or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: April 6, 2009 Week ending: April 5, 2009 OR-CW1405 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: April 6, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: April 5, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 01-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Conditions were generally cooler than normal throughout the central and eastern parts of the State. High temperatures ranged from 75 degrees in Medford, down to 44 degrees in Joseph. Low temperatures ranged from 33 degrees in Bandon, down to 6 degrees in Christmas Valley. All forty-three stations reporting received a measurable amount of precipitation last week, though most counties had less than normal. The Detroit Lake station reported the most with 3.24 total inches. Field Crops: Cool and wet spring weather conditions have delayed grain and grass crop growth throughout much of the State. The soil was too wet last week to push spring planting forward. Spring wheat emergence is lagging behind due to the cool and wet conditions. Also, input prices affected field operations, including using no till and withholding fertilizer applications. There was concern of an even larger Baker County grasshopper population than last year. Vegetables: Perennial crops, like rhubarb, were later than usual. Harvest will be pushed back about a month. Fruits and Nuts: Fruits, nuts, and berries budding and blooming. Some cold weather in fruit growing regions, but that did not generate reports of damage. Hazelnut growers were spraying for Eastern Filbert Blight. Bing cherry at side green in lower Hood River Valley. Also in Hood River Valley, Anjou pear at bud swell to blossom buds exposed, red delicious apple at green tip. Producers sprayed across the fruit growing areas as weather permitted. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nurseries were busy getting new trees and shrubs prepared. Activities included digging, balling, and shipping trees and shrubs. Bare root trees were also being made available. Greenhouses were very busy with new vegetable and ornamental plant starts. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Pasture growth has been slow due to cool and dry conditions. However, some cattle have already been turned out to pasture. This has been an active calving season. Some pasture growth was slowed due to heavy grazing pressure last fall due to high hay prices. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 04/05/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 1 13 66 20 Subsoil : 6 13 65 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 04/05/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Barley planted : 49 - 35 52 Barley emerged : 34 - 13 29 Spring wheat planted : 40 - 37 60 Spring wheat emerged : 2 - 13 26 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 4.1 - - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 04/05/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 1 13 48 31 7 Range and pasture : 1 19 43 35 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTERN OREGON BENTON/LINN/LANE: Spring wheat planting acres have increased. Many farmers are no-till drilling to conserve on fertilizer usage due to continued high prices; particularly for potash. Orchards have started to flower and the weather has been on the cooler side for this time of year. Monthly average rain and growing heat days are roughly two weeks behind schedule. CLATSOP: Cold and wet with grass slow to start growing. COLUMBIA: Weather Monday through Friday was several degrees below normal, blustery with showers and some sun breaks. Towards the end of the week there was some brush being burnt, while spraying was being done in the hazelnut orchards. Leaves are visible on the hazelnut trees roughly .5" to 1.0" in length. Some apple trees are blooming; Japanese plum is in full bloom this week. Pink buds are visible on some peach trees. Some farmers were taking soil samples Friday and preparing their fields for planting. COOS/CURRY: Low temps were 2 to 3 degrees below the 5-year average for the week in both Coos and Curry counties. High temps through the week were below average, but near average over the weekend. Producers were starting preparations for the coming spring weather, with some limited farming operations and spreading accumulated manure stock-piles. Bandon (Coos & Northern Curry): Low temp for the period was 33.12 degrees, 3.1 degrees below the 5-year average. High temp for the period was 65.13 degrees, 3.9 degrees above the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.53 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.76 inches. Precipitation for Current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 