or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: October 9, 2012 Week ending: October 7, 2012 OR-CW1405 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: October 9, 2012 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: October 7, 2012 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 28-12 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: This week was warm and very dry, with most stations reporting high temperatures in the 80's and no measureable precipitation. Medford continued to have the highest record temperature in the State, at 93 degrees, above its normal high for this time of year. Many stations in eastern parts recorded large decreases in daytime temperatures during the week after a cold front. Overnight temperatures continued to decrease, inciting the first frost of fall for parts of Oregon; almost all stations in eastern Oregon reported below freezing temperatures. Christmas Valley had the lowest recorded temperature at 11 degrees. Only Madras and Prairie City recorded 0.01 inches of rain. All parts of the State experienced below normal precipitation levels. Field Crops: Malheur County corn and potato harvests continued. Some sugarbeets were dug. In north central and northeast Oregon, wheat seeding continued but seeding conditions continued to decline as seed zone conditions were dry across most of the area. Above average temperatures and the lack of rainfall were leaving growers faced with either delaying seeding, or seeding shallow into dry soil and waiting for rain to germinate the seed later this fall. Early seeded areas were up, while some recent seedlings lie below several inches of dry soil and face the challenge of emerging through less than optimal conditions. Some fields or even spots within fields had better than expected moisture considering the lack of rain. Corn harvest just starting in the Columbia Basin. Potato harvest was wrapping up in the Columbia Basin and ongoing in the Klamath Basin. Very dry weather continued there. Some farmers were taking a fourth cutting of alfalfa Grain harvest continued and hay was on the ground. Hay was taking longer to cure because of the weather. Unseasonably hot temperatures during the day. Winter wheat and grass for seed planted in the Willamette Valley. Field corn was in the silo. Fruits and Nuts: The warm, dry weather continued to benefit the ongoing harvest of orchards and vineyards. Wine grape harvest continued in Douglas County, harvesting high quality grapes. Winter pear harvest continued in mid and upper Hood River Valley. Overall pear crop volume about average. It varies by type. Quality good. Hazelnut harvested in some orchards even though not all trees had dropped yet. Most mid-Willamette Valley counties required irrigation, as many hazelnut trees in this region have some excessive leaf burn from ongoing lack of precipitation. Walnuts are sizing up, appearing to be a good crop so far. Vegetables: Sweet corn harvest continued for western parts Oregon. Tomatoes were ripe. Onion and potato harvests continued in eastern Oregon. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Greenhouses and nurseries were ripping out surplus and infected shrubs in Washington County. They were also irrigating new plantings, and processing cover crops. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Pasture conditions deteriorated across the State. Dry pastures in the Willamette Valley too, cattle looking good. Soil Moisture - Week Ending 10/07/12 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 58 23 19 0 Subsoil : 59 19 22 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress - Week Ending 10/07/12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat planted : 37 27 - 51 Winter wheat emerged : 17 - - 21 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.9 6.9 4.8 5.