or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: July 27, 2009 Week ending: July 26, 2009 OR-CW1405 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: July 27, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: July 26, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 17-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Conditions were hot everywhere except for along the Coast. High temperatures ranged from 103 degrees in Medford and Ontario, down to 61 degrees in Crescent City. Six stations reported triple digit highs. Low temperatures ranged from 39 degrees in Christmas Valley, up to 59 degrees in Medford. Only three of the forty-three stations reported a measurable amount of precipitation last week. Field Crops: The grass seed harvest was in full swing, wheat was harvested and the alfalfa hay harvest progressed through the second and third cuttings. The heat and lack of moisture was quickly drying up dryland crops, but irrigated crops held up. Red clover was blooming, but struggled in the hot, dry conditions. Corn for silage fared very well this week. Vegetables: Irrigation of vegetable crops remained high in another week of hot and dry conditions. Many different vegetables could be found in local farmers markets or roadside stands, including cucumbers, snap beans, summer squashes, sweet corn, tomatoes, cabbage, and green beans. The lack of moisture has made water scarce, but irrigated crops were still looking good. Fruits and Nuts: Berry harvest continued across the State. In Clackamas County, blueberry and Marionberry harvests have passed their peaks. Washington and Columbia counties reported ongoing harvest of blackberries, blueberries, loganberries, Marionberries, and raspberries. Summer orchard operations continued throughout the Hood River Valley. Cherry harvest continued in the lower and mid-valley while harvest began in the upper valley. Cherry harvest in the Dufur area is nearly complete. Wasco County reported that apricots and peaches were picked last week. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nurseries were very busy with irrigation and plant care activities. Greenhouses continued to clean-up facilities to prepare for late-season planting. Livestock, Range and Pasture: The hot, dry weather continued to dry out non- irrigated pastures across the State. Supplemental feeding was needed and water was in short supply in areas. Livestock on higher elevations or irrigated pastures were holding up well. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 07/26/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 27 41 31 1 Subsoil : 19 41 40 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 07/26/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, second cutting : 78 73 76 51 Alfalfa hay, third cutting : 11 8 - - Winter wheat harvested : 49 22 45 39 Barley harvested : 45 13 49 24 Spring wheat harvested : 44 11 41 25 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.9 6.5 6.7 6.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 07/26/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 10 21 35 32 2 Spring wheat : 8 21 27 39 5 Barley : 4 8 35 46 7 Corn : 0 3 25 68 4 Range and pasture : 6 16 31 43 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon BENTON/LINN/LINCOLN: The grass seed harvest progressed nicely. Green beans were being harvested and corn was tasseling. Some wheat was being harvested. CLACKAMAS: We are well into Oregon's summer drought. All non-irrigated ground is very dry. Grass seed and winter wheat harvest were at full speed. Spring grain is nearly ready. Blueberries and Marionberries are past their peak. Really hot weather has arrived. COLUMBIA: Raspberries, blueberries, Marionberries and loganberries were being harvested. Winter wheat harvest began, while hay and grass seed harvests continued. Several hazelnut orchards were flailed this week and vegetable crops were irrigated. Weather all week was warm and dry. COOS/CURRY: Low temperatures were 4 to 5 degrees below the 5-year average in Coos and southern Curry counties. High temperatures through the week were 7 degrees below the 5-year average in Coos County, and over 15 degrees below the 5-year average for the week in southern Curry. There was no precipitation for the week in Coos and only a trace on 2 separate days in Curry. Producers were making hay and getting ready for fairs in both counties. BANDON (COOS & NORTHERN CURRY): The low temperature for the period was 48.61 degrees, 4.52 degrees below the 5-year average. The high temperature for the period was 62.61 degrees, 7.44 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 0.03 inches. Precipitation for the current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 40.76 inches, 14.55 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): The low temperature for the period was 49.08 degrees, 3.77 degrees below the 5-year average. The high temperature for the