Crop Weather Report

Montana Crop Weather Report

Issue: 09-06
For the Week Ending: April 19, 2009
Released: April 20, 2009
For more information contact: Christel Pachlor Steve Anderson at 1-800-835-2612.

Completed and Summarized by:
USDA, NASS, Montana Field Office

In conjunction with: MSU Extension Agents
and USDA County Service Centers

Weather Summary

Montana received precipitation throughout the state during the week ending April 19th. Grass Range received the most weekly accumulated precipitation of 1.40 inches. Highs were mostly in the 60s and 70s, and lows were mostly in the teens and 20s. Culbertson, Nashua, Sidney, and Wolf Point shared the high temperature at 72 degrees. Wisdom had the weekly low temperature for the second week in a row at 15 degrees. Topsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 89 percent, below last week's 91 percent, but above last year's 30 percent, and the five-year average of 61 percent. Subsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 70 percent, below last week's 73 percent, but above last year's 21 percent, and the five-year average of 42 percent. The number of days suitable for field work was 3.7, up from last week's 2.7 days.

The weather outlook for April 27th through May 3rd is for above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation both east and west of the continental divide. Normal temperatures for this period in Montana are highs in the lower 50s to the mid 60s and lows ranging from mid 20s to the upper 30s.

Soil Moisture Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Topsoil Moisture
Very Short	1	1	28	14
Short	10	8	42	25
Adequate	76	81	30	55
Surplus	13	10	0	6
Subsoil Moisture
Very Short	4	9	40	26
Short	26	18	39	32
Adequate	67	69	21	39
Surplus	3	4	0	3

Field Work Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Days Suitable for Field Work
Days	3.7	2.7	5.5	4.5
Field Tillage Work in Progress
None	65	87	32	39
Just Started	25	8	41	27
Well Underway	10	5	27	34

Field Crops Report

Sixty-five percent of farmers have not started their field work yet. Fields are still too wet to begin planting crops, but a warm week would allow for producers to start planting crops such as corn and oilseeds. Thirteen percent of winter wheat is still dormant, compared to only 32 percent last week. Winter wheat conditions are similar to last week but better than last year and the five-year average.

Crop Progress and Condition Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Winter Wheat
Very Poor	2	1	10	5
Poor	5	6	16	10
Fair	37	33	41	34
Good	47	51	30	40
Excellent	9	9	3	11
Winter Wheat- Spring Stages
Still Dormant	13	32	13	4
Greening	60	61	62	26
Greening & Growing	27	7	25	70
Planted
Barley	8	3	29	29
Camelina	16	14	79	n/a
Dry Peas	4	n/a	23	15
Durum Wheat	3	n/a	9	6
Lentils	3	n/a	8	7
Oats	1	n/a	24	19
Spring Wheat	6	2	25	20
Sugar Beets	12	5	29	28
Emerged
Camelina	1	n/a	23	n/a

Livestock Report

Sixty-five percent of pastures are open for grazing, compared to 76 percent last year and 79 percent for the five-year average. Range and pasture feed conditions declined from last week with 17 percent good to excellent, compared to 26 percent last week, 14 percent last year, and a five-year average of 28 percent.

Range & Livestock Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Livestock Birthing
Calving Completed	77	73	80	83
Lambing Completed	64	62	66	64
Livestock Grazing
Open	65	64	76	79
Difficult	21	23	19	10
Closed	14	13	5	11
Livestock Receiving Supplemental Feed
Cattle and Calves	88	91	86	80
Sheep and Lambs	94	96	88	80
Range and Pasture Feed Condition
Very Poor	4	9	14	11
Poor	28	9	37	24
Fair	51	56	35	37
Good	16	23	12	23
Excellent	1	3	2	5

