Crop Weather Report

Montana Crop Weather Report

Issue: 09-08
For the Week Ending: May 3, 2009
Released: May 4, 2009
For more information contact: Christel Pachl or 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 adequate moisture throughout the state during the week ending May 3rd. Great Falls received 0.87 of an inch of precipitation on the 29th, breaking the old daily record of 0.43 of an inch set in 1913. Great Falls set several new snowfall records for the period of April 27th through 29th. Great Falls received 16.1 inches of snow on the 29th breaking the old daily record of 5.4 inches set in 1913. Miles City received 0.73 of an inch of precipitation on the 30th, breaking the old daily record of 0.66 of an inch set in 1953. Grass Range received the most weekly accumulated precipitation with 2.44 inches. Highs were mostly in the 60s and 70s, and lows were mostly in the teens and 20s. Thompson Falls had the weekly high temperature at 75 degrees. Cascade had the weekly low temperature at 11 degrees. Topsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 96 percent, above last week's 92 percent, last year's 44 percent, and the five-year average of 62 percent. Subsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 76 percent, above last week's 71 percent, last year's 23 percent, and the five-year average of 43 percent. The number of days suitable for field work was 1.6, down from last week's 4.2 days.

The weather outlook for May 11th through May 17th is for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation east of the continental divide and for near normal temperatures and near 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	0	24	14
Short	4	8	32	24
Adequate	62	77	40	56
Surplus	34	15	4	6
Subsoil Moisture
Very Short	4	9	39	25
Short	20	20	38	32
Adequate	64	66	22	40
Surplus	12	5	1	3

Field Work Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Days Suitable for Field Work
Days	1.6	4.2	5.10	5.10
Field Tillage Work in Progress
None	41	42	12	11
Just Started	27	28	22	19
Well Underway	32	30	66	70

Field Crops Report

Forty-one percent of farmers have not started their field work yet. Fieldwork was limited to only a couple of days due to a major snow storm in the North Central and Central areas. Fields that are wet and saturated need several days of sunshine until they can resume fieldwork. Winter wheat conditions declined slightly from last week with 62 percent good to excellent compared to 64 percent last week, 37 percent last year, and a five-year average of 52 percent.

Crop Progress and Condition Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Winter Wheat
Very Poor	1	2	10	6
Poor	6	4	16	11
Fair	31	30	37	31
Good	46	52	33	40
Excellent	16	12	4	12
Winter Wheat- Spring Stages
Still Dormant	5	6	1	n/a
Greening	22	33	33	n/a
Greening & Growing	73	61	66	n/a
Planted
Barley	30	21	59	64
Camelina	51	46	90	n/a
Corn	22	12	22	22
Dry Peas	28	17	84	53
Durum Wheat	9	4	41	32
Lentils	18	10	55	43
Oats	22	8	60	52
Spring Wheat	35	24	68	60
Sugar Beets	56	35	80	76
Emerged
Camelina	9	8	42	n/a
Barley	2	n/a	13	21
Dry Peas	1	n/a	4	5
Spring Wheat	2	n/a	11	14
Sugar Beets	19	n/a	22	19

Livestock Report

A major spring snow storm during the week resulted in livestock losses particularly in the North Central and Central areas of the state. Producers have begun moving livestock to summer ranges. Range and pasture feed conditions improved from last week with 41 percent good to excellent, compared to 30 percent last week, 22 percent last year, and a five-year average of 34 percent

Range & Livestock Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Range and Pasture Feed Condition
Very Poor	3	2	16	11
Poor	13	10	29	20
Fair	43	58	33	35
Good	38	27	15	26
Excellent	3	3	7	8
Moved to Summer Ranges
Cattle & Calves	18	n/a	17	11
Sheep & Lambs	17	n/a	12	9
Receiving Supplemental Feed
Cattle & Calves	70	77	72	60
Sheep & Lambs	73	80	69	59
Livestock Grazing
Open	68	79	81	86
Difficult	18	14	12	7
Closed	14	7	7	7
Livestock Birthing
Calving Complete	89	85	90	92
Lambing Complete	82	70	77	79

