Crop Weather Report

Montana Crop Weather Report

Issue: 09-07
For the Week Ending: April 26, 2009
Released: April 27, 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 limited precipitation throughout the state during the week ending April 26th. Bozeman and Ryegate shared the most weekly accumulated precipitation with 0.78 of an inch. Highs were mostly in the 70s and 80s, and lows were mostly in the teens and 20s. Rudyard had the weekly high temperature at 84 degrees. Cut Bank had the weekly low temperature at 5 degrees. Topsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 92 percent, above last week's 89 percent, last year's 35 percent, and the five-year average of 62 percent. Subsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 71 percent, above last week's 70 percent, last year's 22 percent, and the five-year average of 44 percent. The number of days suitable for field work was 4.2, up from last week's 3.7 days.

The weather outlook for May 4th through May 10th is for above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation east of the continental divide and for near normal temperatures and above normal precipitation west of the divide. Normal temperatures for this period in Montana are highs in the mid 50s to the upper 60s and lows ranging from upper 20s to the lower 40s.

Soil Moisture Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Topsoil Moisture
Very Short	0	1	29	15
Short	8	10	36	23
Adequate	77	76	34	55
Surplus	15	13	1	7
Subsoil Moisture
Very Short	9	4	39	24
Short	20	26	39	32
Adequate	66	67	21	41
Surplus	5	3	1	3

Field Work Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Days Suitable for Field Work
Days	4.2	3.7	4.8	4.8
Field Tillage Work in Progress
None	42	65	26	24
Just Started	28	25	29	24
Well Underway	30	10	45	52

Field Crops Report

Forty-two percent of farmers have not started their field work yet. Field progress slowed down towards the end of the week due to the cooler temperatures along with moisture. Farmers have begun planting oilseeds and corn. Corn is 12 percent planted compared to 8 percent last year, and a five-year average of 9 percent. Winter wheat conditions improved from last week with 64 percent good to excellent compared to 56 percent last week, 35 percent last year, and a five-year average of 53 percent.

Crop Progress and Condition Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Winter Wheat
Very Poor	2	2	12	6
Poor	4	5	17	10
Fair	30	37	36	31
Good	52	47	30	40
Excellent	12	9	5	13
Winter Wheat- Spring Stages
Still Dormant	6	13	4	n/a
Greening	33	60	50	n/a
Greening & Growing	61	27	46	n/a
Planted
Barley	21	8	46	46
Camelina	46	16	83	n/a
Corn	12	n/a	8	9
Dry Peas	17	4	62	37
Durum Wheat	4	3	24	16
Lentils	10	3	28	23
Oats	8	1	43	35
Spring Wheat	24	6	45	38
Sugar Beets	35	12	37	49
Emerged
Camelina	8	1	29	n/a

Livestock Report

Seventy-nine percent of pastures are open for grazing, compared to 81 percent last year and 82 percent for the five-year average. Range and pasture feed conditions improved from last week with 30 percent good to excellent, compared to 17 percent last week, 17 percent last year, and a five-year average of 31 percent.

Range & Livestock Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Livestock Birthing
Calving Completed	85	77	86	88
Lambing Completed	70	64	73	72
Livestock Grazing
Open	79	65	81	82
Difficult	14	21	13	9
Closed	7	14	6	9
Livestock Receiving Supplemental Feed
Cattle and Calves	77	88	82	72
Sheep and Lambs	80	94	80	72
Range and Pasture Feed Condition
Very Poor	2	4	18	12
Poor	10	28	32	21
Fair	58	51	33	36
Good	27	16	13	25
Excellent	3	1	4	6

