OR-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: July 30, 2012 Week ending: July 29, 2012 OR-CW1812 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: July 30, 2012 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: July 29, 2012 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 18-12 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Most stations reported near normal temperatures. Malheur County continued to experience hot weather; both Rome and Ontario reported highs near 100. Christmas Valley had the lowest reported temperature, with a measured low of 32 degrees. Lightning in Sherman, Wasco, and Lake counties ignited several small fires, which firefighters were able to contain. Few parts of the State reported measurable precipitation last week, with Astoria receiving the most at only .05 inches, which was .16 below their historical normal. The dry warm weather helped crops. Field Crops: Wheat yields looked good so far. Hail damage in Umatilla County appeared to be small. Producers there with hay were able to finish wrapping up second cutting, and get started on third cutting last week. Most of the second cutting was rained on. Hot, dry temperatures have continued to aid harvest. Second cutting of Klamath County alfalfa was well underway. Grains were filling out. Warm weather continued. South Willamette Valley grass seed was being harvested, fields being flailed. Mint was being harvested. Grass seed harvest was in full swing in Washington County. Field corn had irrigation and some tasseling. Winter wheat harvest began. Yamhill County perennial rye grass should start to be harvested within 7-10 days. Red clover was in full bloom with bee hives in the fields. Fruits and Nuts: Early blueberry harvests have finished or were finishing up, with preliminary indications showing that the crop this year will have a nice yield. Cherries, raspberries, and plums have all been harvested in Douglas County. Cherry harvest in the middle and lower Hood River Valley continued, while the harvest in Wasco County was complete, and almost done near Moro. Spotted Winged Drosophila has continued to be a problem this season in smaller, non commercial orchards, hitting cherries and marionberries hard in Lane County, as well as most fruit crops that just finished harvest in Douglas County. Peaches and apples both look to have good crops this year, though scab has also been a major concern for apple producers in Lane County. The wine grape crop continued to develop well thanks to the ideal weather. Routine orchard operations continued throughout the Hood River Valley. Nuts were sizing well. Vegetables: Vegetables did well this past week. Sweet corn has shown tasseling in some early areas, bush beans were forming and some fields have been picked and sent to processing. The continuation of the warm weather has helped the vegetable crops catch up from their late start from earlier in the season. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nurseries irrigated stock. Greenhouses were doing cleanup and summer irrigation. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Lake County livestock producers were bringing cattle home from desert allotments earlier than normal. Further east, ranchers were looking for feed options after wildfires burned rangeland. Washington County pastures were holding up well with rotational feeding program, cows and calves were doing well. Soil Moisture - Week Ending 07/29/12 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 17 41 42 0 Subsoil : 19 33 47 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress - Week Ending 07/29/12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, second cutting : 54 30 34 72 Winter wheat harvested : 24 13 15 44 Barley harvested : 8 - 10 35 Spring wheat harvested : 20 10 6 45 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.9 6.3 6.7 6.