Crop Weather Report

Montana Crop Weather Report

Issue: 09-25
For the Week Ending: August 30, 2009
Released: August 31, 2009
For more information contact: Lindsey Houska 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 experienced above normal temperatures with little precipitation for the week ending August 30th. Highs were in the 80s and 90s, and lows were mostly in the 30s and 40s. Miles City had the high temperature of 97 degrees, and Wisdom had the low temperature of 29 degrees. Culbertson received the greatest amount of weekly precipitation with 1.04 inches. Topsoil moisture is 59 percent adequate and surplus, down from last week's 72 percent, but above last year's 42 percent and the five-year average of 28 percent. Subsoil moisture is 49 percent adequate and surplus, down from last week's 51 percent, but above last year's 35 percent and the five-year average of 24 percent. The number of days suitable for field work increased to 6.6 days from the previous week's 5.0 days.

For September 7th to the 13th, temperatures east of the continental divide are forecasted to be near normal and precipitation is forecasted to be below normal. Both temperature and precipitation west of the divide are supposed to be near normal. Normal temperatures for this period in the state are highs ranging from the upper 60s to the upper 70s and lows in the lower 30s to the lower 50s.

Soil Moisture and Field Work Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Topsoil Moisture
Very Short	10	7	22	33
Short	31	21	36	39
Adequate	57	69	39	26
Surplus	2	3	3	2
Subsoil Moisture
Very Short	11	9	21	34
Short	40	40	44	42
Adequate	49	50	35	24
Surplus	0	1	0	0
Days Suitable for Field Work
Days	6.6	5.0	5.8	5.9

Field Crops Report

Even with warm temperatures drying out fields, crop maturity across the state is still behind normal. Small grain producers are focusing on finishing winter wheat harvest. Pea and lentil harvest is well underway with durum wheat harvest just beginning in the northeast corner of the state.

Crop Condition Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year
Barley
Very Poor	2	1	2
Poor	5	6	8
Fair	27	27	41
Good	48	43	42
Excellent	18	23	7
Spring Wheat
Very Poor	3	3	5
Poor	9	11	17
Fair	38	44	36
Good	42	35	37
Excellent	8	7	5
Durum Wheat
Very Poor	2	2	18
Poor	9	12	28
Fair	38	39	31
Good	35	33	22
Excellent	16	14	1
Sugar Beets
Very Poor	2	2	1
Poor	3	2	11
Fair	18	18	20
Good	37	36	56
Excellent	40	42	12

Crop Progress Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Turning
Barley	96	91	100	100
Durum Wheat	86	81	99	93
Spring Wheat	96	92	77	77
Hay- Second Cutting
Alfalfa	71	61	84	82
Other Hay	53	42	64	69
Harvested
Barley	44	26	73	78
Corn for Silage	7	5	0	11
Dry Beans	21	12	62	34
Dry Peas	82	58	96	n/a
Durum Wheat	15	8	69	58
Flaxseed	62	41	75	n/a
Lentils	69	38	87	n/a
Mustard Seed	47	28	89	n/a
Oats	75	61	80	80
Spring Wheat	43	22	77	77
Winter Wheat	86	78	93	98

Livestock Report

Range and pasture feed conditions have improved from last week with 35 percent good to excellent compared to 32 percent the previous week. Conditions are good for this time of year, even though recent high temperatures and grasshoppers in some areas are causing concerns.

Range & Livestock Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg
Range and Pasture Feed Condition
Very Poor	6	3	5	12
Poor	16	17	26	24
Fair	43	48	32	35
Good	31	28	28	24
Excellent	4	4	9	5
Livestock Moved From Summer Ranges
Cattle and Calves	7	3	6	10
Sheep and Lambs	5	2	7	8

