or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: May 26, 2009 Week ending: May 24, 2009 OR-CW 0809 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: May 26, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: May 24, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 09-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Warm, drier conditions were experienced throughout the State. High temperatures ranged from 96 degrees in Rome, down to 57 degrees in Crescent City. Low temperatures ranged from 46 degrees in Portland, down to 21 degrees in Christmas Valley. Twenty six of the forty three stations reported a measurable amount of precipitation last week. The Astoria/Clatsop station reported the most with 0.63 total inches. Field Crops: Warm dry weather conditions this past week allowed farmers across the State to do a lot of field work. Haying for grass and alfalfa was in full swing in various areas of the State, thanks to the excellent weather conditions. Grains received a good growth boost as well. Wheat in Washington County was heading and some rust and geese damage was reported. Clover mites were reported in grass hay fields in central areas. Vegetables: Gardeners got more vegetables started and caught up on weed control. Sweet corn first planting was up in Washington County, while staggered planting continued. Fruits and Nuts: Blackberries, red raspberries, and blueberries were in bloom in the Willamette Valley. Strawberries were setting fruit a couple of weeks late this season. Southern Oregon orchards looked good; growers were spraying for weeds. Vineyards were starting to green up. Cherry fruit fly emergence for Hood River is predicted for June 4. Sustained codling moth flight began on May 15 at the OSU-MCAREC. The Wasco County cherry crop appears to be large this season. Early cherries started to show a slight pink color. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nursery crops were being irrigated and covers were removed from new sets. Greenhouses remained busy supplying vegetable and ornamental starts. Producers remained busy with spraying and weed control activities. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Livestock across the State continued to do well with forage for grazing. Some livestock were reported to be put out on the higher ranges. Good grass growth was reported and range land was reportedly maturing rapidly. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 05/24/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 5 16 73 6 Subsoil : 11 14 67 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 05/24/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, first cutting : 13 - 12 9 Winter wheat headed : 17 9 27 38 Barley emerged : 91 82 93 87 Spring wheat emerged : 95 89 98 94 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.8 5.3 5.6 6.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 05/24/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 0 16 36 40 8 Spring wheat : 0 13 38 39 10 Barley : 0 4 56 31 9 Range and pasture : 2 8 25 52 13 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon CLATSOP: Grass silage harvest was slow due to rain and cool weather. COLUMBIA: Every day this week was suitable for farm work. Tuesday the weather was cooler with some showers, but it was not significant enough to stop planting at the nurseries or plowing fields and some spraying was being done Monday at local nurseries. Red clover was blooming and honey bees have been placed near the fields. Some cutting of fescue and rye fields took place this weekend as well. COOS/CURRY: Low temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees below the 5-year average for the week in both Coos and Curry counties. High temperatures through the week were 8 degrees below average in Coos and were nearly 3 degrees above the 5- year average in southern Curry. Precipitation early in the week in Coos, but the area was clear and sunny from Wednesday through Sunday. Southern Curry had a trace of rain on Tuesday, but dried out for the rest of the week. Producers were taking advantage of the weather for farming operations, including silage and haying operations as the wind dried out cut grass in a rapid fashion. Good grass growth on all but the most exposed and well-drained pastures. Some additional livestock were moved to the bottoms. Bandon (Coos & Northern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 