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition - Week Ending 07/29/12 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 0 10 17 56 17 Spring wheat : 0 6 28 57 9 Barley : 1 4 14 64 17 Corn : 0 0 11 86 3 Range and pasture : 2 12 36 44 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon COOS/CURRY: Lows were well below the 5-year average in Curry County, and slightly above the 5-year average in Coos County. Highs were below the 5-year average in both counties. Cool, breezy conditions prevailed all week in both Coos and Curry counties, with no rainfall for the week. Hay making was in full swing most of the week, and fair week in both counties. Bandon (Coos and Northern Curry): Official Low temperature for the period was 51.62 degrees, 1.05 degrees above the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 64.66 degrees, 2.5 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.0 inches, which is 0.03 inches below the 5-year average for the week. Weather year 2012 (began 10/1/2011) precipitation stands at 64.94 inches, 13.07 inches above the 5-year average. Average precipitation through the month of July is 57.92 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 47.71 degrees, 4.3 degrees below the 5-year average. High temperature for the period, with the exception of a spike to 90.2 on Monday, was 67.09 degrees, 1.85 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.01 inches, which is the 5-year average. Weather year 2012 (began 10/1/2011) precipitation stands at 91.12 inches, 13.31 inches above the 5-year average. Historical average precipitation through July is 70.49 inches. DOUGLAS: Another mild temperature week with no rain allowed perennial crops to continue to develop nicely. Peach harvest has begun. Cherry, raspberry, blueberry, and plum harvests have finished. These crops have all had nice yields although all of them came under some late pressure from the Spotted Wing Drosophila. Commercial growers continue to do a good job controlling them, but hobby farmers and homeowners have been too lax with their control programs. At this time it looks like we will have very good peach and apple crops and our pear crop will be light. Wine grape crop continued to develop in almost ideal weather. LANE: Grass seed was being harvested, fields being flailed. Mint was being harvested. Spotted Winged Drosophila found in Lane County, Corvallis, Scio, mostly everywhere throughout the County, in very ripe Marionberries and cherries. Crops have been growing well. Lots of scab has been found in most apples. Commercial fields were more weedy than normal. YAMHILL: Early season blueberries were done and mid season berries were on. Marionberries continued as did other blackberries. Tall fescue yields were reported to be light, possibly from the two last wet springs. Red clover was in full bloom with bee hives in the fields. Perennial rye grass should be starting harvest within 7-10 days. WASHINGTON: Grass seed harvest was in full swing. There were swathed fields, threshed, and baled fields and storage of large bales in sheds. Field corn had irrigation and some tasseling. Winter wheat harvest began. Raspberries and blackberries abundant, blueberries were being picked and irrigated. Nuts were sizing well. Sweet corn tasseling in some early areas, bush beans forming and some fields picked and sent to processor. Irrigating and tending new plantings, coverer ups and growing well. Pastures were holding up well with rotational feeding program, cows and calves were doing well. High temperature 80 degrees, low 48 degrees. No rain. Sprinkles Thursday. Eastern Oregon HARNEY/MALHEUR: Some ranchers were looking for feed options after wildfires burned rangeland. HOOD RIVER: The week was dry with variable, but moderate temperatures. Cherry harvest continued in the lower and middle Hood River Valley. Routine summer orchard operations continued throughout the Valley. KLAMATH: Another week of hot temperatures in the mid to high 80s with lows in the 40's. Second cutting of alfalfa was well underway. Grains were filling out. Warm weather continued. Grasshoppers remain an issue in northern parts of County. Second crop hay continued. SHERMAN/WASCO: Wheat harvest started two weeks ago in Sherman, and this past week in Wasco. Early reports were good, with ranges from 63 to 85, although there was a 45 reported. Test strips harvested with good numbers. Grass hay being cut in Wasco. Cherry harvest at Wasco complete, nearly so at Moro. Fresh cherry harvest in and around The Dalles finished this weekend. Harvest will continue for a couple more weeks in some of the higher elevation areas in Wasco County. Dry weather