or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: August 3, 2009 Week ending: August 2, 2009 OR-CW1405 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: August 3, 2009 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: August 2, 2009 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 18-09 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Conditions were very hot and dry, with record temperatures. High temperatures ranged from 109 degrees in Grants Pass, Medford and Hermiston, down to 63 degrees in Crescent City. Twenty-six stations reported triple digit highs. Low temperatures ranged from 44 degrees in Christmas Valley, up to 64 degrees in The Dalles. Sixteen of the forty-three stations reported a measurable amount of precipitation last week. Field Crops: Hot and dry conditions have helped to dry grain and grass seed, and made for great harvest weather. Haying and the wheat and grass seed harvests continued. Yields in north central Oregon varied depending on soil type, crop rotation, and planting date. Yields in the Willamette Valley looked great. Grass seed harvest progress depended on location. Water supplies were holding up in the midst of the irrigation spike. Vegetables: Heavy irrigation continued through a record week of high temperatures. Despite dry conditions and high irrigation demand, the water supply was holding up. Vegetable varieties were sold at roadside stands and farmer markets, including tomatoes, summer squash, corn, green beans, cucumbers and eggplant. Vegetable quality has deteriorated in some cases, especially leafy vegetables, from the hot, dry weather. Fruits and Nuts: Unseasonably hot weather slowed fruit sizing on apples, pears and peaches. The high temperatures increased water demand for all tree fruit and nut crops. High temperatures also caused crop damage to late blueberry varieties and non-irrigated grapes. It was also reported that some Golden Delicious apples may have been damaged by sunburn. Irrigated crops continue to do well across the State. The cherry harvest continued in the middle and upper Hood River Valley. In Wasco County the harvest of apricots and peaches continued. Nurseries and Greenhouses: The very warm conditions kept nursery operations busy with irrigation and plant care. Greenhouses continued with clean-up and maintenance activities as they prepared for the fall season. The heat was probably hard on Christmas trees. Livestock, Range and Pasture: The extreme heat and dry conditions have left most dryland pastures bare of forage. Watering ponds in some areas were disappearing. Livestock were still holding up well, but were receiving supplemental feed, or are being moved to higher lands or irrigated pasture. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 08/02/09 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 26 49 25 0 Subsoil : 21 46 33 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 08/02/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, second cutting : 80 78 - 55 Alfalfa hay, third cutting : 13 11 - 1 Winter wheat harvested : 77 54 - 60 Barley harvested : 61 45 - 49 Spring wheat harvested : 61 44 - 45 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.8 6.9 - 6.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 08/02/09 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 7 25 36 30 2 Spring wheat : 8 35 29 24 4 Barley : 4 10 34 46 6 Corn : 0 2 18 66 14 Range and pasture : 8 21 40 30 1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon BENTON/LINN/LANE: The Willamette Valley experienced a heat wave this past week. Temperatures reached into the 100's. COLUMBIA: It was in the triple digits this week. All the nights this week were above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Haying continued, and winter wheat started to be harvested. Vegetable crops were being irrigated. Berries, some vegetables, and peaches were being harvested. CURRY: Mornings and afternoons were foggy. Clear, relatively hot sunny days have dried out pastures. All but sub-irrigated fields were parched. DOUGLAS: Excessive heat persisted for the early part of the week, with temperatures reaching over 15 degrees above normal. Extreme heat has caused some scorch crop damage with late blueberry varieties, and non irrigated grapes. Orchard crops that were irrigated were doing pretty well. There were a few apple producers talking about sunburn damage on golden delicious. Vegetable growers were also seeing some quality deterioration with shrivel and sunburn on peppers, and leafy vegetables, but it is hard to quantify quality losses. Irrigation supplies continue to be good despite the heavy use and heat. JACKSON: With the hot weather, this was another good week for haying. It also helped with ripening the grain crops. The hay crops seem to be a little less this year. With most of the first cuttings having been rained on, I would expect the better second cuttings will be in demand. Cherries, peaches