41.21 degrees, 2.98 degrees below the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 57.68 degrees, 7.99 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.17 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.44 inches. Precipitation for current weather year (began 10/08) stands at 40.17 inches, 13.04 inches below the 5 year average, and 15.8 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through May is 55.97 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 43.68 degrees, 1.92 degrees below the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 73.8 degrees, 2.81 degrees above the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.02 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 1.08 inches. Precipitation for current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 69.97 inches, 6.76 inches below the 5 year average, and 0.84 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through May is 70.81 inches. DOUGLAS: Warm weather this last week. Haying was in full swing. JACKSON: This was a very good week for growth on hay and grain crops with all showing strong growth. Some hay being made into both grass and alfalfa. It looks like production on fields now cut may be somewhat less than last year. Fruit orchards were looking good, with lots of spraying for weed control. Vineyards started to green up, but still need more growth and more fruit set. This was a good for week vegetable gardeners to get more crops planted, and catch up on weed control. There still seems to be a supply of vegetable starts, and lots of ornamental starts at sales outlets. Nurseries were still moving out lots of potted plants. All livestock seemed to be doing quite well with lots of good green forage for them. Some ranchers have started to put animals out on higher ranges, so that valley grass land can be used for hay. All irrigation districts were running, and lots of irrigation was being done. This was a good week for all kinds of farm and ranch outdoor work. The weather was ideal for any kind of chores needing to be done and was enough to get some hay made. MARION: Grass hay was being cut. WASHINGTON: Rain mid-month helped grass seed, clover crops, and small grains. Goetze wheat variety was heading out. Septoria was being reported in small grains and crimson clover was in bloom. Rust in certain wheat varieties were being reported, and significant damage by geese were being reported as well. Silage on red clover was occurring and early hay fields were being cut. Strawberries were blooming, with an anticipated harvest date of June 15. Blackberries, red raspberries, and blueberries were blooming. Grass seed negotiations are taking place. Field corn planting was ongoing, crimson clover was in full bloom, red clover clipped and made into hay or silage, and there was great haying weather and processing grass hay was at full speed. Strawberries were setting fruit a couple weeks late and caneberries were leafed out. Sweet corn first planting was up, staggered planting ongoing. Greenhouse and nursery crops were irrigating and covers were removed from new sets. Grass improved rapidly and cattle were doing well. High temperature of 78.3 degrees, low 36.5 degrees. Humidity 67 percent, and 40 percent low. YAMHILL: Grass hay went down and out of the field this week. Alfalfa went down over the weekend. Eastern Oregon CROOK/DESCHUTES/JEFFERSON: Some grass hay fields had been ravaged by clover mites. Expect the clover mite populations to start dropping off fairly rapidly over the next couple of weeks. Some of the infested fields looked like they had been "chemically burned". Grapes were starting to leaf out across central Oregon. A week of warm weather had crops growing well. GILLIAM: Crops looked good, rain has helped. HOOD RIVER: Cherry fruit fly first emergence for Hood River was predicted for June 4. Sustained flight of codling moth began the evening of May 15 at the OSU-MCAREC. Egg hatch expected to begin on June 6. JEFFERSON: Weather had been excellent for getting field work done. KLAMATH: Temperatures were much warmer on average this past week then the previous week. No precipitation during the week. Row crops were emerging and irrigation continued. There were some reports of aphids in alfalfa fields. LAKE: Irrigating was underway and some moisture was received over the weekend with a little bit of rain and thunder on Sunday. Pastures still looked