Weather Information for the Week ending 04/19/2009

Station ID						Precipitation
	Temperature			GDDs		This Week		April 1 to Date			October 1 to Date
	Hi	LOW	AVG	B50	DFN	Total	DFN	Total	DFN	%NRM	Total	DFN	%NRM
NORTHWEST
Alberton	67	25	43	1	+1	0.06	-0.19	0.20	-0.41	33	11.77	+5.42	185
Anaconda	62	21	39	0	+0	0.60	+0.32	0.78	+0.07	110	9.34	+4.25	183
Clinton	65	27	44	1	+1	0.18	-0.03	0.62	+0.05	109	7.37	-0.71	91
Corvallis	68	23	43	1	-2	0.01	-0.20	0.05	-0.51	9	5.11	+0.31	106
Creston	67	27	46	3	+3	0.01	-0.40	0.40	-0.61	40	8.58	-0.63	93
Deer Lodge	62	20	38	0	+0	0.01	-0.13	0.21	-0.11	66	3.57	+0.84	131
Drummond	65	18	41	0	+0	0.02	-0.19	0.05	-0.48	9	6.94	+1.90	138
Hamilton	65	25	43	1	+1	0.00	-0.24	0.06	-0.54	10	7.27	+0.91	114
Kalispell	63	26	46	3	+3	0.04	-0.24	0.71	-0.01	99	8.21	-0.32	96
Missoula	63	28	45	5	+5	0.01	-0.24	0.28	-0.33	46	6.39	+0.04	101
Olney	60	19	40	0	+0	0.00	-0.31	0.64	-0.15	81	11.39	-1.23	90
Polson	67	26	45	4	+1	0.02	-0.26	0.26	-0.49	35	5.85	-1.32	82
St Ignatius	69	25	45	3	-1	0.03	-0.29	0.42	-0.38	53	8.73	+1.74	125
Seeley Lake	61	20	40	0	+0	0.01	-0.23	0.47	-0.13	78	15.90	+3.72	131
Sula	64	19	41	0	+0	0.01	-0.34	0.12	-0.74	14	6.82	-0.10	99
Superior	67	27	47	5	-3	0.09	-0.19	0.28	-0.45	38	10.14	+1.08	112
Swan Lake	61	24	41	0	+0	0.18	-0.19	0.84	-0.13	87	15.80	-1.73	90
Thompson Falls	66	30	47	3	-11	0.29	-0.06	0.48	-0.45	52	13.62	-0.83	94
West Glacier	66	23	43	2	+2	0.12	-0.30	0.51	-0.57	47	15.94	-0.76	95
NORTH CENTRAL
Chester	63	21	43	1	+1	0.76	+0.62	0.81	+0.43	213	6.20	+3.44	225
Chinook	66	26	43	0	+0	0.43	+0.21	0.50	+0.00	100	3.66	+0.12	103
Choteau	64	24	43	0	+0	0.15	+0.00	0.44	+0.10	129	3.01	+0.91	143
Cut Bank	63	23	41	0	+0	0.00	-0.21	0.01	-0.45	2	1.38	-1.50	48
Ft Assinniboine	66	25	44	1	-1	0.40	+0.19	0.52	+0.01	102	4.51	+0.78	121
Fort Benton	66	23	43	2	-17	0.20	-0.08	0.30	-0.37	45	4.33	+0.02	100
Goldbutte	67	21	43	2	+2	0.06	-0.19	0.10	-0.51	16	2.76	-0.96	74
Harlem	64	26	44	0	+0	0.25	+0.10	0.25	-0.10	71	3.53	+0.73	126
Havre	65	27	44	1	+1	0.23	+0.02	0.33	-0.14	70	3.05	-0.52	85
Malta	67	28	45	0	+0	0.92	+0.71	0.93	+0.48	207	4.97	+1.59	147
Rudyard	68	23	42	3	+3	0.15	+0.01	0.15	-0.17	47	3.70	+1.56	173
Shelby	63	22	42	0	+0	0.00	-0.22	0.00	-0.56	0	2.96	-0.54	85
Turner	67	22	42	0	+0	0.32	+0.18	0.34	+0.08	131	2.69	+0.20	108
Valier	63	22	43	0	+0	0.16	-0.05	0.24	-0.23	51	3.23	+0.47	117
NORTHEAST
Bredette	69	30	44	2	+2	0.48	+0.27	0.76	+0.30	165	5.37	+2.52	188
Culbertson	72	25	49	11	+9	0.24	+0.03	0.31	-0.17	65	4.47	+1.34	143
Glasgow	70	28	45	3	+3	0.43	+0.27	0.43	+0.03	108	3.63	+0.69	123
Glendive	71	31	49	17	+15	0.42	+0.14	0.43	-0.22	66	3.86	+0.03	101
Jordan	68	26	43	4	+4	0.39	+0.18	0.58	+0.08	116	4.18	+0.39	110
Nashua	72	26	46	0	-11	0.30	+0.09	0.30	-0.20	60	3.92	+1.17	143
Opheim	65	25	42	0	+0	0.38	+0.24	0.39	+0.11	139	3.27	+0.88	137
Plentywood	70	25	46	7	+7	0.60	+0.40	0.60	+0.16	136	4.97	+1.80	157
St Marie	66	30	46	2	+2	0.40	+0.24	0.40	+0.00	100	2.04	-0.90	69