35.5 inches, 12.36 inches below the 5 year average, and 17.35 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through April is 52.85 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temp for the period was 36.2 degrees, 2.43 degrees below the 5-year average. High temp for the period was 34.53 degrees, 2.02 degrees above the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.62 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 1.77 inches. Precipitation for Current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 61.85 inches, 7.31 inches below the 5 year average, and 2.69 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through April is 64.54 inches. DOUGLAS: Some cool wet weather in the beginning of this past week continued to keep farmers out of fields, followed by warm dry weather at weeks end. The soils will need at least a week of dry weather to see much activity. Orchards and vineyards would like to be able to apply herbicides and fungicides as would the grass seed growers. Grass growth can be said to be slowed by the cool weather, however, there was heavy grazing pressure on pastures this past fall due to the price of hay. This could be contributing to the slow growth this spring; in addition, many have forgone fertilizer applications due to high prices. Orchards crops are doing well. JACKSON: Some field work done, but ground still a bit too wet. Grain crops are in and starting to show fair growth. Fruit trees are starting to blossom, but with a really cold week, most of the orchards are using some type of frost protection. Greenhouses were very busy with new vegetable and ornamental plant starts. Nurseries are getting out a lot of shrubs and trees. Most cattle now out on pastures. Pasture growth is still quite slow with nights being cold. This was a cold, cloudy week. Some rain, but not much accumulation, just enough to slow down field work. Pastures are greening up. Winter wheat is looking good. Temperatures were a bit cool with snow falling in some of the higher elevations around the Rogue Valley but not on the Valley floor. JOSEPHINE: Had some precipitation of .5 over the course of the week. Also had frosts of 22 to 28 degrees towards the end of the week. Pruning and tilling, fertilizing and spraying of herbicides continue. Notice a lot of honey bees are out with a lot of flowering fruit trees and ornamentals. Manzanita has been blooming for some time now and that is big draw for hummingbirds and honey bees. Daytime temps in the upper 60's and 70's. MARION: Unseasonably cool weather this spring has delayed crop growth in a lot of areas. Some spray and fertilizer being applied but not much soil tilling. Fertilizing for grass seed and grain crops is finishing up. Hand laborers are out in grass fields removing unwanted grasses and weeds. We had rain and cool days early in the week, but by the end of the week the rain had stopped and the days warmed up to the mid 60's with nights right around the freezing mark. WASHINGTON: Cold winter, perennial crops are later than usual. Rhubarb is going to be harvested a month later than last year. Tulips are not stemming and appear to be stunted. The warm weather anticipated this week will help in growth. No frost damage has been reported. All tree crops appear to be behind in pollination due to the cool spring. Some fertilizing of grass seed fields is ongoing, while weed spraying in winter wheat and cover crops is doing well. Fruits, berries, and nuts are beginning to bud. Bare root trees are available, while shipping trees and shrubs is underway. Temperatures reached a high of 57.7 degrees and a low of 29 degrees. YAMHILL: Hazelnut growers are putting out their EFB sprays. EASTERN OREGON BAKER: North end of the Valley is extremely wet, with some continued snow and cold temperatures. Some field work possible in the south end. GILLIAM: Cold soil temperatures have delayed crop growth this spring. Windy conditions have made field spraying operations challenging. GRANT: The past week has been wet and cold so no growth is evident on any of the range lands or farm land. HOOD RIVER: Variable spring weather conditions prevailed through much of the week. Minimum temperatures during clear, cold nights late in week did not dip into critical ranges for damage to developing fruit flower buds. Calm, dry conditions late in week provided opportunities for applying pre-bloom sprays in orchards. Anjou pear at budswell to blossom buds exposed (WSU stages 1 and 2), red delicious apple at green tip (WSU stage 1), Bing cherry at side green (WSU stage 2) in lower Hood River Valley. LAKE: Received a small amount of precipitation during the middle of the week. Temperatures have