mn-crop-weather State Minnesota Weekly Crop-Weather Week Ending Date Week Ending October 26, 2008 Issue MN-CW-43-08 Agricultural Summary Wet weather slowed harvest progress this past week, according to USDA, NASS, Minnesota Field Office. Rain throughout the week kept fields wet and only allowed producers nearly 3.5 days for fieldwork. Corn harvest advanced 11 percentage points and soybeans advanced 9 percentage points. Sunflower and sugarbeet harvests advanced 7 and 8 percentage points, respectively. The average temperature for the week was 43.4 degrees, 0.5 degrees above normal. Statewide topsoil moisture supplies as of Friday, October 24th, were 1 percent very short, 8 short, 72 adequate, and 19 surplus. Statewide, on average, there were 3.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week. Field Crops Summary As of Sunday, October 26th, 30 percent of the corn crop was harvested, compared to 67 percent last year and 64 percent average. Soybean harvest reached 92 percent complete, compared to 91 percent last year and 95 percent average. Sugarbeet harvest was at 88 percent complete, compared to 92 percent last year and 96 percent average. As of Friday, October 24th, 69 percent of corn was rated in good or excellent condition. Seventy-three percent of sunflowers and 38 percent of pasture were rated in good or excellent condition. Days Suitable for Fieldwork Table Days Suitable for Fieldwork: 3.4 Soil Moisture Table Very Short Short Adequate Surplus Topsoil Moisture (%) 1 8 72 19 Crop Progress Table Crop Progress as of October 26, 2008 Stage of This Last Last 5 Yr Crop Development Week Week Year Avg Percent Corn Harvested 30 19 67 64 Moisture 23 23 18 18 Soybeans Harvested 92 83 91 95 Moisture 13 13 13 12 Sugarbeets Harvested 88 80 92 96 Sunflowers Harvested 40 33 53 59 Crop Condition Table Crop Condition as of October 24, 2008 in % Very Poor Poor Fair Good Exc Corn 4 8 19 52 17 Sunflowers 0 5 22 53 20 Pasture 6 18 38 35 3 Weather Information Table Precipitation and Temperature Summary for 10/20/2008 through 10/26/2008 Temperature Precipitation G D D High Low Week Depart Week Depart From Norm Since Depart Ave from Total Past Four Since May from Norm Week Weeks 4/1 14 Norm NW DIST 1 Crookston 63 29 43.0 2.5 .23 -.16 2.94 3.76 2115 -121 Moorhead 58 30 41.8 -.0 .72 .30 2.46 8.98 2312 -41 Warroad 56 29 41.2 2.4 .48 .12 1.25 4.09 1791 -148 NC DIST 2 Grand Rapids 58 23 42.2 1.6 .50 -.08 .37 .52 2008 48 Intl. Falls 55 22 38.5 .0 .53 .14 .50 2.45 1620 -192 Itasca 54 23 40.2 2.0 1.00 .46 3.71 5.40 1864 42 NE DIST 3 Duluth 56 27 41.8 1.3 .76 .27 .52 2.29 1704 -55 Grand Marais 52 33 43.5 1.5 .77 .24 .39 7.36 1291 -128 Hibbing 56 17 40.2 1.3 .51 .01 .29 -.92 1690 -92 WC DIST 4 Alexandria 55 30 40.7 -1.1 .67 .21 2.16 .77 2245 -18 Browns Valley 63 25 42.1 -1.2 1.31 .92 2.83 6.10 2407 -99 Canby 66 29 42.4 -3.3 1.63 1.17 2.67 -.30 2610 -62 Dalton 63 32 43.4 .5 .98 .54 2.14 4.64 2407 54 Fergus Falls 58 23 42.3 .6 .56 .12 3.26 3.70 2264 -27 Montevideo 61 30 41.4 -2.4 1.62 1.19 3.22 .34 2479 -40 Morris 60 29 41.6 -1.1 1.05 .54 2.18 .27 2312 -113 CENT DIST 5 Becker 66 25 44.0 1.1 .42 -.05 -.28 -1.06 2458 165 Collegeville 59 29 43.6 -1.7 .91 .39 1.34 2.02 2538 -42 Hutchinson 67 31 45.4 1.2 .78 .35 .33 -.78 2531 -4 Melrose 63 26 42.3 -.4 .87 .35 2.02 1.03 2146 -263 Olivia 68 27 43.3 -.2 1.40 1.01 1.79 1.99 2400 -58 St. Cloud 58 25 42.7 .6 .48 .00 .52 .73 2320 89 Staples 63 27 42.8 1.8 .65 .09 3.81 1.49 2026 8 Willmar 66 32 43.3 -.0 1.10 .64 1.68 -1.90 2478 22 EC DIST 6 Aitkin M M M M M M .75m -1.40m 2081m 165m Forest Lake 65 29 46.6 2.2 .27 -.27 -.65 -2.35 2509 86 Hinckley 59 23 42.7 2.1 .45 -.13 .71 7.07 1879 -112 MSP Airport 61 31 45.9 .4 .25 -.22 .05 -4.88 2820 171 St. Paul - UofM 64 28 47.2 .1 .36 -.19 .22 -6.92 2781 26 SW DIST 7 Lamberton 69 27 44.1 -.4 1.85 1.44 2.76 -1.01 2615 48 Marshall 68 30 43.8 -1.3 1.66 1.23 2.04 1.07 2726 87 Pipestone 68 30 42.4 -.9 1.99 1.52 3.59 1.42 2405 -58 Redwood Falls 63 28 43.6 -2.2 1.44 1.03 1.65 -.59 2657 -77 Worthington 69 29 43.4 .1 2.60 2.17 3.51 4.20 2544 136 SC DIST 8 Faribault 65 28 46.4 2.2 .34 -.14 -.31 -2.96 2532 69 Mankato 68 32 46.4 1.3 .73 .19 .07 -5.42 2571 -2 Waseca 66 29 45.4 1.0 .53 -.02 -.23 -2.84 2527 16 Winnebago 70 28 45.2 -.4 1.13 .59 1.04 -2.92 2701 88 SE DIST 9 Preston 67 22 46.3 1.4 .21 -.28 .17 4.67 2511 124 Red Wing 67 28 47.5 2.4 .14 -.30 -.42 -3.49 2591 29 Rochester 62 29 44.6 .8 .22 -.25 .72 -.07 2546 202 Rosemount 66 29 46.2 1.3 .30 -.24 -.36 -4.26 2502 52 Winona 66 30 46.0 .1 .10 -.36 -.68 .29 2476 -134 m=some data missing Corn growing degree days (GDD) are calculated by subtracting a 50 degree base temperature from the average of the maximum and minimum temperature for the day. The daily maximum is limited to 86 degrees and minimum of 50 degrees. Contact Information USDA, NASS MINNESOTA FIELD OFFICE IN COOPERATION WITH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE- CHANHASSEN MN, UNIV. OF MINN. EXTENSION SERVICE, DNR STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE, USDA-FSA, AND USDA-NRCS USDA-NASS MINNESOTA FIELD OFFICE Minnesota Department of Agriculture PO Box 7068, St. Paul, MN 55107 Phone: (651) 296-2230 E-mail: nass-mn@nass.usda.gov Homepage: http://www.nass.usda.gov/mn/