nd-crop-weather STATE NORTH DAKOTA CROP, LIVESTOCK & WEATHER REPORT RELEASE DATE, MONTH ENDING DATE: Released: March 6, 2006 For Month Ending: March 5, 2006 ISSUE ND-CW1006 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY Weather conditions during February were colder than January, but near normal levels, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office. Snowfall amounts varied greatly across the state with the largest totals in the northeast. Overall, weather conditions have been favorable for livestock, but grain storage problems continued to be reported. Hay and forage supplies were rated 94 percent adequate to surplus. Some grain was moved to elevators as space became available and seed was being cleaned for the upcoming planting season. Statewide, average snow cover was 6.0 inches on March 5, compared with 0.9 inches a year ago. The northeast and east central districts reported the most snow cover with 15.7 and 13.8 inches, respectively. Conversely, the south central district reported no snow cover and only 0.1 of an inch was reported in the southwest district. County and secondary roads were rated 82 percent open, 14 difficult and 4 closed to travel. Road conditions were 12 percent drifted, 23 icy, 4 muddy and 61 dry. FIELD CROPS REPORT As of March 5, snow cover protection for alfalfa was rated 68 percent poor, 25 adequate and 7 excellent. Snowfall in the northeast quarter of the state increased snow cover for the winter dormant crops; however, producers in many areas remained concerned about the lack of adequate protection. Farmers were busy considering crop options and purchasing inputs. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT During February, southwestern North Dakota experienced good weather for livestock which allowed feed supplies to last longer. Calving and lambing are in full-swing with 12 and 20 percent complete, respectively. Shearing is nearly half finished, at 43 percent complete. Cattle conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 16 fair, 69 good and 14 excellent. Sheep conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 12 fair, 74 good and 13 excellent. Percent of feed obtained from pasture and range was 5 percent for cattle and 4 percent for sheep. WEATHER SUMMARY Weather: The month of February turned out to be colder than the month of January, especially in the eastern half of the state, but near normal compared to monthly average temperatures. Deep snow cover in the northeastern quarter of the state helped to keep temperatures below average. Little or no snow cover in the west and central parts of the state helped to keep temperatures at or slightly above seasonal normals. Temperatures for the first half of the month started out below average in the east and above average for the western parts of the state. A few fast moving storm systems out of Canada brought windy conditions and some snowfall across the northern and eastern parts of the state. Arctic air moved in around February 17, bringing the coldest temperatures of the winter season to the entire state. Temperatures rebounded toward the end of the month to more seasonal levels. Overall the month of February finished out with temperatures slightly above seasonal normals in the west to below seasonal normals in the east. The month was also drier than normal for much of the state. The western areas saw the least precipitation while the northeast saw the greatest precipitation amounts. Outlook, March: The month of March will start off with temperatures near to above seasonal averages for the majority of the state. The first half of the month will also see an active weather pattern. There will be several chances of precipitation across the state through March 15. Temperatures should remain above average through mid-month. A slight downturn in temperatures is possible toward the latter half of the month. The overall outlook for the month is to see near average precipitation across the west and central, to above average precipitation in the eastern parts of the state. Temperatures look to be near seasonal normals for the entire state during the month. Climatologically speaking, March is the month when many locations across the state will see a significant increase in daily average temperatures from the beginning of the month to the end. WEATHER INFORMATION TABLE TEMPERATURE, February 1-28, 2006 District & Temperature Stations High Low Average Depart/Norm 1/ Degrees F NORTHWEST NA NA NA NA Bowbells 43 -25 18 -4 Williston 47 -24 17 2 Mohall 42 -24 13 1 Minot 46 -23 13 2 NORTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Baker 36 -27 10 0 Bottineau 37 -27 8 0 Rugby 37 -25 9 2 NORTHEAST NA NA NA NA Cando 33 -27 15 -8 Cavalier 35 -28 11 -5 Forest River 34 -30 11 -6 Grand Forks 34 -29 10 -5 Langdon 31 -31 9 -5 St. Thomas 34 -27 11 -7 WEST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Hazen 49 -23 16 3 Turtle Lake 45 -23 19 -4 Watford City 48 -26 20 -1 CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Carrington 38 -24 12 -2 Harvey 39 -24 13 1 Jamestown 38 -22 15 -1 Robinson 39 -23 13 1 Streeter 38 -23 15 0 EAST CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Dazey 37 -22 12 -1 Fargo 36 -23 12 -3 Hillsboro 35 -31 12 -6 SOUTHWEST NA NA NA NA Beach 55 -24 19 3 Bowman 54 -21 19 3 Dickinson 57 -22 19 2 Hettinger 52 -19 20 2 SOUTH CENTRAL NA NA NA NA Mandan 46 -22 16 3 Linton 43 -21 15 5 SOUTHEAST NA NA NA NA Edgeley 39 -19 15 3 Oakes 40 -16 13 4 Wyndmere 38 -20 14 -3 1/ Normal is the 1971-2000 average. NA=Not Available. Weather data collected from NDAWN stations and compiled by UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center. CONTACT INFORMATION USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office Cooperating with: NDSU Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, ND Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) and UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: David Knopf, Director USDA, NASS, North Dakota Field Office NDSU, IACC Bldg., Room 448 P.O. Box 3166 Fargo, ND 58108-3166 Telephone: (701) 239-5306 E-Mail: nass-nd@nass.usda.gov Internet: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nd/