and blueberries were being harvested. Wild blackberries were getting ripe, but the really hot weather has made the berries much smaller. Apples and pears are showing signs of sizing-up. Harvest season for the early pears will be starting soon. With the hot dry weather it has taken lots of irrigation to get good growth. Vineyards were looking good. There were lots of good vegetables at the roadside stands and farmers markets. Signs for fresh tomatoes are now up. Lots of irrigation was needed to keep the crops coming on. Greenhouses were still doing cleanup and maintenance, getting ready for the fall season. Nurseries were staying busy taking care of ready to sell stock, and taking care of new plantings. There was a lot of watering and feeding of stock. Dry ground pastures are about out of any forage. Livestock on dry ground pastures was getting some supplemental feed. It has taken a lot of irrigation to keep pastures green and growing. Record temperatures this week caused fruit and tree crops to ripen faster, but with the potential for smaller fruit because of it. The grain harvest continued. Winter wheat should be nearly done with spring barley coming up soon. The second cutting alfalfa is finishing up along with grass hay. It has been hard to keep water on all of the vegetables with the heat. This was another very hot and dry week, although there were some scattered thunder storms, some with fair amounts of rain, and some with fair sized hail. Saturday evening there was quite a severe storm with hail stones the size of quarters. No reports of crop damage. Lots of hay was made during the week. JOSEPHINE: Crops were doing well with irrigation, as was livestock. Water was holding good at this time. We had record setting highs and high lows this last week. Seven days in the 100 degree area. One day it was 110 degrees at the Cave Junction airport. Midday wilt down was gruesome even with water. Lots of summer crops were coming on and the truck gardens were pushing summer squash, tomatoes, corn, still some local blueberries, green beans, cucumbers, eggplant etc. We have had extreme winds, so there was extra drying and we were in extreme fire conditions. There was lightning and thunder last night with slight precipitation (not measurable). MARION: Weather was very hot and dry, with temperatures reaching 106 degrees Fahrenheit. The wheat harvest started and the grass seed harvest was close to finishing. A lot of straw baling was getting done. TILLAMOOK: Temperatures were mild for most of the week and still very dry. WASHINGTON: Combining tall fescue was almost finished. Perennial ryegrass was in the swath and some combining began. Warm dry temperatures have been helpful for drying grass seed and grain. Winter wheat, especially early maturing varieties, were combined. Good yields on all field crops were reported. There were no reports of sprouting on grass seed or grain. Red clover was reaching peak bloom. Spring oats and wheat crops were growing well without significant disease or insect pressure. High heat caused a lot of irrigating of field/nursery crops. Reports showed that 160 bu./ac. were being experienced on the Goetze wheat variety. The second cutting of alfalfa hay reached 100 percent. Winter wheat was ready for harvest, field corn was setting ears, red clover setting seed, grass straw was in barns. Blackberries could be purchased at farmer markets, and feral blackberries were ready for early picking. Filberts were nearly filled and walnuts were sizing. Some early variety sweet corn were at markets, while most sweet corn was tasseling to browning of ear silk, depending on planting time and location. Nursery cover crops were growing well, and irrigation was ongoing. Hot weather has diminished pasture yield, but cattle and buffalo were looking good. The high temperature was 108 degrees, and the low 56 degrees; humidity reached up to 76 percent, with a low of 31 percent. There was no rain. YAMHILL: Started to see crimson clover fields being worked up for fall planting. Grass seed harvest was on the down side. Corn silage took a big hit with this week's stretch of weather in the 90s and 100s. Christmas trees may have suffered a similar fate. "Truck farms" lost lettuce to the heat when it turned bitter and had to be turned under. Lots of irrigation was needed to keep crops going. Grains should have been far enough along to not have been affected. Grain harvest should start in earnest next week. The unseasonably hot weather has slowed fruit sizing on apples, pears and peaches. It has put added pressure on water demand on all tree fruit and nut crops. Eastern Oregon HOOD RIVER: Hot, dry weather prevailed through the week. The cherry harvest continued in the middle and upper Hood River Valley. Summer orchard operations continued throughout the valley. HARNEY: Scattered thunderstorms brought trace amounts of precipitation to parts of the County. Precipitation was not