Weather Information for the Week ending 05/03/2009

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	69	25	41	0	-14	0.59	+0.24	0.79	-0.45	64	12.36	+5.38	177
Anaconda	59	22	37	0	+0	1.29	+0.96	2.56	+1.24	194	11.12	+5.42	195
Clinton	63	26	41	2	+2	0.32	+0.01	0.94	-0.22	81	7.69	-0.98	89
Corvallis	66	26	42	0	-16	0.14	-0.16	0.20	-0.93	18	5.26	-0.11	98
Creston	66	27	44	1	-10	0.39	-0.10	0.88	-1.04	46	9.06	-1.06	90
Deer Lodge	61	18	37	0	+0	0.33	+0.03	0.58	-0.25	70	3.94	+0.70	122
Drummond	64	19	38	0	-6	0.50	+0.17	0.57	-0.56	50	7.46	+1.82	132
Hamilton	66	25	41	0	-14	0.27	-0.05	0.35	-0.85	29	7.56	+0.60	109
Kalispell	70	29	46	8	-1	0.21	-0.14	0.99	-0.38	72	8.49	-0.69	92
Missoula	68	26	42	5	-9	0.17	-0.18	0.48	-0.76	39	6.59	-0.39	94
Olney	66	28	41	0	+0	0.00	-0.41	0.79	-0.76	51	11.54	-1.84	86
Polson	63	24	43	3	-13	0.00	-0.41	0.33	-1.18	22	5.92	-2.01	75
St Ignatius	65	25	42	1	-17	0.17	-0.29	0.75	-0.88	46	9.06	+1.24	116
Seeley Lake	62	17	38	0	+0	0.10	-0.23	0.72	-0.49	60	16.15	+3.36	126
Sula	62	20	39	0	+0	0.30	-0.12	0.48	-1.20	29	7.18	-0.56	93
Superior	70	26	45	6	-14	0.44	+0.11	0.83	-0.51	62	10.69	+1.02	111
Swan Lake	67	23	40	0	-2	0.19	-0.28	1.14	-0.72	61	16.10	-2.32	87
Thompson Falls	75	29	47	10	-15	0.36	-0.05	0.88	-0.81	52	14.02	-1.19	92
West Glacier	65	26	42	3	-2	0.39	-0.10	1.36	-0.63	68	16.79	-0.82	95
NORTH CENTRAL
Chester	59	20	37	0	-16	1.31	+1.06	2.23	+1.40	269	7.62	+4.41	237
Chinook	63	27	40	0	-20	0.90	+0.52	1.42	+0.25	121	4.58	+0.37	109
Choteau	57	13	32	0	-14	1.33	+1.03	1.87	+1.01	217	4.44	+1.82	169
Cut Bank	48	16	30	0	+0	0.29	-0.04	0.34	-0.71	32	1.71	-1.76	49
Ft Assinniboine	63	25	39	0	-21	1.22	+0.86	1.81	+0.66	157	5.80	+1.43	133
Fort Benton	56	19	36	0	-30	1.75	+1.36	2.12	+0.73	153	6.15	+1.12	122
Goldbutte	63	18	36	0	-12	0.58	+0.23	0.89	-0.36	71	3.55	-0.81	81
Harlem	64	25	40	0	-21	0.47	+0.16	0.78	-0.10	89	4.06	+0.73	122
Havre	62	26	39	0	-19	0.90	+0.60	1.27	+0.26	126	3.99	-0.12	97
Malta	65	29	42	0	-20	1.58	+1.24	2.53	+1.48	241	6.57	+2.59	165
Rudyard	61	23	37	0	-17	0.70	+0.40	0.95	+0.12	114	4.50	+1.85	170
Shelby	58	17	34	0	-12	1.57	+1.21	1.80	+0.60	150	4.76	+0.62	115
Turner	64	26	40	0	-14	0.38	+0.15	0.72	+0.07	111	3.07	+0.19	107
Valier	56	20	31	0	-14	1.89	+1.55	2.24	+1.17	209	5.23	+1.87	156
NORTHEAST
Bredette	64	27	41	0	-21	1.24	+0.96	2.00	+1.03	206	6.61	+3.25	197
Culbertson	68	26	45	0	-28	1.22	+0.90	1.53	+0.47	144	5.69	+1.98	153
Glasgow	64	28	43	0	-23	0.91	+0.65	1.34	+0.47	154	4.54	+1.13	133
Glendive	65	33	46	0	-27	1.45	+1.10	1.97	+0.65	149	5.40	+0.90	120
Jordan	59	26	41	0	-22	1.07	+0.71	1.92	+0.78	168	5.52	+1.09	125
Nashua	69	18	43	1	-31	0.89	+0.58	1.56	+0.48	144	5.18	+1.85	156
Opheim	64	21	40	0	-8	0.83	+0.55	1.23	+0.47	162	4.11	+1.24	143
Plentywood	65	35	46	3	-19	0.87	+0.59	1.52	+0.58	162	5.89	+2.22	160
St Marie	62	27	43	0	-23	0.34	+0.08	0.74	-0.13	85	2.38	-1.03	70
Scobey	66	21	43	0	-15	1.09	+0.84	1.75	+0.80	184	5.91	+2.72	185
