfa rated 0 percent very poor, 3 poor, 20 fair, 65 good, and 12 excellent, below 81 percent good to excellent last year but well above 61 average. Third cutting of alfalfa was at 85 percent, behind 92 last year and 89 average. The fourth cutting of alfalfa was at 17 percent, behind 21 last year but ahead of 15 average.
Livestock, Pasture and Range Report:
Pasture and range conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 6 poor, 21 fair, 63 good, and 9 excellent, below last year’s 82 percent good to excellent but above 56 average.
Current Weather & Crops County Comments
Survey Date: 09/04/2011
DIXON
More rain this week is keeping things moist. Crops outside of the flood and hail damaged areas are developing well and expected to produce some very good yields. Hailed crops in some cases are a total loss. Crop insurance adjusters have been very busy in the area over the past two weeks. Pastures have recovered well due to the abundant rainfall in late August. Hay harvest continues to be a challenge as it has been most of the year.
GAGE
Some silage cut, some milo harvested, some high moisture corn harvested, just a beginning.
KNOX
Silage and high moisture corn harvest has begun, especially in the areas where there was hail. Fourth cutting hay harvest is in progress.
MERRICK
A few farmers are picking up their pipe on their corn fields believing only beans will need to continue with irrigation. Others are still irrigating both corn and beans. Merrick Co. had nearly an inch of rain earlier in the week.
MORRILL
Hot, dry weather of last week has caused dry bean maturity to move quickly. A few fields of dry beans were cut over the weekend.
Click here for the latest national numbers... http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-09-06-2011.txt.
Corn Silage, Seed Corn Harvest Under Way in Iowa
Much of Iowa received welcome precipitation over the past week. Unfortunately, some areas report that rain came with high winds and hail. Corn silage harvest continues and seed corn is being harvested as well.
There were 4.9 days suitable for fieldwork statewide during the past week. Only southeast Iowa had over 6 days suitable. Topsoil moisture levels increased from last week and now rate 10 percent very short, 29 percent short, 57 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture also improved slightly to 11 percent very short, 31 percent short, 56 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus.
Ninety-six percent of the corn crop has reached dough stage, slightly behind last year’s 97 percent but ahead of the five-year average 90 percent. Eighty-six percent of the corn is at or beyond the dent stage, just behind last year but 17 percentage points ahead of normal. Fourteen percent of the corn crop is now mature, behind last year’s 31 percent and the normal 15 percent. Corn condition stands at 6 percent very poor, 11 percent poor, 28 percent fair, 44 percent good, and 11 percent excellent.
Sixteen percent of soybean fields are turning color, trailing last year’s 40 percent and the five-year average 33 percent. Leaves have begun dropping in scattered fields across Iowa. Soybean condition is reported at 4 percent very poor, 9 percent poor, 25 percent fair, 48 percent good and 14 percent excellent.
Third cutting alfalfa hay harvest advanced to 85 percent complete, ahead of last year’s 79 percent and the normal 74 percent. The condition of the hay crop is reported at 7 percent very poor, 16 percent poor, 33 percent fair, 38 percent good, and 6 percent excellent.
Pasture and range condition rated 9 percent very poor, 21 percent poor, 33 percent fair, 31 percent good, and 6 percent excellent. Precipitation and cooler temperatures are stirring late pasture growth. Livestock conditions are generally good with a few reports of face flies still on cattle.
IOWA PRELIMINARY WEATHER SUMMARY
Provided by Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship
Iowa enjoyed two statewide rain events this past week. Tuesday (30th) brought the state’s most widespread rain since the night of June 26 with a statewide average of 0.68 inches. Tuesday’s rains were a nice slow soaker in most areas with greatest amounts of one to two inches from southwest, through central, into northeast Iowa. Even more rain fell on Friday (2nd) and Saturday (3rd) with a statewide average of 0.90 inches. Heaviest rains with the weekend event of one to two inches fell across central and east central areas. Unfortunately, the rain on Friday was accompanied by high winds and some hail over far northern Iowa during the morning and again from west central to northeast Iowa during the evening hours. A pair of isolated severe storms also were reported in southeast Iowa on Saturday afternoon. Rain totals for the week varied from 0.22 inch at Sioux City Airport to 4.49 inches near Stanley in Buchanan County. The statewide average rainfall was 1.58 inches while normal for the week is 0.89 inch. This was Iowa’s wettest week in ten weeks. Meanwhile temperatures were near to slightly below normal on Monday and Tuesday while unseasonably warm weather prevailed from Wednesday through Friday (and also into Saturday over the far southeast). Much cooler weather returned over the weekend. Temperature extremes varied from a Thursday (1st) afternoon high of 102 degrees at Keokuk to a Sunday (4th) morning low of 44 degrees at Sibley. Temperatures for the week as a whole averaged from 2 degrees above normal over the northwest to as much as 6 degrees above normal over the far southeast where highs in the mid 90s or above were recorded from Wednesday through Saturday. The statewide average temperature was 3.8 degrees warmer than normal.
