nd-crop-weather STATE NORTH DAKOTA CROP, LIVESTOCK & WEATHER REPORT RELEASE DATE, WEEK ENDING DATE Released: April 2, 2007 For Week Ending: April 1, 2007 ISSUE ND-CW1406 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY General: Recent precipitation was welcome because it helped replenish soil moisture supplies across the state, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, North Dakota Field Office. Producers prepared machinery and were lining up inputs for spring fieldwork wherever possible. Rain and snow has pushed back fieldwork across most of the state. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 2 percent very short, 15 short, 70 adequate and 13 surplus, and subsoil moisture supplies were rated 8 percent very short, 36 short, 52 adequate and 4 surplus. FIELD CROPS REPORT Crops: Producers in some western counties started planting, while the rest of the state was waiting for fields to dry out. The statewide average starting date for fieldwork is expected to be April 14, 3 days ahead of last year. The expected starting dates ranged from April 3 in the southwest district to April 22 in the north central district. The statewide five-year (2002-2006) average starting date is April 17. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Livestock: Wet weather made calving and lambing pens very muddy, which provided some difficulties. Calving and lambing were 54 and 66 percent complete, respectively, both ahead of last year’s progress. Shearing gained ten percentage points to 84 percent complete. Cow conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 17 fair, 70 good and 12 excellent. Calf conditions were rated 1 percent poor, 16 fair, 72 good and 11 excellent. Sheep conditions were rated 2 percent poor, 22 fair, 66 good and 10 excellent. Lamb conditions were rated 2 percent poor, 18 fair, 70 good and 10 excellent. Hay and forage supplies were rated 8 percent very short, 16 short, 72 adequate and 4 surplus, compared with last year’s rating of 1 percent very short, 6 short, 83 adequate and 10 surplus. Grain and concentrate supplies were 3 percent very short, 11 short, 80 adequate and 6 surplus. Pastures and ranges were 19 percent growing, compared with 2 percent a year ago. LIVESTOCK CONDITION TABLE Livestock Condition North Dakota, Week Ending April 1, 2007 Livestock Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Cows 0 1 17 70 12 Calves 0 1 16 72 11 Sheep 0 2 22 66 10 Lambs 0 2 18 70 10 SOIL TEMPERATURES Soil Temperatures: Average soil temperatures on April 1, ranged from a low of 32 degrees F in Bowbells, Cavalier and Langdon to a high of 38 in Williston. These readings reflect daily average temperatures under 4 inches of bare soil recorded by the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN). Average Soil Temperatures*, April 1, 2007 Station Temperature Station Temperature Degrees F Degrees F NORTHWEST CENTRAL Bowbells 32 Carrington 35 Minot 34 Robinson 34 Williston 38 Streeter 34 NORTH CENTRAL EAST CENTRAL Baker 34 Dazey 34 Bottineau 34 Fargo 35 Rolla 33 SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST Bowman 36 Cavalier 32 Dickinson 33 Grand Forks 33 SOUTH CENTRAL Langdon 32 Linton 37 WEST CENTRAL SOUTHEAST Turtle Lake 34 Oakes 37 Watford City 37 Wyndmere 35 *Thermometers located 4 inches under bare soil. Source: NDAWN, Department of Soil Science, NDSU. SOIL MOISTURE TABLE Soil Moisture Supplies North Dakota, April 1, 2007 with Comparisons Week Ending April 1, April 2, Item 2007 2006 Percent Percent Topsoil Very Short 2 2 Short 15 9 Adequate 70 70 Surplus 13 19 Subsoil Very Short 8 3 Short 36 14 Adequate 52 71 Surplus 4 12 WEATHER SUMMARY Weather: This last week saw a roller coaster of temperatures and seasons for the state. Temperatures started off well above normal at the beginning of last week. A large storm system moved into the state from the south on Tuesday and Wednesday. The eastern half of the state saw varying amounts of precipitation. The extreme western half of the state narrowly missed out on blizzard conditions. The system stalled out over the Great Lakes and sent several waves of energy across the eastern half of the state through Sunday. Colder temperatures allowed precipitation to remain as snow on Saturday night and Sunday. Outlook, April 2-8: The storm system that stalled last week has moved on. For this week, the next storm system is moving in from the south with much colder air over the state. The south and southwest parts of the state will see some snow Monday afternoon. The rest of the state should see snow beginning this week. Snow fall accumulations should be heaviest along the I-94 corridor. Temperatures will be in the upper 20s for the northeast and low 30s for the rest of the state. Conditions will improve starting Tuesday afternoon which means warming temperatures towards the end of the week and weekend. WEATHER INFORMATION TABLES Temperature & Precipitation: Districts and Stations North Dakota, Week ending April 1, 2007 Average Seasonal Precipitation District Temperature Beginning April 1 1/ Averages Past Depart Past Depart Week Normal 2/ Week Total Normal 2/ (Degrees F)(Degrees F) (Inches) (Inches) (Inches) Northwest (1) 39 6 N. Central (2) 38 8 Northeast (3) 39 7 W. Central (4) 41 6 NOT AVAILABLE Central (5) 42 9 E. Central (6) 42 10 Southwest (7) 40 5 S. Central (8) 45 10 Southeast (9) 43 10 1/ Precipitation amounts may vary due to an inaccurate snowfall melt. 2/ Normal is the 1971-2000 average. NA=Not available. Weather data collected from NDAWN stations and compiled by UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center. Temperature & Precipitation: Districts and Stations North Dakota, Week ending April 1, 2007 Temperature Seasonal Precipitation Stations Past Week Beginning April 1 1/ by Past Depart District High Low Week Total Normal 2/ (Degrees F) (Degrees F) (Inches) (Inches) (Inches) (1) Bowbells 53 21 Williston 58 25 Mohall 56 21 Minot 57 23 (2) Baker 55 26 Bottineau 54 17 Rugby 55 26 (3) Cando 52 26 Cavalier 49 24 Forest River 52 30 Grand Forks 52 30 Langdon 49 25 St. Thomas 50 29 (4) Hazen 58 25 Turtle Lake 57 26 Watford City 58 24 NOT AVAILABLE (5) Carrington 56 29 Harvey 57 28 Jamestown 58 27 Robinson 57 29 Streeter 58 30 (6) Dazey 53 30 Fargo 59 28 Hillsboro 57 30 (7) Beach 59 17 Bowman 60 19 Dickinson 59 23 Hettinger 60 25 (8) Mandan 60 29 Linton 60 31 (9) Edgeley 56 30 Oakes 58 30 Wyndmere 57 32 1/ Precipitation amounts may vary due to an inaccurate snowfall melt. 2/ 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/Statistics_by_State/North_Dakota/