OR-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: July 20, 2009 Week ending: July 19, 2009 OR-CW1609 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: July 20, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: July 19, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 16-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Conditions were hot everywhere except for along the coast. High temperatures ranged from 102 degrees in Rome, down to 62 degrees in Crescent City. Six stations reported triple digit highs. Low temperatures ranged from 33 degrees in Christmas Valley, up to 56 degrees in Portland. Twenty-two of the forty-three stations reported a measurable amount of precipitation last week. The Salem station reported the greatest accumulation with 0.41 total inches. Field Crops: Hot, dry weather has sped up the grain harvest in the north central and eastern parts of the state. Crops that had been coming along late have been catching up this past week with favorable weather conditions. Rain slowed combines early in the week in the western areas. Swathing of grass seed, tall fescue seed, and crimson clover continued, and balers were busy with hay and grass straw. Vegetables: It was a good growing week for vegetables, although the recent heat wave has made irrigation critical. Water shortages in southern areas have become an issue and could lead to some leaf burn problems. Harvesting of summer squash, beets, cucumbers and tomatoes continued. Fruits and Nuts: Berry harvest continued across the State. In Douglas County blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry harvest concluded this week. Marionberries were in full swing and blackberries are maturing rapidly. The blueberry crop for this year was reportedly very good, though reports indicated high temperatures caused some berry harvest to end prematurely. Orchard crops continue to do well. The sweet cherry harvest wound down in The Dalles while it continued in the Hood River Valley and Dufur. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nurseries and greenhouses continued with clean- up, plant rotation, and irrigation activities. The hot weather increased irrigation needs, some nurseries are now having to water on daily intervals. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Non-irrigated pastures continued to dry up as the hot, dry weather persisted. Some livestock experienced stress from the high temperatures. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 07/19/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 18 48 33 1 Subsoil : 15 42 43 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 07/19/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, second cutting : 73 26 51 43 Alfalfa hay, third cutting : 8 - - - Winter wheat harvested : 22 6 21 23 Barley harvested : 13 - 21 7 Spring wheat headed : 98 94 99 95 Spring wheat harvested : 11 - 13 8 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.5 6.6 6.9 6.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 07/19/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 6 22 34 36 2 Spring wheat : 5 30 29 31 5 Barley : 0 2 42 51 5 Corn : 0 2 16 66 16 Range and pasture : 8 15 30 41 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon BENTON/LINN/LINCOLN: The Willamette Valley received a very untimely rain this past week. This has slowed down the harvesting of all grass seed crops. CLACKAMAS: Real summer weather now, but last week was wet. Sunday afternoon and overnight we saw some real rain, half an inch in some places. We broke the July 12th streak for being the only day on the calendar in Portland without rain. Grass seed harvest was getting started. Most farmers were not very enthused about harvesting a new crop when a lot of their 2008 crop hasn't been sold yet. Tree fruit and nut crops look abundant this year. Lots of local cherries, apricots and peaches in the markets. Caneberry fields have good crops where the canes escaped winter damage. Pastures were drying up. Its time to begin creep feeding calves in preparation for weaning. CLATSOP: It was still dry. We will need some more moisture. COLUMBIA: Haying continued this week. Several grass seed fields were also being threshed. Blueberries and raspberries were being harvested this week and green beans were being irrigated. Several days were over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures continued to be very hot. There was good irrigation management on nurseries and other irrigated crops. ` COOS/CURRY: Low temperatures were