or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: June 15, 2009 Week ending: June 14, 2009 OR-CW1405 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: June 15, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: June 14, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 11-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Conditions were generally mild throughout the State with the central Oregon areas receiving the most of the precipitation. High temperatures ranged from 87 degrees in The Dalles, down to 62 degrees in Crescent City. Low temperatures ranged from 33 degrees in Lakeview and Christmas Valley to 55 degrees in Portland. Forty of the forty three stations reported a measurable amount of precipitation last week. The Bend station reported by far the most with 2.9 total inches. Field Crops: A lot of first cutting of hay got rained on this past week and haying was delayed. Quality was a concern for the first cutting. Dry and warmer weather was needed for haying to continue and for the second cutting to begin. Development of grains and grasses benefited from last weeks rains. Tall fescue and rye grass were heading. Statewide, spring wheat was reported in good condition, while winter wheat and barley were reported to be mostly in fair condition. Vegetables: Vegetable crops continued to be planted in the south Willamette Valley. There was not much of a chance for field work because of the wet weather in Jackson County. Fruits and Nuts: Cherry harvest in Marion County had begun, in Wasco County orchardists prepped for the start of cherry harvests. Sweet cherry harvest in Wasco County should begin by the middle to later half of next week. Harvest will start for Chelan and Royal Ann cherries by around June 17. June drop was happening in Yamhill County. Throughout the Hood River Valley hand thinning of summer pears along with other routine summer orchard operations continued. Peaches continued to be thinned in Yamhill County. Jackson County reported that wet conditions were less than ideal for vineyards and had delayed spraying and caused problems with scab for other fruit growers. Strawberry harvest started in Washington County. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Greenhouses continued with clean-up and maintenance activities as many began to prepare for fall plants. Nurseries remained busy with irrigation and plant care activities. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Range and pasture across the State continued to do well after the recent precipitation. Curry County reported that this has been one of the best grazing seasons in ten years. Livestock were looking good with plenty of forage and water. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 06/14/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 3 26 65 6 Subsoil : 8 17 70 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 06/14/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, first cutting : 61 57 97 43 Winter wheat headed : 94 94 93 93 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 5.3 4.8 6.6 5.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 06/14/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 4 19 38 36 3 Spring wheat : 2 19 35 41 3 Barley : 0 6 47 42 5 Corn : 0 15 15 60 10 Range and pasture : 3 8 25 54 10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon BENTON/LINN/LANE: Last weeks rain made haying a challenge, but helped pasture, grain and seed crops. Conditions favored long and heavy grass pollen shed and grass seed crops appear above average. Harvest equipment was being preppared while rust control sprays were going on wheat, vegetable crops continued to be planted. Tall fescue has been pollinating tremendously this year. CLATSOP/ TILLAMOOK: The area could use some rain. COLUMBIA: This week had partial clouds with a few days of off and on showers. This was not enough to stop spraying and tilling of fields which was still happening in the area. Blackberries were still in bloom but some strawberries were damaged by the winds last week and the humidity had caused much more mold and spotting than usual. COOS/CURRY: Low temperatures were 1 to 5 degrees above the 5-year average for the week in both Coos and Curry counties. High temperatures through the week were slightly below the 5-year average in Coos County, but nearly 13 degrees below average for the week in southern Curry. Only a trace of precipitation for the week, spread over 3 days early in the week in Coos and only one day in Curry. Overcast conditions persisted most of the week. Producers were taking advantage of the weather for farming operations, including silage and haying operations the end of the week. Bandon (Coos & Northern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 50.91 degrees, 5.8 degrees above the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 63.76 degrees, 0.05 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.04 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.19 inches. Precipitation for current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 40.53 inches, 14.31 inches