Sidney	67	30	46	0	-32	0.90	+0.56	1.10	-0.12	90	4.85	+0.19	104
Wolf Point	62	27	42	0	-31	1.11	+0.85	1.59	+0.68	175	3.46	-0.08	98
CENTRAL
Cascade	56	11	30	0	+0	1.19	+0.74	1.90	+0.50	136	5.64	+0.75	115
Grass Range	61	25	39	0	-14	2.44	+1.93	4.12	+2.44	245	9.59	+3.66	162
Great Falls	47	12	30	0	-10	1.61	+1.17	2.51	+0.91	157	7.12	+1.14	119
Harlowton	50	15	35	0	-11	0.52	+0.13	1.26	-0.22	85	5.08	+0.27	106
Helena	60	25	37	0	-14	0.44	+0.14	0.64	-0.41	61	4.40	+0.23	106
Lewistown	51	16	34	0	+0	0.91	+0.45	2.01	+0.42	126	5.31	-1.52	78
Martinsdale	62	19	36	0	+0	0.85	+0.46	1.58	+0.20	114	6.01	+1.33	128
Neihart	59	12	32	0	+0	0.51	-0.09	1.82	-0.29	86	8.49	+0.03	100
Rogers Pass	50	16	29	0	-1	1.30	+0.74	2.19	+0.36	120	7.88	+0.89	113
Roundup	63	24	42	0	-24	0.51	+0.08	1.40	-0.07	95	5.74	+1.03	122
Ryegate	58	23	37	0	-2	0.82	+0.48	2.35	+1.10	188	6.36	+1.95	144
Stanford	57	17	34	0	-14	1.19	+0.69	2.29	+0.53	130	6.78	+0.59	110
Townsend	63	20	39	1	-20	0.34	+0.09	0.62	-0.21	75	3.87	+0.57	117
Valentine	59	25	41	0	-14	1.76	+1.29	3.06	+1.69	223	7.22	+2.46	152
Wht Sulphur Spr	59	18	35	0	+0	0.60	+0.21	1.16	-0.20	85	8.17	+3.24	166
SOUTHWEST
Boulder	56	19	34	0	+0	0.21	-0.10	1.13	+0.22	124	5.13	+1.41	138
Bozeman	61	25	38	0	-12	0.73	+0.22	3.06	+1.22	166	8.30	+1.43	121
Butte	55	20	34	0	+0	0.55	+0.22	1.00	-0.17	85	4.06	-0.85	83
Dillon	54	21	36	0	-2	0.60	+0.28	1.78	+0.68	162	4.25	+0.95	129
Ennis	56	18	35	0	-4	0.46	+0.07	1.86	+0.38	126	6.30	+0.96	118
Lakeview	55	24	39	0	+0	1.21	+0.76	2.41	+0.66	138	9.09	+0.03	100
W Yellowstone	55	22	36	0	+0	1.04	+0.65	3.27	+1.58	193	12.63	-0.25	98
Wisdom	55	16	34	0	+0	0.33	+0.04	0.82	-0.29	74	6.68	+1.53	130
SOUTH CENTRAL
Billings	59	29	43	0	-23	0.46	-0.06	1.85	-0.13	93	7.32	+0.17	102
Cooke City	56	20	38	0	+0	0.70	+0.22	2.29	+0.30	115	7.33	-6.64	52
Gardiner	59	27	41	0	-14	0.46	+0.20	2.19	+1.46	300	4.62	+0.74	119
Hardin	65	28	46	0	-33	2.25	+1.83	3.23	+1.68	208	6.47	+0.96	117
Huntley	59	23	42	0	-19	0.96	+0.48	2.02	+0.21	112	7.79	+1.64	127
Hysham	62	26	44	0	-26	1.61	+1.15	2.40	+0.88	158	8.23	+2.83	152
Joliet	58	24	40	0	-15	0.43	-0.17	2.36	+0.13	106	7.74	+0.00	100
Livingston	59	23	37	0	-10	0.78	+0.27	2.37	+0.56	131	5.15	-1.10	82
Nye	59	20	39	0	-14	0.94	+0.34	2.48	+0.17	107	9.69	+2.15	129
Rapelje	62	22	39	0	-14	0.65	+0.12	2.46	+0.56	129	7.08	+0.53	108
SOUTHEAST
Albion	58	27	40	0	-12	0.34	-0.15	1.60	-0.16	91	8.78	+4.00	184
Baker	59	28	42	0	-19	0.49	+0.07	0.81	-0.75	52	4.11	-1.44	74
Broadus	67	26	45	3	-21	0.51	+0.06	1.77	+0.01	101	8.16	+2.32	140
Ekalaka	62	23	41	0	-19	0.17	-0.34	1.51	-0.57	73	9.20	+2.30	133
Miles City	61	30	44	2	-25	0.84	+0.42	1.26	-0.32	80	4.23	-0.85	83
Plevna	65	22	42	0	-19	0.38	-0.04	1.07	-0.49	69	5.36	-0.19	97
Compiled by AWIS Inc. based on NWS data. DFN-Departure from normal 1971-2000. GDD-Growing degree days

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