period was 64.21 degrees, 15.53 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.02 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought in 2004 & 2005) average of 0.17 inches. Precipitation for the current weather year precipitation (began 10/08) stands at 70.51 inches, 9.7 inches below the 5 year average. Historical average precipitation through July is 70.49 inches. JOSEPHINE: There was extreme heat. No records were broken, but it was hot! There was very low humidity and light, hot wind. Nighttime temperatures were in the upper 60s. Daytime temperatures were in the upper 90s to low 100s. It was miserable weather for work. Flying dust from driving equipment made it hard to breathe. Our area is very rural so it was not so miserable as in metropolitan paved areas. Everything under irrigation was doing well. Watering is a 24 hour situation right now for pastures, truck gardens and home gardens. Tomatoes, a variety of summer squashes, cucumbers, cabbage, and blueberries are available at farmers markets. Fire danger was still listed as only high, but that is expected to change to extreme shortly. Animals are holding up pretty well at this time. Most are on irrigated pasture with good protection (trees) from the sun. MARION: It was warm and dry all week. The grass seed harvest continued and some started to combine wheat. Field burning of grass seed residue started this week. Red clover was blooming. POLK: Soil moisture has dropped significantly over past couple of weeks with warmer than normal temperatures (approximately 10 degrees above normal). We expect irrigated crops to grow fast where enough water can be added. Dryland crops and pastures will likely dry up quickly. Wheat harvest will start in the next week or two. Alfalfa is currently growing, awaiting third cutting in a couple of weeks. TILLAMOOK: Tillamook was dry. WASHINGTON: Alfalfa hay third cutting was complete. Field corn was tasseling and most other haying was completed. Red clover was struggling in the heat and lack of moisture. Grass for seed harvest was winding down. The blueberry harvest was ongoing, blackberries are ripe, filbert and walnuts were filling. Sweet corn developed ears and late planting was tasseling. Almost all green vegetables were found at farmer markets. Irrigation and maintenance was ongoing. There was supplemental feeding to help support herds. High 96 degrees, low 51 degrees, humidity 68 percent high, 37 percent low. YAMHILL: Fresh sweet corn was available in farmers markets this week. Grass seed harvest was in full swing. First wheat was harvested this week as some smaller operations finished up with their grass seed and moved on to the grain, but not a big trend at this point. Lots of irrigation was going on for vegetable crops and nursery crops. Eastern Oregon CROOK: The second cutting of alfalfa hay just started. Winter wheat and spring wheat crops looked good in general. Hot weather the last two weeks has everyone needing to pay attention to irrigation. Spring wheat was turning color. Most carrot seed fields looked excellent. The grass seed harvest commenced. Weather has been hot, in the 90s for two weeks and occasionally hit 100. GILLIAM: Extreme temperatures are sure to reduce spring wheat yields and quality. DOUGLAS: Hot and dry conditions persisted at the end of the week. HOOD RIVER: Fair weather prevailed through the week, with high temperatures ranging from the low 70s to low 90s. The cherry harvest continued in the lower and mid valley and got underway in the upper valley. Summer orchard operations continued throughout the Hood River Valley. HARNEY: No precipitation was received during the week and temperatures were warmer than normal. Forage quality on range pastures declined markedly, particularly on lower elevation pastures. Cattle on higher elevation pastures were in good to excellent condition. JACKSON: Some grain was harvested, and lots of hay was put-up this week. Almost all corn (silage) is now too tall for field cultivation. It looks good, and should make some good feed. Blueberries, cherries, and peaches were being picked. Lots of irrigation was needed with the hot dry weather. Cucumbers, snap beans, early squash, and some sweet corn are now at farmers markets, and some roadside vegetable stands are now open. Greenhouses are mostly in clean-up stage now getting ready for fall activity. Nurseries were very busy with stock up-keep, feeding and watering, and other plant care. There was still some livestock on dry ground pastures, but there really was not much forage, so they were getting some supplemental feeding. Stock on irrigated pastures looked quite good. With the hot and dry weather nobody wanted to miss irrigation schedules. This was the week of our local county fair, so lots of farmers and ranchers were busy with those activities. From media reports it was a good fair year, except for the temperatures being in the high 90's with