below the 5 year average, and 16.95 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through May is 57.48 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 48.66 degrees, 1.53 degrees above the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 63.69 degrees, 12.99 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.05 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.51 inches. Precipitation for current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 70.45 inches, 8.58 inches below the 5 year average, and 3.26 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through May is 73.71 inches. Additionally, balmy foggy days with a light smattering of rain extended the grazing season. This has been one of the best grazing seasons in ten years in Curry County. DOUGLAS: Weather has been dry with temperatures just below normal. JACKSON: Not much change from last week. The wet weather, mostly in the late afternoon and evening, did not allow for much chance to get any field work done. A lot of hay is down and got wet from the recent heavy rain. Second cuttings of all hay will be late, unless weather drys. The rains stopped the hay making, until some hotter and drier weather comes around. The wet weather caused some problems with scab, and not much chance to be able to spray. It had been too wet for the vineyards also. Vegetable gardeners were having the same problem. The wet conditions didn't allow very much time for cultivation, and weeding. Crops that were planted were up and growing, but do need some good sunshine. Most greenhouses were into cleanup and maintenance, getting ready for fall plans. Nurseries were still doing some sales, but now mostly with potted plants. Still lots of work with young stock. Also getting ready for next falls planting time. All livestock looking quite good with lots of good green forage as a result of the wetter weather. Pastures holding up quite well with the rains to keep them green. JOSEPHINE: Rained four days with accumulation of 1/2 inch and higher amounts in surrounding hills. All as the result of thunder cells that surrounded the Valley floor all week. Temperatures varies from moderate in the 50 (night) to upper 60 and 70's (day). Saturday and Sunday were warmer with a brief shower on Saturday that was a trace only. Irrigation will be necessary on some property starting soon. Haying was curtailed. Some farmers had alfalfa and grass hay down when we got the bulk of our precipitation. Truck gardens have strawberries. Most of them were still planting vegetables. MARION: Mild spring weather with occasional sprinkles provided very good growing conditions for field crops. Cherry harvest was just starting. Hops are near the top. Grass pollination was heavy in many areas. Many crops were getting irrigated now as the soil dries out. WASHINGTON: Winter wheat was fully headed out. Populations of aphids and cereal leaf beetles were increasing in the area. Spring grains are continuing to show good growth despite dry conditions in the north Valley. Tall Fescue was headed out and some fields have begun to lodge. Some heading was beginning on perennial rye grass. Crimson clover blooms had died back and red clover was showing good growth but no sign of blooming at this point. Painted Lady butterfly larvae had been identified in several vetch and clover fields. Dry conditions had resulted in generally low infection rates on stripe rust, stem rust, and septoria. Strawberry harvesting has begun. YAMHILL: Peach thinning was continuing. June drop on cherries was happening. Eastern Oregon BAKER/UNION: Days of field work depends on location. Lots of scattered showers. Moisture had been timely for most crops and pasture. Some first cutting hay got wet in the windrow and in the bale. CROOK/DESCHUTES: Received some reports of carrot and onion seed crop damage from thunderstorm activity. GILLIAM: Scattered thundershowers added much needed moisture to the soil profile. With continued mild weather, some winter wheat may yield better than average. HARNEY: Thunderstorms brought good rainfall to most of the County during the week and weekend. Wet weather delayed the first cutting of alfalfa in many areas of the County. Good pasture growth continued in response to good rainfall. HOOD RIVER: Mild weather prevailed through the week. Hand thinning of summer pears and other routine summer orchard operations continued throughout the Hood River Valley. JEFFERSON: Last week it was reported that there was no serious damage to any seed crops from a hail storm the previous week. That is apparently not the case, reports have since come in that many of the fields of onion grown for seed have sustained about 50 percent head loss. Also, the persistent wet weather was hampering efforts to spray for disease and insect pests in carrots and onions grown for seed in a timely manner. KLAMATH: More rain and cooler temperatures during the week. The storms also brought some hail. There were concerns about quality loss for the first cutting alfalfa because of the delay in harvest. Some first cutting had been dropped and rained on