has inspired several fires, but most to date have been relatively small, but firefighters have tired already. One appeared to have been started by campers, several by lightning, one by an electrical short, and none so far by harvesters. LAKE: No precipitation during the week; currently at 81 percent of normal for water year. Northern part of the County has had some wildfires ignited by lightning. Livestock producers reported that they are bringing cattle home from desert allotments earlier than normal. UMATILLA: Wheat harvest began in the eastern part of the County mid-late last week. Some producers could have started 1-3 days earlier, but were waiting for hail adjusters to go through fields. Damage from hail appeared to be small; 10-20 percent damage in fields. Yields still appeared to be good, and grain quality was good. Producers with hay were able to finish wrapping up 2nd cutting (mostly all rained on) and get started on 3rd cutting last week. Hot, dry temperatures will continue to aid harvest. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: July 29, 2012 (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 : 50 69 60 -1 68 -8 0.05 -0.16 2 71.77 6.73 110 192 Bandon 8/ : 52 66 59 +0 66 +3 - -0.07 - 65.58 7.67 113 180 Crescent City : 49 62 57 -3 46 -15 0.02 -0.06 2 59.78 -4.45 93 134 Florence : 43 70 58 -3 59 -15 - -0.15 - 73.78 -1.30 98 173 North Bend : 52 66 60 +0 70 +0 - -0.08 - 40.47 -21.85 65 136 Tillamook : 46 70 61 +2 79 +16 - -0.28 - 61.83 -25.00 71 188 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 47 89 68 +1 124 +5 - -0.13 - 44.59 4.51 111 188 Corvallis : 45 88 65 -3 106 -11 - -0.12 - 46.57 4.76 111 179 Detroit Lake 8/ : 47 91 68 +4 125 +27 0.01 -0.16 1 98.61 32.38 149 179 Eugene : 45 89 66 -3 110 -16 - -0.12 - 42.21 -6.06 87 145 Hillsboro : 43 87 66 -1 111 -6 - -0.13 - 31.81 -4.67 87 156 McMinnville : 45 87 67 +0 119 +0 - -0.07 - 40.32 -2.10 95 162 Portland : 50 85 68 -2 126 -7 - -0.14 - 40.23 5.04 114 164 Salem : 46 87 66 -2 114 -5 - -0.08 - 44.91 6.53 117 153 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 50 96 71 -2 149 -9 - -0.07 - 28.53 -1.99 93 128 Medford : 51 96 74 +0 169 +1 - -0.07 - 17.61 -0.71 96 101 Roseburg : 49 89 68 -2 130 -8 - -0.07 - 30.70 -1.36 96 135 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 43 89 68 +1 127 +8 - -0.09 - 15.10 1.78 113 103 Echo 8/ : 45 96 73 -2 159 -9 0.01 -0.06 1 8.43 -0.12 99 97 Heppner : 48 91 70 -1 139 -1 - -0.07 - 12.86 -0.35 97 92 Hermiston : 46 95 73 -2 164 -4 - -0.07 - 9.35 0.80 109 81 Madras 8/ : 43 94 68 -1 126 +0 - -0.07 - 8.65 -1.21 88 91 Moro : 44 93 68 -2 127 -6 - -0.07 - 10.69 0.05 100 88 Parkdale 8/ : 41 91 65 -3 108 -17 0.02 -0.05 2 46.33 16.11 153 160 Pendleton : 47 94 71 -3 151 -17 - -0.07 - 12.10 0.62 105 90 Prairie City 8/ : 43 94 68 -1 126 +0 - -0.07 - 8.65 -1.21 88 91 The Dalles : 53 98 74 +8 172 +49 - -0.07 - 13.09 1.09 109 95 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 36 87 62 -3 88 -10 - -0.07 - 14.36 -1.09 93 88 Bend : 40 88 65 +1 105 +7 - -0.10 - 9.90 -1.20 89 45 Burns : 45 94 70 +4 144 +25 - -0.09 - 8.66 -0.62 93 72 Christmas Valley 8/ : 32 92 65 -5 107 -30 - -0.09 - 5.75 -6.00 49 81 Klamath Falls : 44 89 67 -3 121 -12 - -0.07 - 7.47 -5.39 58 74 Klamath Falls 8/ : 44 86 67 -3 117 -16 - -0.07 - 9.12 -3.74 71 95 Lakeview 8/ : 44 89 67 -2 118 -8 - -0.07 - 7.85 -7.22 52 87 Lorella 8/ : 41 89 66 -4 111 -22 - -0.07 - 8.70 -4.16 68 83 Redmond : 34 91 66 -2 111 -8 - -0.09 - 8.38 0.38 105 64 Worden 8/ : 40 87 65 -5 105 -28 - -0.07 - 7.66 -5.20 60 75 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 37 89 66 -2 113 -13 - -0.14 - 8.12 -1.79 82 82 Joseph : 43 90 67 +6 121 +44 - -0.16 - 13.59 -10.11 57 126 La Grande : 39 91 69 -3 134 -11 - -0.14 - 12.00 -4.51 73 93 Imbler 8/ : 39 92 67 -1 122 -3 0.01 -0.12 1 17.49 -5.09 77 125 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 60 100 81 +4 219 +29 - -0.05 - 7.78 -1.45 84 65 Rome : 52 99 77 +5 191 +30 - -0.07 - 5.87 -1.91 75 55 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Summary based on NWS data. Copyright 2012: 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, 2011. 6/ DFN=Departure from normal (using 1961-1990 normal period). 7/ Precipitation days = Days with precipitation of 0.01 inch or more. 8/ Agri-Met weather stations.