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition - Week Ending 10/07/12 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 0 0 25 75 0 Range and pasture : 29 33 20 18 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Oregon DOUGLAS: The warm, dry weather continued to make the orchard and vineyard harvests go especially well. The wine grape harvest was about 25 percent complete with very high quality grapes being harvested. Apple and pear harvests were nearing completion with very good yields for apples and slightly below average yields for pears. Field crop planting was still waiting for some fall rain to hit first before producers plant most acres of wheat. JOSEPHINE: Overnight temperatures of 34 to 40 degrees and daytime temperature of 60 to 89 degrees through the week. No precipitation. However there was light fog two days; better than nothing. Harvesting continued with excellent yields from most truck gardens. Unfortunately traffic is light due to economy. Locals were keeping truck gardens busy. Winter crops were doing well if one had water, which is an issue for most producers. LANE: Apple and asian pear crop harvests continued. Hazelnuts were dropping nicely with the windy days. Harvest has begun in some areas. Weather was great for apples and pears, but bad for warm season crops. Frost in some areas already, watching the weather forecast for freezing temperatures. Grass seed and winter wheat were planted. Some growers irrigating the crop up. Irrigation still needed in most mid valley counties, as many young hazelnut trees have excessive leaf burn due to lack of water in August and September. Dry weather continued in the south valley, allowing for all fall ground work to be completed. Sweet corn harvest continued with about 75 percent of the crop harvested. Field corn harvest was nearly half completed with yields reported to be between 35-40 tons per acre. LINN: Willamette Valley grass seed planting increasing from recent lows at the expense of winter wheat planting. MARION: Continued dry, sunny weather delayed perennial grass crop regrowth. Fields were being planted to grass seed. POLK: Hazelnut harvest continued. Late season apple harvest was ongoing. WASHINGTON: Field corn was in the silo. Haying is done. Irrigating fall planted grain. Strawberries at farmers markets were good! Filberts were falling with some being harvested even though all have not dropped yet. Walnuts are sizing, seeming to be a good crop. Sweet corn harvest was winding down. Tomatoes were ripe. Most fall crops were at height of harvest. Greenhouses and nurseries were ripping out surplus and infected shrubs, irrigating new planting, and processing cover crops. Dry pastures, but cattle were looking good. High temperature 82 degrees, low 35 degrees. No rain! Eastern Oregon HOOD RIVER: Mild, dry weather prevailed through the week. Nighttime low temperatures dipped into the mid to high 20's in many locations on several nights, burning foliage in frost prone spots. Winter pear harvest continued in the mid and upper Hood River Valley. Overall pear crop volume about average. It varies by type. Quality good. KLAMATH: Very dry weather continued. Some farmers were taking a fourth cutting of alfalfa. Potato and onion harvests were under way. County was getting frost, which is about 3 weeks behind when it normally gets frost. Grain harvest continued and hay was on the ground. Hay was taking longer to cure because of the weather. Unseasonably hot temperatures during the day. LAKE: Did not receive any precipitation during the week. MALHEUR: High temperatures on October 1st and 2nd were in the mid 80's. Then a cold front came through and high temperatures dropped about 15 to 20 degrees. The rest of the week, highs were around 65 to 70 degrees with lows of 30 to 35. County experienced first frost. Some early sugar beets were being dug. Onions, corn, potatoes, and hay harvest continued. Lots of fall field work was on going. Irrigation water was shut off on Friday, 10/5. Most of the farmers were trying to wrap up fieldwork and complete harvest. SHERMAN/WASCO: Grain