Agricultural Summary

Another dry week allowed row crop harvesting, wheat planting, and fall tillage to progress at or ahead of normal. Fall fertilizer application was also widespread. While the dryness was good for fieldwork, concern about low ponds and streams spread into central areas. Topsoil moisture rates 20 percent very short, 30 percent short, 49 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus, a moderate decline from last week. There were 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Fall tillage is 64 percent complete compared to 48 percent as normal.

Field Crops Report

Corn harvest is 95 percent complete, 2 points behind last year but the same as the 5-year average. The northwest advanced only 1 point to 82 percent complete. All other districts are at 96 percent or greater. Soybean harvest is 93 percent complete, over 1 week ahead of last year and average. All districts are at least 90 percent complete except the southwest at 62 percent. Sorghum harvest is 94 percent complete, 2 points behind last year but 2 points ahead of normal. Cotton harvest has been completed in the Bootheel. Winter wheat is 93 percent planted, well ahead of last year and the 5-year average. Emergence is at 74 percent, a few days ahead of normal. Some problems with emergence were reported in the northeast due to dryness. The crop rating is 1 percent very poor, 2 percent poor, 32 percent fair, 60 percent good, and 5 percent excellent, a drop of 3 points in good to excellent as improvements in west-central and central areas were offset by stark declines in the east-central, southwest, south-central, and southeast districts.

Pasture & Livestock

Pasture condition is rated 23 percent very poor, 22 percent poor, 35 percent fair, 19 percent good, and 1 percent excellent, a slight decline from last week. The central district fell 8 points in the good and excellent categories, with producers there closely watching hay and livestock water supplies. Some producers in the south-central region have sold cattle in response to very poor pastures, with others contemplating the same course of action.

Weather Summary

Temperatures ranged from 3 degrees above average to 3 degrees below, with the northern two-thirds of the state generally above normal and southern areas below normal. Very few counties reported precipitation for the second week in a row. Only Maries County in the central district reported any rainfall of significance with 0.48 inches.