Scobey	70	24	45	6	+6	0.57	+0.36	0.57	+0.08	116	4.73	+2.00	173
Sidney	72	30	49	18	+10	0.17	-0.08	0.17	-0.43	28	3.92	-0.12	97
Wolf Point	72	24	47	14	+8	0.45	+0.25	0.46	+0.02	105	2.33	-0.74	76
CENTRAL
Cascade	65	20	40	0	+0	0.45	+0.19	0.51	-0.11	82	4.25	+0.14	103
Grass Range	66	25	42	0	+0	1.40	+1.10	1.53	+0.75	196	7.00	+1.97	139
Great Falls	62	25	42	1	+1	0.34	+0.03	0.69	-0.10	87	5.30	+0.13	103
Harlowton	66	24	40	0	+0	0.32	+0.02	0.44	-0.30	59	4.26	+0.19	105
Helena	62	25	43	0	+0	0.08	-0.13	0.20	-0.30	40	3.96	+0.34	109
Lewistown	60	25	39	0	+0	0.73	+0.44	1.06	+0.29	138	4.36	-1.65	73
Martinsdale	63	23	40	0	+0	0.48	+0.20	0.55	-0.11	83	4.98	+1.02	126
Neihart	60	19	38	0	+0	0.63	+0.21	1.09	+0.07	107	7.76	+0.39	105
Rogers Pass	61	20	39	0	+0	0.34	-0.01	0.37	-0.46	45	6.06	+0.07	101
Roundup	69	29	46	1	-5	0.41	+0.12	0.41	-0.28	59	4.75	+0.82	121
Ryegate	65	26	40	0	+0	0.69	+0.42	0.75	+0.12	119	4.76	+0.97	126
Stanford	62	26	41	0	+0	0.96	+0.61	1.07	+0.22	126	5.56	+0.28	105
Townsend	68	25	43	2	+0	0.10	-0.04	0.28	-0.10	74	3.53	+0.68	124
Valentine	68	27	42	1	+1	1.21	+0.97	1.23	+0.67	220	5.39	+1.44	136
Wht Sulphur Spr	59	20	38	0	+0	0.27	-0.01	0.49	-0.16	75	7.50	+3.28	178
SOUTHWEST
Boulder	60	22	39	0	+0	0.78	+0.64	0.80	+0.42	211	4.80	+1.61	150
Bozeman	64	27	42	0	+0	1.00	+0.64	1.55	+0.65	172	6.79	+0.86	115
Butte	57	24	37	0	+0	0.26	+0.05	0.40	-0.17	70	3.46	-0.85	80
Dillon	59	28	40	0	+0	0.48	+0.27	1.07	+0.56	210	3.54	+0.83	131
Ennis	61	25	39	0	+0	0.44	+0.16	1.09	+0.35	147	5.53	+0.93	120
Lakeview	47	18	32	0	+0	0.80	+0.45	0.98	+0.03	103	7.66	-0.60	93
W Yellowstone	57	27	39	0	+0	0.70	+0.35	1.95	+1.00	205	11.31	-0.83	93
Wisdom	55	15	34	0	+0	0.12	-0.09	0.49	-0.06	89	6.35	+1.76	138
SOUTH CENTRAL
Billings	69	33	46	6	+0	0.52	+0.11	1.30	+0.29	129	6.77	+0.59	110
Cooke City	60	28	41	0	+0	0.48	+0.06	1.15	+0.06	106	6.19	-6.88	47
Gardiner	63	27	42	0	+0	1.09	+0.95	1.48	+1.19	510	3.91	+0.47	114
Hardin	71	30	49	11	-7	0.20	-0.13	0.91	+0.13	117	4.15	-0.59	88
Huntley	72	28	46	8	+6	0.52	+0.15	0.97	+0.06	107	6.74	+1.49	128
Hysham	71	30	46	4	-6	0.51	+0.22	0.67	-0.02	97	6.50	+1.93	142
Joliet	68	29	43	2	+2	1.11	+0.66	1.75	+0.64	158	7.13	+0.51	108
Livingston	64	30	42	2	+2	0.28	-0.08	0.84	-0.02	98	3.62	-1.68	68
Nye	63	29	43	3	+3	0.46	-0.03	1.17	+0.00	100	8.38	+1.98	131
Rapelje	67	28	43	0	+0	0.56	+0.18	1.29	+0.37	140	5.91	+0.34	106
SOUTHEAST
Albion	66	27	43	2	+2	0.42	+0.05	0.74	-0.11	87	7.92	+4.05	205
Baker	68	29	47	8	+8	0.21	-0.11	0.21	-0.57	27	3.51	-1.26	74
Broadus	68	31	48	5	+0	0.23	-0.13	1.00	+0.11	112	7.39	+2.42	149
Ekalaka	62	28	44	0	+0	0.59	+0.14	0.99	-0.09	92	8.68	+2.78	147
Miles City	71	32	48	13	+3	0.30	-0.04	0.32	-0.47	41	3.29	-1.00	77
Plevna	67	24	46	3	+3	0.29	-0.03	0.32	-0.46	41	4.61	-0.16	97
Compiled by AWIS Inc. based on NWS data. DFN-Departure from normal 1971-2000. GDD-Growing degree days

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