Weather Information for the Week ending 08/30/2009

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	93	41	66	114	+17	0.00	-0.28	7.00	+0.03	100	18.57	+5.86	146
Anaconda	88	42	65	109	+30	0.03	-0.29	10.79	+2.98	138	19.35	+7.16	159
Clinton	89	45	68	128	+68	0.00	-0.28	7.00	+0.41	106	13.75	-0.35	98
Corvallis	91	43	67	119	+26	0.17	-0.11	3.76	-2.61	59	8.82	-1.79	83
Creston	90	42	66	112	+33	0.00	-0.35	6.63	-3.71	64	14.81	-3.73	80
Deer Lodge	89	39	64	97	+33	0.00	-0.28	6.24	-0.79	89	9.60	+0.16	102
Drummond	92	37	66	112	+33	0.00	-0.28	5.82	-1.18	83	12.71	+1.20	110
Hamilton	91	44	66	110	+21	0.00	-0.28	4.80	-1.72	74	12.01	-0.27	98
Kalispell	90	40	64	100	+24	0.00	-0.28	7.76	-0.41	95	15.26	-0.72	95
Missoula	90	45	68	128	+31	0.00	-0.28	5.59	-1.38	80	11.70	-1.01	92
Olney	86	31	57	53	-7	0.00	-0.30	7.64	-1.96	80	18.39	-3.04	86
Polson	91	44	67	120	+15	0.00	-0.35	5.39	-2.98	64	10.98	-3.81	74
St Ignatius	88	44	67	119	+16	0.00	-0.31	6.01	-2.92	67	14.32	-0.80	95
Seeley Lake	89	34	63	89	+14	0.00	-0.35	6.82	-0.94	88	22.25	+2.91	115
Sula	90	33	61	81	+26	0.04	-0.28	8.94	+0.23	103	15.64	+0.87	106
Superior	93	43	69	133	+23	0.00	-0.29	6.78	-0.10	99	16.64	+1.43	109
Swan Lake	86	37	60	74	+15	0.00	-0.42	7.90	-2.30	77	22.86	-3.90	85
Thompson Falls	94	46	70	142	+23	0.00	-0.28	7.19	-1.16	86	20.33	-1.54	93
West Glacier	84	37	61	81	+6	0.00	-0.42	10.51	-0.73	94	25.94	-0.92	97
NORTH CENTRAL
Chester	89	39	65	108	+15	0.00	-0.26	7.14	-0.19	97	12.53	+2.82	129
Chinook	91	46	67	120	+17	0.02	-0.33	6.76	-1.76	79	9.92	-1.64	86
Choteau	86	39	62	87	-10	0.00	-0.29	7.65	+0.13	102	10.22	+0.94	110
Cut Bank	88	41	64	99	+23	0.00	-0.37	3.65	-5.19	41	5.02	-6.24	45
Ft Assinniboine	92	46	68	124	+10	0.00	-0.28	7.78	-0.74	91	11.77	+0.03	100
Fort Benton	96	40	68	128	+14	0.00	-0.35	7.46	-1.30	85	11.49	-0.91	93
Goldbutte	89	41	65	104	+21	0.00	-0.42	6.10	-2.95	67	8.76	-3.40	72
Harlem	89	44	66	114	+9	0.00	-0.24	6.28	-1.40	82	9.56	-0.57	94
Havre	93	43	67	125	+20	0.02	-0.22	5.90	-1.38	81	8.62	-1.76	83
Malta	93	50	70	142	+38	0.05	-0.23	7.24	-1.46	83	11.28	-0.35	97
Rudyard	91	46	67	119	+19	0.00	-0.28	6.66	-0.45	94	10.21	+1.28	114
Shelby	89	40	64	103	+19	0.00	-0.33	6.72	-1.35	83	9.68	-1.33	88
Turner	91	43	67	117	+19	0.00	-0.22	6.27	-1.41	82	8.62	-1.29	87
Valier	87	42	66	111	+13	0.00	-0.37	7.70	-1.02	88	10.69	-0.32	97
NORTHEAST
Bredette	91	46	65	109	-3	0.97	+0.69	9.90	+0.58	106	14.51	+2.80	124
Culbertson	91	35	66	111	-5	1.04	+0.76	10.19	+0.86	109	14.35	+2.37	120
Glasgow	95	51	70	141	+25	0.29	+0.01	7.14	-0.53	93	10.34	+0.13	101
Glendive	90	43	66	117	-12	0.01	-0.34	9.99	+1.05	112	13.42	+1.30	111
Jordan	94	45	68	127	+7	0.08	-0.20	7.91	-0.41	95	11.51	-0.10	99
Nashua	96	46	69	137	+5	0.06	-0.17	7.21	-1.05	87	10.83	+0.32	103
Opheim	91	39	64	100	+14	0.07	-0.20	7.59	-1.46	84	10.47	-0.69	94
Plentywood	92	42	67	119	+15	0.50	+0.22	9.49	+0.51	106	13.86	+2.15	118
St Marie	91	48	69	132	+16	0.39	+0.11	6.67	-1.00	87	8.31	-1.90	81
Scobey	92	39	64	97	+4	0.76	+0.44	10.37	+1.07	112	14.53	+2.99	126