good. MALHEUR: High temperatures were above normal, around 80 degrees. Conditions were dry. Irrigating, cultivating, and some spraying took place. Alfalfa hay was underway with some hay in every stage of harvest. SHERMAN: Cereal rye had been headed for 2-3 weeks but fortunately no wheat had headed yet which may be a good thing with the high temperatures over Memorial Day weekend arriving as predicted. Warm and dry this past week sucked out much of the moisture received earlier in May. Some limited winter grain mites reported but no stripe rust yet in wheat. Initial tillage near complete this week. UMATILLA: Season has warmed up but crop growth is still about two weeks behind normal. WASCO: Windy, summer weather prevailed through the week. Winter wheat was looking good. A few northen fields started to head out. Range land was maturing rapidly. Forage grasses were short and turning brown. Cattle and sheep were doing well on ranges and pastures. A few alfalfa fields were swathed this week and will be bailed next week along Fifteen Mile Creek. Irrigation was in full swing on both hay ground and young cherry trees. The cherry crop seems fairly large this year. Early cherries started to show a slight pink color. Fruit set on sweet cherries in Wasco County looked solid this year. Many growers appeared to have an ideal fruit set. These blocks optimize both potential yield and fruit quality. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: May 24, 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 : 40 61 54 +1 28 +6 0.63 0.00 2 57.63 -3.52 94 143 Bandon 8/ : 41 58 51 -2 12 -9 0.17 -0.41 2 40.45 -15.32 73 160 Crescent City : 42 57 51 -3 11 -17 0.01 -0.61 1 47.69 -14.59 77 112 Florence : 34 64 50 -5 7 -19 0.24 -0.58 1 62.84 -8.61 88 131 North Bend : 39 59 51 -4 11 -17 0.07 -0.53 1 43.92 -16.11 73 132 Tillamook : 36 63 51 -2 14 -4 0.09 -0.89 1 42.91 -38.61 53 141 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 39 77 58 +2 55 +12 0.39 -0.10 2 30.82 -6.63 82 135 Corvallis : 36 77 55 -2 35 -3 0.13 -0.29 1 26.36 -13.52 66 146 Detroit Lake 8/ : 39 80 57 +6 53 +35 0.62 -0.10 2 77.16 14.37 123 150 Eugene : 33 81 55 -3 36 -10 0.09 -0.40 1 25.23 -20.92 55 117 Hillsboro : 38 79 57 +1 51 +9 0.27 -0.08 1 21.14 -13.24 61 113 McMinnville : 34 75 56 -2 42 -3 0.04 -0.38 1 17.40 -23.38 43 109 Portland : 46 81 61 +3 79 +23 0.43 -0.02 1 23.91 -8.91 73 133 Salem : 37 79 57 +2 51 +12 0.29 -0.13 1 24.74 -11.51 68 117 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 40 95 63 +4 93 +23 0.02 -0.24 1 21.52 -8.21 72 101 Medford : 40 91 64 +5 100 +36 - -0.21 - 11.94 -5.43 69 82 Roseburg : 40 83 59 +2 67 +13 - -0.31 - 22.32 -8.38 73 111 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 31 85 57 +5 54 +30 0.09 -0.18 1 10.09 -1.51 87 85 Echo 8/ : 32 88 61 +1 82 +9 - -0.14 - 7.16 -0.61 92 85 Heppner : 38 85 59 +3 63 +17 0.06 -0.26 1 9.83 -1.87 84 86 Hermiston : 35 88 61 +1 80 +7 0.02 -0.12 1 5.81 -1.96 75 70 Madras 8/ : 31 86 55 +0 42 +4 - -0.21 - 6.58 -1.90 78 74 Moro : 33 85 59 +5 65 +33 - -0.21 - 9.55 -0.09 99 74 Parkdale 8/ : 33 78 55 -3 35 -11 0.19 -0.02 1 37.07 7.82 127 118 Pendleton : 36 84 60 +2 74 +11 0.02 -0.19 1 11.00 0.67 106 84 Prairie City 8/ : 31 86 55 +0 42 +4 - -0.21 - 6.58 -1.90 78 74 The Dalles : 39 86 63 +8 92 +53 - -0.16 - 12.07 1.08 110 94 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 27 81 55 +5 38 +22 - -0.21 - 11.68 -2.39 83 69 Bend : 28 89 54 +4 43 +24 - -0.21 - 6.01 -3.60 63 42 Burns : 25 90 58 +7 62 +41 0.18 -0.04 3 6.99 -0.84 89 74 Christmas Valley 8/ : 21 87 54 -2 33 +0 0.04 -0.17 1 5.92 -4.14 59 77 Klamath Falls : 33 85 58 +5 59 +28 - -0.21 - 6.86 -4.83 59 63 Klamath Falls 8/ : 33 84 58 +5 61 +30 - -0.21 - 7.91 -3.78 68 84 Lakeview : 33 84 56 +4 43 +19 0.07 -0.28 1 6.50 -6.77 49 83 Lorella 8/ : 31 86 57 +4 49 +18 - -0.21 - 5.80 -5.89 50 63 Redmond : 25 88 55 +3 40 +17 - -0.16 - 4.70 -1.95 71 56 Worden 8/ : 32 82 56 +3 44 +13 - -0.21 - 5.05 -6.64 43 68 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 26 87 56 +2 45 +17 - -0.29 - 6.93 -0.70 91 89 Joseph : 29 82 55 +8 53 +46 0.01 -0.48 1 13.88 -6.85 67 96 La Grande : 30 84 58 +3 60 +22 - -0.35 - 9.60 -4.54 68 71 Union : 31 87 58 +5 62 +36 0.05 -0.32 1 11.88 1.63 116 89 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 34 94 65 +5 110 +32 - -0.18 - 7.26 -0.87 89 55 Rome : 30 96 64 +8 103 +55 0.13 -0.08 1 4.54 -1.65 73 58 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.