planting continued although it was maybe 40 percent done in Sherman County, but only five to ten percent done in Wasco County. Grain was coming up in all areas. Soil moisture was surprising despite 80 days since last rainfall; however it can be spotty even in the same field. The moisture in direct seeding was surprising in a Wasco County field, countering the conventional wisdom that it wouldn't be near the surface at all just yet. UMATILLA: Frost the last week has put an end to the growing season for most crops. Lows have been in the high twenties. Potato harvest was wrapping up and corn harvest just starting. Wheat seeding continued but seeding conditions continued to decline as seed zone conditions were dry across most of the area. Above average temperatures and the lack of rainfall were leaving growers faced with either delaying seeding, or seeding shallow into dry soil and waiting for rain to germinate the seed later this fall. Early seeded areas were up, while some recent seedlings lie below several inches of dry soil and face the challenge of emerging through less than optimal conditions. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: October 7, 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 : 36 77 56 +2 48 +15 - -0.97 - 0.23 -3.71 6 4 Bandon 8/ : 35 71 52 -3 24 -12 - -0.58 - 0.05 -2.25 2 5 Crescent City : 45 69 55 -2 39 -10 - -0.68 - 0.07 -2.40 3 7 Florence : 35 75 53 -5 27 -20 - -0.91 - 0.06 -3.39 2 3 North Bend : 41 72 54 -3 32 -13 - -0.64 - - -2.48 - - Tillamook : 32 79 56 +2 43 +11 - -1.19 - 0.05 -4.97 1 3 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 39 84 62 +7 83 +42 - -0.53 - 0.10 -2.26 4 2 Corvallis : 35 85 61 +6 81 +39 - -0.47 - 0.32 -1.68 16 1 Detroit Lake 8/ : 37 85 59 +8 61 +39 - -0.73 - 0.17 -2.85 6 2 Eugene : 32 83 58 +2 59 +10 - -0.46 - 0.02 -2.12 1 2 Hillsboro : 35 86 58 +4 59 +21 - -0.45 - 0.04 -1.94 2 2 McMinnville : 43 86 63 +7 91 +48 - -0.51 - - -2.18 - - Portland : 40 82 60 +3 70 +18 - -0.45 - 0.04 -2.17 2 1 Salem : 37 84 59 +4 68 +27 - -0.47 - 0.04 -2.00 2 3 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 40 87 61 +2 79 +14 - -0.34 - - -1.26 - - Medford : 41 93 65 +7 107 +46 - -0.22 - - -1.09 - - Roseburg : 38 85 60 +3 73 +13 - -0.33 - - -1.48 - - NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 30 83 51 -2 32 +11 - -0.15 - 0.03 -0.84 3 2 Echo 8/ : 23 85 51 -5 30 -11 - -0.07 - 0.06 -0.44 12 1 Heppner : 31 82 52 -4 32 -4 - -0.21 - - -1.02 - - Hermiston : 23 82 51 -6 27 -14 - -0.07 - 0.03 -0.47 6 1 Madras 8/ : 26 79 50 -3 22 -8 0.01 -0.09 1 0.07 -0.57 11 4 Moro : 27 84 51 -3 28 +2 - -0.14 - - -0.68 - - Parkdale 8/ : 29 86 52 -4 20 -13 - -0.33 - 0.02 -1.46 1 2 Pendleton : 28 82 52 -5 34 -9 - -0.14 - - -0.74 - - Prairie City 8/ : 26 79 50 -3 22 -8 0.01 -0.09 1 0.07 -0.57 11 4 The Dalles : 31 86 57 +4 51 +22 - -0.14 - - -0.69 - - SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 20 83 49 +1 14 -2 - -0.21 - - -0.85 - - Bend : 23 81 50 -2 27 +7 - -0.08 - - -0.54 - - Burns : 16 80 46 -3 12 -2 - -0.14 - - -0.70 - - Christmas Valley 8/ : 11 85 45 -9 13 -19 - -0.17 - - -0.75 - - Klamath Falls : 31 85 56 +4 44 +14 - -0.16 - - -0.71 - - Klamath Falls 8/ : 36 86 58 +6 55 +25 - -0.16 - - -0.71 - - Lakeview 8/ : 22 83 52 +1 23 -1 - -0.21 - 0.01 -0.84 1 1 Lorella 8/ : 21 85 51 -3 16 -14 - -0.16 - - -0.71 - - Redmond : 16 84 47 -6 17 -7 - -0.07 - 0.05 -0.42 11 2 Worden 8/ : 22 86 53 +0 26 -4 - -0.16 - - -0.71 - - NORTHEAST : Baker City : 15 81 44 -7 11 -8 - -0.14 - 0.06 -0.81 7 2 Joseph : 26 79 48 +2 19 +10 - -0.35 - 0.41 -1.31 24 2 La Grande : 21 81 48 -5 18 -13 - -0.22 - 0.14 -1.02 12 2 Imbler 8/ : 23 83 49 -3 19 -5 - -0.28 - 0.03 -1.34 2 3 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 26 85 53 -3 36 -4 - -0.08 - 0.09 -0.52 15 2 Rome : 19 84 49 -5 25 -6 - -0.12 - 0.15 -0.55 21 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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, 2012. 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.