Weather Information for the Week ending 04/26/2009

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	82	24	48	19	+12	0.00	-0.28	0.20	-0.69	22	11.77	+5.14	178
Anaconda	74	21	43	12	+12	0.49	+0.21	1.27	+0.28	128	9.83	+4.46	183
Clinton	78	24	48	20	+20	0.00	-0.28	0.62	-0.23	73	7.37	-0.99	88
Corvallis	78	22	47	20	+9	0.01	-0.26	0.06	-0.77	7	5.12	+0.05	101
Creston	78	30	49	25	+25	0.09	-0.33	0.49	-0.94	34	8.67	-0.96	90
Deer Lodge	75	17	42	11	+11	0.04	-0.17	0.25	-0.28	47	3.61	+0.67	123
Drummond	79	15	45	10	+10	0.02	-0.25	0.07	-0.73	9	6.96	+1.65	131
Hamilton	80	26	49	27	+21	0.02	-0.26	0.08	-0.80	9	7.29	+0.65	110
Kalispell	81	26	49	24	+24	0.07	-0.23	0.78	-0.24	76	8.28	-0.55	94
Missoula	80	26	49	22	+15	0.03	-0.25	0.31	-0.58	35	6.42	-0.21	97
Olney	75	21	42	1	+1	0.15	-0.20	0.79	-0.35	69	11.54	-1.43	89
Polson	76	18	49	32	+20	0.07	-0.28	0.33	-0.77	30	5.92	-1.60	79
St Ignatius	77	29	49	28	+15	0.16	-0.21	0.58	-0.59	50	8.89	+1.53	121
Seeley Lake	75	20	44	2	+2	0.15	-0.13	0.62	-0.26	70	16.05	+3.59	129
Sula	75	14	43	3	+3	0.06	-0.34	0.18	-1.08	14	6.88	-0.44	94
Superior	82	26	51	29	+15	0.11	-0.17	0.39	-0.62	39	10.25	+0.91	110
Swan Lake	77	24	45	12	+12	0.11	-0.31	0.95	-0.44	68	15.91	-2.04	89
Thompson Falls	82	31	52	35	+16	0.04	-0.31	0.52	-0.76	41	13.66	-1.14	92
West Glacier	76	20	45	14	+14	0.39	-0.03	0.90	-0.60	60	16.33	-0.79	95
NORTH CENTRAL
Chester	81	13	48	30	+26	0.11	-0.09	0.92	+0.34	159	6.31	+3.35	213
Chinook	81	21	46	24	+12	0.02	-0.27	0.52	-0.27	66	3.68	-0.15	96
Choteau	77	12	47	35	+31	0.10	-0.12	0.54	-0.02	96	3.11	+0.79	134
Cut Bank	77	5	45	28	+28	0.04	-0.22	0.05	-0.67	7	1.42	-1.72	45
Ft Assinniboine	81	19	48	36	+21	0.07	-0.21	0.59	-0.20	75	4.58	+0.57	114
Fort Benton	83	16	48	33	+9	0.07	-0.26	0.37	-0.63	37	4.40	-0.24	95
Goldbutte	82	10	47	42	+42	0.21	-0.08	0.31	-0.59	34	2.97	-1.04	74
Harlem	77	21	48	27	+13	0.06	-0.16	0.31	-0.26	54	3.59	+0.57	119
Havre	81	20	48	33	+23	0.04	-0.20	0.37	-0.34	52	3.09	-0.72	81
Malta	77	24	49	26	+14	0.02	-0.24	0.95	+0.24	134	4.99	+1.35	137
Rudyard	84	15	47	31	+25	0.10	-0.11	0.25	-0.28	47	3.80	+1.45	162
Shelby	78	10	45	27	+27	0.23	-0.05	0.23	-0.61	27	3.19	-0.59	84
Turner	76	16	46	20	+18	0.00	-0.16	0.34	-0.08	81	2.69	+0.04	102
Valier	75	11	46	32	+30	0.11	-0.15	0.35	-0.38	48	3.34	+0.32	111
NORTHEAST
Bredette	79	24	47	16	+8	0.00	-0.23	0.76	+0.07	110	5.37	+2.29	174
Culbertson	80	19	50	29	+11	0.00	-0.26	0.31	-0.43	42	4.47	+1.08	132
Glasgow	80	21	48	23	+10	0.00	-0.21	0.43	-0.18	70	3.63	+0.48	115
Glendive	79	26	53	37	+19	0.09	-0.23	0.52	-0.45	54	3.95	-0.20	95
Jordan	78	24	47	24	+9	0.27	-0.01	0.85	+0.07	109	4.45	+0.38	109
Nashua	81	18	48	27	+4	0.37	+0.10	0.67	-0.10	87	4.29	+1.27	142
Opheim	73	17	45	8	+8	0.12	-0.08	0.51	+0.03	106	3.39	+0.80	131
Plentywood	78	20	48	20	+12	0.05	-0.17	0.65	-0.01	98	5.02	+1.63	148
St Marie	75	23	48	24	+11	0.00	-0.21	0.40	-0.21	66	2.04	-1.11	65
Scobey	77	18	48	19	+19	0.09	-0.12	0.66	-0.04	94	4.82	+1.88	164