remained on the cool side with daytime temperatures in upper forties to low fifties. MALHEUR: Cold and windy is the best description for last week. High temperatures were well below normal most days with frost during the night. Scattered showers did not produce much moisture overall. Planting continues. Cattle are being turned out to mostly dry conditions. SHERMAN: Cool weather has delayed growth in all crops including forage. UNION: Winter weather continues with cold temperatures and precipitation in the form of both rain and snow. It is estimated that we are approximately two weeks behind for field operations. WALLOWA: Received good moisture in the form of rain and snow. Forecast is for a warm weekend, which will be very welcome. Still too early to tell about winter wheat and range conditions. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: April 5, 2009 (as of 11:00 am) 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : Growing : Last week precip. 4/ : Season cum. precipitation 5/ : Air temperature 2/ : degree days 3/ :-------------------------------------------------------------- Station :-------------------------------:-----------------: Total : : : Total : : Pct. : : Low : High : Avg. :DFN 6/ : Total :DFN 6/ : inches :DFN 6/ :Days 7/: inches :DFN 6/ : normal :Days 7/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ COASTAL AREAS : Astoria/Clatsop : 30 63 46 +0 3 -4 1.65 0.33 4 49.19 -5.90 89 121 Bandon 8/ : 33 65 45 -4 - -7 0.53 -0.81 4 35.78 -14.33 71 134 Crescent City : 36 62 47 -3 - -19 0.33 -1.19 2 43.10 -13.23 77 93 Florence : 32 68 45 -4 1 -6 1.77 0.13 4 55.80 -8.42 87 110 North Bend : 32 64 45 -4 1 -6 0.92 -0.50 4 39.22 -14.81 73 108 Tillamook : 32 64 46 -1 - -7 1.65 -0.17 4 35.59 -37.61 49 120 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 30 72 46 -3 6 -3 0.42 -0.34 4 25.11 -8.40 75 114 Corvallis : 28 69 45 -4 2 -6 0.29 -0.49 5 21.90 -14.41 60 126 Detroit Lake 8/ : 31 69 41 -1 - +0 3.24 1.96 4 66.51 9.85 117 122 Eugene : 27 69 45 -5 - -14 0.20 -0.77 2 21.03 -20.94 50 97 Hillsboro : 26 71 45 -3 2 -7 0.18 -0.50 3 17.17 -14.27 55 93 McMinnville : 27 72 46 -4 6 -5 0.09 -0.73 1 14.88 -22.41 40 91 Portland : 31 72 47 -3 7 -7 0.53 -0.13 4 18.86 -10.39 64 111 Salem : 27 72 46 -2 3 -4 0.37 -0.35 4 20.81 -12.06 63 97 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 29 61 45 -6 1 -20 0.17 -0.41 2 17.59 -9.79 64 86 Medford : 27 75 47 -3 3 -14 0.08 -0.26 2 9.80 -5.86 63 68 Roseburg : 30 73 47 -3 5 -13 0.16 -0.50 3 19.73 -7.98 71 92 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 24 51 38 -5 - -2 0.29 0.01 2 8.07 -1.60 83 68 Echo 8/ : 24 68 45 -5 - -14 0.12 -0.07 4 5.77 -0.93 86 73 Heppner : 26 54 40 -6 - -7 0.22 -0.13 2 7.94 -1.55 84 70 Hermiston : 24 68 45 -5 - -14 0.15 -0.04 2 4.32 -2.38 64 57 Madras 8/ : 18 65 39 -6 - -9 0.03 -0.16 2 4.51 -2.85 61 59 Moro : 25 59 40 -5 - -7 0.11 -0.10 2 7.50 -0.88 89 61 Parkdale 8/ : 25 64 41 -7 - -10 1.31 0.82 4 31.48 4.26 116 97 Pendleton : 27 68 43 -6 - -12 0.40 0.14 3 9.37 0.66 108 71 Prairie City 8/ : 18 65 39 -6 - -9 0.03 -0.16 2 4.51 -2.85 61 59 The Dalles : 27 71 45 +0 1 -6 0.15 -0.06 3 10.59 0.72 107 79 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 21 60 38 -2 - +0 0.08 -0.20 1 9.49 -3.14 75 60 Bend : 17 54 35 -7 - -6 0.01 -0.14 1 4.73 -3.82 55 36 Burns : 16 62 34 -6 - -4 0.06 -0.14 2 4.97 -1.62 75 57 Christmas Valley 8/ : 6 64 33 -10 - -7 0.01 -0.20 1 4.05 -4.74 46 60 Klamath Falls : 13 63 37 -6 - -7 0.08 -0.13 2 5.33 -5.12 51 51 Klamath Falls 8/ : 14 63 37 -6 - -7 0.06 -0.15 2 6.14 -4.31 59 68 Lakeview : 13 60 33 -7 - -5 0.05 -0.25 2 4.39 -6.80 39 68 Lorella 8/ : 10 64 35 -7 - -7 0.05 -0.16 1 4.28 -6.17 41 52 Redmond : 11 69 39 -4 - -7 - -0.14 - 3.57 -2.10 63 46 Worden 8/ : 18 64 38 -5 - -7 0.08 -0.13 1 3.99 -6.46 38 59 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 17 58 35 -7 - -7 0.14 -0.07 2 4.91 -1.14 81 76 Joseph : 15 44 28 -10 - +0 0.37 -0.05 4 9.80 -7.91 55 75 La Grande : 27 61 40 -5 - -7 0.37 0.02 3 7.52 -4.20 64 57 Union : 25 52 38 -6 - -7 0.28 0.00 3 9.02 1.03 113 72 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 24 65 43 -6 - -14 0.14 -0.03 2 5.71 -1.40 80 46 Rome : 12 63 37 -7 - -7 0.04 -0.15 1 3.63 -1.25 74 46 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Summary based on NWS data. Copyright 2009: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2/ Air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. 3/ Growing degree days base-50 degrees Fahrenheit. 4/ Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. 5/ Season cumulative precipitation starts September 1, 2008. 6/ DFN=Departure from normal (using 1961-1990 normals period). 7/ Precipitation days = Days with precipitation of 0.01 inch or more. 8/ Agri-Met weather stations.