resulting in quality losses. LAKE: Received significant amount of precipitation during the week and over the weekend. Lake County was currently at 90 percent of average precipitation since the beginning of the water year on October 1. Timely rain storms in June have improved the hay and pasture conditions dramatically. MALHEUR: Many showers and cool temperatures described this week. Field conditions varied depending on intensity and location of showers. Some wet hay being turned over and some field activity slowed down. The showers had been spread over most of the County. Ranchers needed the rain for grass. One TV station predicted about 10 more days of cool weather with showers and then 60 to 90 days of hot dry weather. SHERMAN: Range perked up in condition as roots reached into warmer soils and a good drink of water was taking effect. Wheat stands looked very even, although shallow spots and fertilizer overlaps became very evident. A big shower come through mid-County on Wednesday but it cut a very narrow path. UMATILLA: First cutting of hay had progressed well with little rain damage since warming up. Potato growing conditions had been very favorable as well. WALLOWA: Good moisture through most of the week helped newly planted crops. More projected through the weekend. Range and pasture conditions were good too. WASCO: Warm summer weather prevailed most of week. Thunder storms were active one day from Dufur on south to central Oregon. Most of the winter wheat crop had headed out. A few fields around The Dalles were starting to lose their green color. Orchardists were busy setting up for cherry harvest. Picking is expected to start in eight days. First cutting of alfalfa hay continued all week. Irrigation was active on all irrigated crops. Cattle continue to do well on dry pastures. We are at the point in time, were rain would benefit grain crops, but damage cherry crops. Sweet cherry harvest in Wasco County should begin by the middle to later half of next week. Harvest will start for Chelan and Royal Ann cherries by around June 17. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: June 14, 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 : 50 68 60 +4 73 +29 - -0.61 - 57.79 -5.23 92 148 Bandon 8/ : 51 64 58 +3 57 +18 0.04 -0.36 3 40.81 -16.34 71 168 Crescent City : 48 62 57 +2 52 +10 0.01 -0.36 1 47.83 -15.81 75 117 Florence : 50 70 58 +2 58 +9 0.13 -0.49 1 63.61 -9.91 87 138 North Bend : 52 64 58 +2 59 +11 0.02 -0.40 2 44.93 -16.56 73 139 Tillamook : 50 70 61 +6 75 +38 - -0.81 - 42.99 -41.12 51 143 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 50 74 63 +3 95 +21 0.09 -0.33 3 31.16 -7.65 80 142 Corvallis : 47 75 61 +2 81 +11 0.13 -0.19 1 26.93 -14.02 66 152 Detroit Lake 8/ : 50 75 63 +7 91 +41 0.69 0.13 4 78.16 13.50 121 159 Eugene : 47 76 62 +2 86 +9 0.59 0.22 1 26.06 -21.30 55 120 Hillsboro : 46 75 63 +3 90 +16 0.24 -0.11 4 21.57 -13.87 61 118 McMinnville : 50 76 62 +3 88 +15 0.03 -0.25 1 17.63 -24.11 42 112 Portland : 55 75 65 +3 105 +17 0.05 -0.33 1 24.23 -9.81 71 139 Salem : 48 75 63 +3 93 +19 0.37 0.02 3 26.04 -11.34 70 122 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 45 83 66 +0 111 +3 0.47 0.33 4 22.75 -7.51 75 109 Medford : 46 81 66 +2 114 +8 1.05 0.91 5 13.43 -4.47 75 92 Roseburg : 49 77 65 +3 103 +15 - -0.21 - 23.10 -8.35 73 115 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 42 74 60 +2 71 +11 0.20 -0.08 3 11.14 -1.30 90 90 Echo 8/ : 51 85 68 +3 128 +17 0.03 -0.11 1 7.28 -0.91 89 87 Heppner : 44 78 63 +2 96 +11 0.12 -0.12 2 10.78 -1.72 86 90 Hermiston : 51 86 69 +4 134 +23 0.19 0.05 3 6.05 -2.14 74 74 Madras 8/ : 46 76 61 +2 82 +8 0.74 0.53 5 7.94 -1.17 87 82 Moro : 43 80 63 +4 96 +25 0.05 -0.09 3 9.98 -0.11 99 78 Parkdale 8/ : 37 78 60 -3 69 -10 0.01 -0.17 1 37.21 7.37 125 122 Pendleton : 49 79 65 +0 106 +1 0.08 -0.06 2 11.98 1.10 110 88 Prairie City 8/ : 46 76 61 +2 82 +8 0.74 0.53 5 7.94 -1.17 87 82 The Dalles : 48 87 69 +9 136 +63 0.01 -0.13 1 12.12 0.64 106 96 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 35 70 54 -2 33 -14 0.67 0.46 5 13.63 -1.15 92 80 Bend : 39 71 56 +0 46 -2 2.88 2.67 5 9.79 -0.45 96 52 Burns : 41 74 56 -1 46 -4 1.08 0.87 4 9.78 1.28 115 85 Christmas Valley 8/ : 33 74 55 -6 35 -38 0.84 0.56 5 7.80 -3.08 72 90 Klamath Falls : 37 72 55 -5 37 -32 0.33 0.16 5 8.29 -3.99 68 78 Klamath Falls 8/ : 37 74 55 -5 40 -29 0.67 0.50 6 10.07 -2.21 82 99 Lakeview : 33 70 52 -6 18 -40 0.60 0.32 4 8.57 -5.67 60 94 Lorella 8/ : 36 72 54 -6 32 -37 0.21 0.04 3 7.31 -4.97 60 71 Redmond : 38 76 59 +1 64 +4 0.51 0.31 5 6.37 -0.90 88 65 Worden 8/ : 35 72 54 -6 32 -37 0.73 0.56 6 7.04 -5.24 57 83 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 38 74 57 -3 52 -14 0.86 0.51 4 9.25 0.57 107 99 Joseph : 40 68 55 +2 34 +3 0.65 0.21 5 16.93 -5.22 76 106 La Grande : 43 75 60 -2 74 -5 0.22 -0.13 3 10.34 -4.91 68 78 Union : 42 76 59 +1 67 +5 0.45 0.03 4 12.68 1.17 110 97 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 51 80 66 -2 111 -10 0.46 0.25 3 8.77 0.01 100 62 Rome : 46 75 60 -4 71 -20 1.04 0.78 3 8.73 1.75 125 69 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.