total sun, and no clouds. But it was a good week for haying, and getting grains to ripen. KLAMATH: Temperatures were very warm during the week. The second cutting of hay continued to be dropped. More potatoes were blooming. LAKE: There was no precipitation this week. Temperatures remained hot with highs in the mid 90s. MALHEUR: The wheat and hay harvests continued, as did the hot weather. Normal high temperatures are 90-91 but actual high temperatures have been 97- 98. These temperatures are helping bring along crops that were considered behind earlier in the season. Keeping crops irrigated is the main concern right now. SHERMAN: Yield reports were widely erratic ranging from 10 bu/a to 65 bu/a. Many saw 60 bushels stands but had partially blank heads so were only cutting two third of a crop or less. UNION/BAKER: Grass seed harvest was in full swing. The wheat harvest was anticipated to begin late next week. It has been hot and dry. WALLOWA: There was not much change from last week. Moisture levels were probably affected by continuous hot dry weather. Dryland grain crops were close to harvest. Irrigated crops were still looking good. UMATILLA: Crops were mostly in average condition. Corn for silage was enjoying the hot weather. The potato harvest has been delayed because of abundant stock piles. Harvest started the end of June, but July was light. It will be heavy in August. WASCO: High temperatures prevailed all week. Wheat harvest moved rapidly from lower to higher elevations, and moved from northern to southern Wasco County. Wheat harvest was estimated to be over fifty percent completed by weeks end. Alfalfa hay growers were active putting up hay and watering. Apricots, peaches, and a few cherries were being picked. Cherry harvest in the Dufur area was nearly finished. Most livestock seem to be doing fairly well in the hot weather. Pastures and water were getting short in some areas of the County. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: July 26, 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 : 54 74 61 +1 79 +7 0.08 -0.13 2 58.66 -6.52 90 162 Bandon 8/ : 49 63 57 -2 51 -10 - -0.07 - 41.04 -17.09 71 173 Crescent City : 48 61 55 -5 35 -22 0.01 -0.06 1 47.91 -16.56 74 123 Florence : 43 71 59 -3 63 -7 - -0.14 - 64.13 -11.19 85 143 North Bend : 46 64 57 -3 54 -16 - -0.07 - 45.30 -17.26 72 145 Tillamook : 48 72 62 +4 86 +24 - -0.28 - 44.13 -42.90 51 151 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 54 95 72 +6 157 +38 - -0.12 - 31.74 -8.42 79 147 Corvallis : 50 92 70 +4 139 +26 0.01 -0.07 1 27.69 -14.24 66 157 Detroit Lake 8/ : 51 94 73 +10 163 +67 - -0.14 - 78.98 12.56 119 164 Eugene : 51 94 71 +3 146 +20 - -0.08 - 26.81 -21.60 55 124 Hillsboro : 48 93 70 +4 143 +30 - -0.09 - 22.55 -14.02 62 122 McMinnville : 48 94 70 +4 140 +24 - -0.07 - 18.05 -24.55 42 115 Portland : 58 93 74 +5 166 +33 - -0.12 - 25.57 -9.68 73 144 Salem : 53 93 72 +5 153 +34 - -0.07 - 26.80 -11.70 70 127 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 54 101 76 +5 185 +31 - -0.06 - 22.75 -7.89 74 109 Medford : 59 103 81 +7 216 +48 - -0.06 - 13.43 -4.94 73 92 Roseburg : 55 99 75 +6 174 +40 - -0.07 - 23.23 -8.93 72 116 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 52 93 72 +6 156 +37 - -0.07 - 11.20 -2.08 84 92 Echo 8/ : 52 99 78 +5 198 +32 - -0.05 - 7.37 -1.16 86 90 Heppner : 54 96 75 +5 175 +35 - -0.07 - 10.98 -2.22 83 94 Hermiston : 54 100 78 +5 196 +30 - -0.05 - 6.18 -2.35 72 76 Madras 8/ : 47 94 72 +5 154 +30 - -0.07 - 8.10 -1.75 82 85 Moro : 50 96 74 +6 167 +37 - -0.06 - 9.98 -0.65 94 78 Parkdale 8/ : 46 92 70 +3 141 +20 - -0.04 - 37.22 6.88 123 123 Pendleton : 54 100 77 +4 191 +23 - -0.07 - 12.04 0.56 105 89 Prairie City 8/ : 47 94 72 +5 154 +30 - -0.07 - 8.10 -1.75 82 85 The Dalles : 56 100 79 +12 204 +85 - -0.07 - 12.12 0.11 101 96 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 43 91 67 +4 122 +24 - -0.07 - 13.64 -1.82 88 81 Bend : 46 93 70 +7 142 +44 - -0.07 - 10.66 -0.42 96 53 Burns : 44 95 73 +6 159 +40 - -0.07 - 10.83 1.60 117 90 Christmas Valley 8/ : 39 95 69 -2 131 -5 - -0.07 - 8.19 -3.55 70 95 Klamath Falls : 51 92 72 +3 153 +22 - -0.07 - 8.67 -4.20 67 81 Klamath Falls 8/ : 20 91 69 +0 133 +2 - -0.07 - 10.60 -2.27 82 104 Lakeview : 47 94 70 +3 140 +14 - -0.07 - 9.17 -5.91 61 99 Lorella 8/ : 44 93 69 +0 134 +3 - -0.07 - 7.58 -5.29 59 75 Redmond : 42 95 70 +4 145 +27 - -0.07 - 6.41 -1.55 81 68 Worden 8/ : 43 89 68 -2 125 -6 - -0.07 - 7.24 -5.63 56 88 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 43 95 68 +2 130 +8 - -0.10 - 9.99 0.15 102 109 Joseph : 53 89 69 +9 134 +57 - -0.14 - 18.90 -4.77 80 119 La Grande : 46 99 73 +3 162 +21 - -0.10 - 10.95 -5.50 67 83 Union : 43 97 72 +5 153 +31 - -0.09 - 13.52 0.78 106 104 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 56 103 80 +3 213 +23 - -0.01 - 9.32 0.11 101 70 Rome : 50 99 77 +5 192 +31 - -0.07 - 9.55 1.81 123 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.