near the 5-year average in Coos, but 3 degrees below the 5-year average for the week in southern Curry County. High temperatures through the week were 7 degrees below the 5-year average in Coos County, and near average for the week in southern Curry. No precipitation for the week in Coos and only a trace on two separate days in Curry. Producers were making hay/silage much of the week. Bandon (Coos & Northern Curry): Low temperatures for the period were 50.00 degrees, 0.02 degrees above the 5-year average. High temperatures for the period were 63.36 degrees, 7.06 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.0 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.12 inches. Precipitation for Current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 40.76 inches, 14.52 inches below the 5 year average, and 17.16 inches below the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through July is 57.92 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temperatures for the period were 49.16 degrees, 3.22 degrees below the 5-year average. High temperatures for the period were 77.0 degrees, 0.12 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 0.12 inches. Precipitation for the current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 70.49 inches, 9.55 inches below the 5 year average, and at the long-term historical average. Historical average precipitation through July is 70.49 inches. DOUGLAS: Hot dry weather increased irrigation water demand this week. Temperatures were about 10 degrees above norms. Hot temperatures caused stress with nursery crops in the field and in pots. Watering went daily in nursery sites. The orchard crops continued to do well. Apple, pear, Asian pear, peaches, plums and prunes all looked good. Heat has caused the berry crop harvest to end a little prematurely. Raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry crops were complete. Blackberry crops were maturing rapidly and we should see some harvest activity within 10 days. Vegetable crops have been doing well but the recent heat spike will cause some leaf burn problems if irrigation supplies slow down. JACKSON: It was a good growing week for vegetables and tree fruit crops. Temperatures remained high all week. Irrigation was going full scale given the warm temperatures. Rangeland pastures were drying out. JOSEPHINE: There was extreme drying, hot temperatures and wind. There were no record highs for our area but it was hot. Nighttime temperatures were in the mid 60's, and in the upper 90's in daytime. Harvest time is on for lots of short season crops, early corn, summer squash, etc. The blueberry crop was very good this year. There was mostly just watering and watching, weeding and mulching. Animals showed the stress last week, wanting shelter from the extreme temperatures. MARION: The week started with cool conditions and heavy rainfall in many areas. Combining in grass seed was shut down for a couple days until the swaths dried out. The week ended with highs in the 90's and everyone combining as much as possible. Most grass seed fields were swathed except for bentgrasses. Wheat is almost ready to combine. Balers were busy with grass straw. WASHINGTON: Tall fescue was being combined. Irrigation was in full swing and the berry harvest was going well. There were reports from growers of low prices on grass seed, berries, milk, and hay. Fall wheat will be ready for harvesting soon. Red clover was blooming and corn was growing well. Most grass for feed was swathed and some combined. Sweet corn for cannery was tasseling. For greenhouse and nursery, clean up, rotation and irrigation was ongoing. Livestock, range and pastures were looking good. The high temperature was 95 degrees, and the low 48 degrees. Humidity reached a high of 73 percent, and a low of 43 percent. YAMHILL: The first blueberry crops finished up this week. Marionberries were in full swing. Grass seeds continued to be swathed down and combines began to be seen in more fields. Unseasonably high temperatures were putting additional water stress on orchard crops. Some filbertworm spraying was being done in hazelnuts. The tart cherry harvest continued. Eastern Oregon GRANT: Conditions were hot and dry. HOOD RIVER: Moderate temperatures prevailed through most of the week. The cherry harvest continued in the lower Hood River Valley and began in mid- valley orchards. Summer orchard operations continued throughout the Hood River Valley. KLAMATH: There were hot temperatures during the week. Water has been