Sidney	81	22	49	26	+4	0.03	-0.25	0.20	-0.68	23	3.95	-0.37	91
Wolf Point	82	16	49	26	+5	0.02	-0.19	0.48	-0.17	74	2.35	-0.93	72
CENTRAL
Cascade	74	7	44	22	+22	0.16	-0.17	0.67	-0.28	71	4.41	-0.03	99
Grass Range	78	22	49	33	+31	0.15	-0.24	1.68	+0.51	144	7.15	+1.73	132
Great Falls	78	11	47	31	+31	0.21	-0.16	0.90	-0.26	78	5.51	-0.03	99
Harlowton	77	15	46	24	+24	0.30	-0.05	0.74	-0.35	68	4.56	+0.14	103
Helena	79	17	49	32	+26	0.00	-0.25	0.20	-0.55	27	3.96	+0.09	102
Lewistown	76	18	45	18	+18	0.04	-0.32	1.10	-0.03	97	4.40	-1.97	69
Martinsdale	75	17	46	20	+20	0.18	-0.15	0.73	-0.26	74	5.16	+0.87	120
Neihart	74	11	42	8	+8	0.22	-0.27	1.31	-0.20	87	7.98	+0.12	102
Rogers Pass	75	14	45	30	+30	0.52	+0.08	0.89	-0.38	70	6.58	+0.15	102
Roundup	82	23	51	42	+23	0.48	+0.13	0.89	-0.15	86	5.23	+0.95	122
Ryegate	81	17	46	30	+30	0.78	+0.50	1.53	+0.62	168	5.54	+1.47	136
Stanford	78	9	45	21	+21	0.03	-0.38	1.10	-0.16	87	5.59	-0.10	98
Townsend	80	17	46	19	+5	0.00	-0.20	0.28	-0.30	48	3.53	+0.48	116
Valentine	79	24	47	28	+26	0.07	-0.27	1.30	+0.40	144	5.46	+1.17	127
Wht Sulphur Spr	71	13	42	8	+8	0.07	-0.25	0.56	-0.41	58	7.57	+3.03	167
SOUTHWEST
Boulder	74	17	45	12	+12	0.12	-0.10	0.92	+0.32	153	4.92	+1.51	144
Bozeman	76	19	46	26	+26	0.78	+0.35	2.33	+1.00	175	7.57	+1.21	119
Butte	71	18	44	6	+6	0.05	-0.22	0.45	-0.39	54	3.51	-1.07	77
Dillon	74	22	49	22	+22	0.11	-0.16	1.18	+0.40	151	3.65	+0.67	122
Ennis	76	18	48	22	+22	0.31	-0.04	1.40	+0.31	128	5.84	+0.89	118
Lakeview	72	20	46	11	+11	0.24	-0.11	1.22	-0.08	94	7.90	-0.71	92
W Yellowstone	70	18	44	4	+4	0.28	-0.07	2.23	+0.93	172	11.59	-0.90	93
Wisdom	69	12	40	0	+0	0.00	-0.27	0.49	-0.33	60	6.35	+1.49	131
SOUTH CENTRAL
Billings	80	25	54	56	+39	0.09	-0.36	1.39	-0.07	95	6.86	+0.23	103
Cooke City	72	17	46	17	+17	0.44	+0.02	1.59	+0.08	105	6.63	-6.86	49
Gardiner	74	23	50	26	+20	0.25	+0.07	1.73	+1.26	368	4.16	+0.54	115
Hardin	83	24	52	46	+21	0.07	-0.28	0.98	-0.15	87	4.22	-0.87	83
Huntley	82	20	51	45	+31	0.09	-0.33	1.06	-0.27	80	6.83	+1.16	120
Hysham	79	23	49	29	+9	0.12	-0.25	0.79	-0.27	75	6.62	+1.68	134
Joliet	78	22	48	24	+20	0.18	-0.34	1.93	+0.30	118	7.31	+0.17	102
Livingston	79	17	50	38	+38	0.75	+0.31	1.59	+0.29	122	4.37	-1.37	76
Nye	75	19	50	40	+36	0.37	-0.17	1.54	-0.17	90	8.75	+1.81	126
Rapelje	78	20	48	30	+26	0.52	+0.07	1.81	+0.44	132	6.43	+0.41	107
SOUTHEAST
Albion	79	28	49	21	+21	0.52	+0.10	1.26	-0.01	99	8.44	+4.15	197
Baker	77	29	50	24	+14	0.11	-0.25	0.32	-0.82	28	3.62	-1.51	71
Broadus	83	27	51	42	+26	0.26	-0.16	1.26	-0.05	96	7.65	+2.26	142
Ekalaka	76	23	49	25	+15	0.35	-0.14	1.34	-0.23	85	9.03	+2.64	141
Miles City	80	28	52	40	+22	0.10	-0.27	0.42	-0.74	36	3.39	-1.27	73
Plevna	77	25	48	19	+9	0.37	+0.01	0.69	-0.45	61	4.98	-0.15	97
Compiled by AWIS Inc. based on NWS data. DFN-Departure from normal 1971-2000. GDD-Growing degree days

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