enough to disrupt haying operations. Low elevation dryland pastures declined markedly in response to hot, dry conditions. Livestock on irrigated pastures and higher elevation range were in good condition. KLAMATH: There was record breaking heat during the early part of the week. Limited grain harvest has started. The second cutting of hay was underway. There were thunderstorms at the end of the week. A funnel cloud was reported on Thursday with strong winds and hail. LAKE: We received precipitation over the weekend. Thunderstorms during the latter part of the week sparked fires in some areas of the County. MALHEUR: Hot weather continued. Temperatures were about 5 degrees above normal. Hay, wheat, and mint harvests continued. MORROW: The wheat harvest was winding down in the north end and going strong in the south. There were some reports of good yields but these were highly dependant on the seeding date and crop rotation. Other yields were average to half of average. Dry soils produced lots of lower quality, small, pinched kernels but low proteins. There are already grave concerns over soil moisture for fall seeding. UNION/BAKER: Extremely hot and dry weather caused rapid pasture deterioration. The grass seed harvest was mostly done. The winter wheat harvest was underway. Weather was very hot and dry this week and forecasted to continue into next week. WALLOWA: Weather during the week was very hot. Grain crops still look okay. WASCO: Perfect harvest weather prevailed all week. The wheat harvest continued rapidly through Wasco County. Seventy percent of the crop has been harvested. The alfalfa hay crops were looking good. Apricots and peaches continued to be harvested. Cattle are doing well despite pastures being rapidly used up. Watering ponds for cattle are disappearing. The Dufur Threshing Bee is this coming weekend, August 8 and 9. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: August 2, 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 : 57 92 65 +6 109 +32 0.04 -0.17 1 58.70 -6.69 90 163 Bandon 8/ : 52 65 58 -1 60 -3 0.01 -0.09 1 41.05 -17.18 70 174 Crescent City : 51 63 56 -3 47 -16 0.01 -0.10 1 47.92 -16.66 74 124 Florence : 49 80 62 +2 84 +9 0.04 -0.14 1 64.17 -11.33 85 144 North Bend : 50 72 60 -1 70 +0 - -0.11 - 45.30 -17.37 72 145 Tillamook : 55 86 66 +8 115 +52 - -0.28 - 44.13 -43.18 51 151 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 58 107 82 +16 227 +108 - -0.14 - 31.74 -8.56 79 147 Corvallis : 53 104 79 +13 204 +85 - -0.14 - 27.69 -14.38 66 157 Detroit Lake 8/ : 62 105 82 +18 225 +127 0.03 -0.17 1 79.01 12.39 119 165 Eugene : 54 106 78 +10 198 +72 - -0.14 - 26.81 -21.74 55 124 Hillsboro : 59 106 81 +15 219 +100 - -0.14 - 22.55 -14.16 61 122 McMinnville : 55 106 79 +12 202 +83 - -0.08 - 18.05 -24.63 42 115 Portland : 62 106 83 +15 233 +100 - -0.14 - 25.57 -9.82 72 144 Salem : 57 107 82 +15 223 +104 - -0.10 - 26.80 -11.80 69 127 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 61 109 85 +13 246 +85 - -0.07 - 22.75 -7.96 74 109 Medford : 63 109 86 +12 252 +84 0.38 0.31 1 13.81 -4.63 75 93 Roseburg : 62 108 83 +14 232 +92 - -0.07 - 23.23 -9.00 72 116 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 60 102 79 +12 201 +82 - -0.12 - 11.20 -2.20 84 92 Echo 8/ : 59 108 82 +9 227 +59 - -0.07 - 7.37 -1.23 86 90 Heppner : 62 105 81 +11 219 +79 - -0.07 - 10.90 -2.37 82 94 Hermiston : 59 109 83 +10 231 +63 - -0.07 - 6.18 -2.42 72 76 Madras 8/ : 59 101 79 +12 208 +82 - -0.08 - 8.10 -1.83 82 85 Moro : 58 103 82 +14 226 +93 0.23 0.16 1 10.21 -0.49 95 79 Parkdale 8/ : 57 103 79 +12 203 +77 - -0.07 - 37.22 6.81 122 123 Pendleton : 62 108 83 +10 232 +64 - -0.07 - 12.04 0.49 104 89 Prairie City 8/ : 59 101 79 +12 208 +82 - -0.08 - 8.10 -1.83 82 85 The Dalles : 64 108 87 +20 261 +135 - -0.07 - 12.12 0.04 100 96 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 47 95 71 +7 150 +52 0.24 0.14 2 13.88 -1.68 89 83 Bend : 50 99 75 +11 174 +76 - -0.11 - 10.66 -0.53 95 53 Burns : 49 99 74 +7 168 +49 - -0.12 - 10.83 1.48 116 90 Christmas Valley 8/ : 44 96 71 +2 147 +13 0.68 0.58 1 8.87 -2.97 75 96 Klamath Falls : 55 96 75 +7 178 +48 0.11 0.01 1 8.78 -4.19 68 82 Klamath Falls 8/ : 53 95 75 +7 177 +47 0.07 -0.03 1 10.67 -2.30 82 105 Lakeview : 50 93 71 +4 152 +29 0.24 0.17 2 9.41 -5.74 62 101 Lorella 8/ : 47 97 72 +4 156 +26 0.04 -0.06 2 7.62 -5.35 59 77 Redmond : 53 103 77 +11 193 +74 0.82 0.72 2 7.23 -0.83 90 70 Worden 8/ : 48 96 71 +3 151 +21 0.14 0.04 3 7.38 -5.59 57 91 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 48 98 72 +5 157 +31 - -0.14 - 9.99 0.01 100 109 Joseph : 55 92 71 +10 150 +73 - -0.19 - 18.90 -4.96 79 119 La Grande : 52 100 76 +6 187 +40 - -0.14 - 10.95 -5.64 66 83 Union : 53 101 75 +8 176 +50 0.04 -0.10 1 13.56 0.68 105 105 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 58 102 80 +3 211 +22 - -0.07 - 9.32 0.04 100 70 Rome : 54 101 76 +4 184 +24 - -0.07 - 9.55 1.74 122 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.