shut off in one portion of Klamath County due to a drought and lack of water. Approximately 10,000 acres were affected. Some early varieties of potatoes were blooming and the second cutting of hay was dropped. LAKE: There was no precipitation during the week. Hotter temperatures were beginning to dry out the non-irrigated pastures. MALHEUR: Hot weather has brought crops on at a faster rate. Two or three weeks ago, most crops were considered about two weeks behind, but with the hot weather the gap has been closing this week. Winter wheat harvest was going strong, and haying continued. MORROW: Grain harvest kicked off pretty good this week. Warm temperatures from mid-week on has sped things up. WALLOWA: Great weather throughout the week allowed hay producers to bale and stack. Grain crops still looked good. WASCO: Hot dry weather prevailed all week. Wheat harvest continued in the North end of the county. Approximately 15 percent of the wheat harvest was completed by week's end. The second cuttings of alfalfa hay and irrigation were active through week. The sweet cherry harvest was winding down in The Dalles area with orchard cleanup underway. Dufur valley cherry harvest was progressing, and grapes were starting to size on the vines. Livestock was doing well, but dryland pastures were starting to show signs of depletion. Saturday, The Dalles Farmers Market had raspberries, blueberries, Marion berries, summer squash, beets, cucumbers, and tomatoes on display for sale. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: July 19, 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 : 53 75 62 +3 88 +18 0.09 -0.14 1 58.58 -6.39 90 160 Bandon 8/ : 50 63 57 -2 49 -7 - -0.07 - 41.04 -17.02 71 173 Crescent City : 45 62 55 -4 34 -22 0.01 -0.06 1 47.90 -16.50 74 122 Florence : 42 73 60 -2 69 -1 0.05 -0.11 1 64.13 -11.05 85 143 North Bend : 48 66 58 -2 60 -3 - -0.07 - 45.30 -17.19 72 145 Tillamook : 45 73 61 +4 79 +23 0.22 -0.13 1 44.13 -42.62 51 151 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 51 94 70 +5 143 +31 0.05 -0.09 1 31.74 -8.30 79 147 Corvallis : 50 92 69 +3 132 +21 0.06 -0.03 1 27.68 -14.17 66 156 Detroit Lake 8/ : 50 95 70 +8 145 +54 0.10 -0.09 1 78.98 12.70 119 164 Eugene : 45 93 68 +1 129 +6 0.06 -0.01 1 26.81 -21.52 55 124 Hillsboro : 46 93 68 +3 128 +16 0.12 0.04 1 22.55 -13.93 62 122 McMinnville : 46 94 69 +4 132 +20 0.39 0.28 1 18.05 -24.48 42 115 Portland : 56 95 72 +5 159 +30 0.32 0.19 1 25.57 -9.56 73 144 Salem : 48 93 70 +4 138 +23 0.41 0.27 1 26.80 -11.63 70 127 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 52 99 74 +2 167 +13 - 0.00 - 22.75 -7.83 74 109 Medford : 54 100 77 +5 193 +32 - -0.03 - 13.43 -4.88 73 92 Roseburg : 53 95 74 +6 169 +38 - -0.07 - 23.23 -8.86 72 116 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 45 94 70 +4 140 +28 - -0.07 - 11.20 -2.01 85 92 Echo 8/ : 49 100 75 +2 176 +15 0.01 0.01 1 7.37 -1.11 87 90 Heppner : 50 97 72 +3 158 +22 0.10 0.03 1 10.98 -2.15 84 94 Hermiston : 51 100 74 +2 174 +13 0.07 0.07 1 6.18 -2.30 73 76 Madras 8/ : 42 93 70 +3 140 +21 0.08 0.01 2 8.10 -1.68 83 85 Moro : 47 97 69 +2 134 +8 - -0.05 - 9.98 -0.59 94 78 Parkdale 8/ : 41 93 67 +0 119 +0 - -0.04 - 37.22 6.92 123 123 Pendleton : 47 98 74 +1 168 +6 - -0.07 - 12.04 0.63 106 89 Prairie City 8/ : 42 93 70 +3 140 +21 0.08 0.01 2 8.10 -1.68 83 85 The Dalles : 53 100 76 +10 182 +63 - -0.03 - 12.12 0.18 102 96 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 37 91 65 +1 104 +6 - -0.07 - 13.64 -1.75 89 81 Bend : 45 93 67 +4 118 +22 - -0.09 - 10.66 -0.35 97 53 Burns : 34 98 68 +2 130 +12 - -0.07 - 10.83 1.67 118 90 Christmas Valley 8/ : 33 96 66 -4 112 -21 - -0.09 - 8.19 -3.48 70 95 Klamath Falls : 40 93 68 +0 126 +0 - -0.07 - 8.67 -4.13 68 81 Klamath Falls 8/ : 40 93 68 +0 125 -1 - -0.07 - 10.60 -2.20 83 104 Lakeview : 39 94 66 -2 115 -5 - -0.07 - 9.17 -5.84 61 99 Lorella 8/ : 36 94 65 -3 109 -17 - -0.07 - 7.58 -5.22 59 75 Redmond : 40 96 69 +3 133 +21 0.01 -0.06 1 6.41 -1.48 81 68 Worden 8/ : 36 91 65 -4 104 -22 - -0.07 - 7.24 -5.56 57 88 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 37 95 66 -2 113 -6 0.08 -0.02 3 9.99 0.25 103 109 Joseph : 44 89 66 +7 117 +45 0.18 0.03 1 18.90 -4.63 80 119 La Grande : 44 97 69 -1 138 +0 - -0.12 - 10.95 -5.40 67 83 Union : 43 95 70 +4 138 +21 0.03 -0.09 1 13.52 0.87 107 104 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 48 101 76 -2 185 -4 0.06 0.04 1 9.32 0.12 101 70 Rome : 47 102 73 +0 160 +4 - -0.07 - 9.55 1.88 125 75 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.