Sidney	91	44	68	125	+1	0.38	+0.10	7.95	-1.34	86	11.70	-1.03	92
Wolf Point	95	42	67	122	-6	0.07	-0.21	6.97	-1.10	86	8.84	-1.86	83
CENTRAL
Cascade	86	34	61	78	+7	0.00	-0.35	6.96	-2.44	74	10.70	-2.19	83
Grass Range	88	43	66	112	+16	0.00	-0.35	11.95	+1.02	109	17.42	+2.24	115
Great Falls	93	47	67	123	+30	0.00	-0.35	9.35	+0.13	101	13.96	+0.36	103
Harlowton	91	41	65	103	+13	0.11	-0.24	9.58	+0.05	101	13.40	+0.54	104
Helena	93	51	70	143	+45	0.00	-0.28	6.20	-0.90	87	9.96	-0.26	97
Lewistown	90	45	65	109	+23	0.03	-0.39	9.28	-1.88	83	12.58	-3.82	77
Martinsdale	87	37	63	91	+23	0.11	-0.24	8.76	-0.26	97	13.19	+0.87	107
Neihart	85	40	63	90	+12	0.02	-0.47	10.60	-2.40	82	17.27	-2.08	89
Rogers Pass	86	41	63	92	+11	0.00	-0.42	9.52	-1.40	87	15.21	-0.87	95
Roundup	95	44	69	132	+13	0.16	-0.12	9.69	+1.01	112	14.03	+2.11	118
Ryegate	90	46	65	107	+14	0.12	-0.16	9.43	+0.83	110	13.44	+1.68	114
Stanford	89	44	66	112	+14	0.03	-0.39	7.90	-3.27	71	12.39	-3.21	79
Townsend	91	45	68	128	+33	0.00	-0.28	7.22	+0.07	101	10.47	+0.85	109
Valentine	93	45	67	120	+20	0.00	-0.28	9.40	+0.38	104	13.56	+1.15	109
Wht Sulphur Spr	86	42	64	96	+19	0.07	-0.21	8.95	+0.59	107	15.96	+4.03	134
SOUTHWEST
Boulder	87	41	64	100	+21	0.00	-0.28	9.12	+1.53	120	13.12	+2.72	126
Bozeman	88	44	67	118	+32	0.19	-0.16	11.30	+1.55	116	16.54	+1.76	112
Butte	85	42	64	97	+32	0.04	-0.24	7.94	+0.04	101	11.00	-0.64	95
Dillon	88	46	66	114	+32	0.21	-0.07	6.78	+0.07	101	9.25	+0.34	104
Ennis	88	39	63	95	+17	0.38	+0.08	6.87	-1.59	81	11.31	-1.01	92
Lakeview	86	44	65	104	+57	0.00	-0.38	7.68	-2.56	75	14.36	-3.19	82
W Yellowstone	85	42	62	89	+48	0.36	+0.04	11.44	+2.38	126	20.80	+0.55	103
Wisdom	87	29	59	65	+30	0.13	-0.08	8.11	+1.28	119	13.97	+3.10	129
SOUTH CENTRAL
Billings	92	54	72	155	+29	0.04	-0.17	5.84	-2.37	71	11.31	-2.07	85
Cooke City	83	34	57	50	+20	0.69	+0.20	11.22	-0.27	98	16.26	-7.21	69
Gardiner	90	47	68	129	+22	0.03	-0.18	5.45	-0.27	95	7.88	-0.99	89
Hardin	95	47	71	148	+11	0.00	-0.16	6.09	-0.68	90	9.33	-1.40	87
Huntley	95	43	67	122	+11	0.06	-0.22	8.70	+0.36	104	14.47	+1.79	114
Hysham	90	47	68	127	+3	0.00	-0.21	10.15	+2.01	125	15.98	+3.96	133
Joliet	89	44	66	116	+13	0.03	-0.25	6.94	-1.84	79	12.32	-1.97	86
Livingston	91	40	67	119	+21	0.09	-0.26	10.97	+1.24	113	13.75	-0.42	97
Nye	91	39	67	119	+32	0.27	-0.08	9.09	-2.22	80	16.30	-0.24	99
Rapelje	92	46	67	120	+13	0.10	-0.18	10.69	+1.45	116	15.31	+1.42	110
SOUTHEAST
Albion	92	44	67	122	+15	0.04	-0.24	11.27	+1.02	110	18.45	+5.18	139
Baker	91	42	67	121	+4	0.00	-0.28	10.69	+1.43	115	13.99	+0.74	106
Broadus	93	44	69	134	+8	0.03	-0.18	6.81	-1.61	81	13.20	+0.70	106
Ekalaka	91	44	67	120	+1	0.03	-0.26	8.20	-2.62	76	15.89	+0.25	102
Miles City	97	52	73	159	+21	0.11	-0.16	8.22	-0.52	94	11.19	-1.05	91
Plevna	91	46	68	128	+11	0.01	-0.27	10.11	+0.85	109	14.40	+1.15	109
Compiled by AWIS Inc. based on NWS data. DFN-Departure from normal 1971-2000. GDD-Growing degree days

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