Texas Crop Weather Issue: TX-CW0308 Released: January 14, 2008 For the week of: January 7 - 13, 2008 Cooperating Agencies: Texas A & M Cooperative Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture, National Weather Service Agricultural Summary: Cool and continuous dry conditions continued throughout most of the state with a few scattered showers in Eastern Texas. Small grains continued to struggle due to lack of rainfall. Cotton harvest was winding down in the Panhandle. Land preparation for corn planting was underway in the Blacklands. Pecan harvest continued in the Cross Timbers. Vegetable, citrus, and sugarcane harvest continued in the Lower Valley. Soil moisture was mostly very short to short across the state. Very little rainfall was observed across the state. Parts of Eastern Texas recorded 0.01 to 1.0 inches of rainfall. The rest of the state observed no rainfall. Supplemental feeding of hay continued in most areas of the state as pasture conditions continue to decline due to lack of rainfall. Field Crops Report Small Grains: Winter wheat continued to struggle in the High Plains and was in much need of moisture. Winter wheat pastures were producing very limited grazing in the Cross Timbers. Winter wheat was looking good in the Blacklands. Winter wheat and oats continued to suffer due to lack of moisture in the Coastal Bend and South Texas. Cotton: Good yields were reported in the Panhandle as cotton harvest was winding down. Corn: Land preparation for corn planting was underway in the Blacklands. Fruit, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Report Pecan harvest continued in the Cross Timbers. Peach tree pruning was in progress in the Cross Timbers. Vegetable, citrus, and sugarcane harvest continued in the Lower Valley. Livestock, Range and Pasture Report Livestock were in good shape as supplemental feeding continued due to lack of winter forage. Hay feeding and supplementation continued to increase. Ranges and pastures continued to struggle due to lack of rainfall. Crop Progress Table - January 13, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------- Average Crop Stage 2008 2007 2003-2007 -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Cotton Harvested 98 96 99 Winter Wheat Emerged 89 99 96 Oats Emerged 95 99 89 Pecans Harvested 96 95 94 ======================================================== Crop Condition Table - January 13, 2008 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Index 1/ Crop ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- Percent 2008 2007 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------- Wheat 0 9 30 30 31 35 64 Oats 2 13 26 29 30 38 51 Range & Pasture 3 20 42 24 11 -- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The formula for the condition index is I = (5V + 25P + 60F + 90G + 110E)/100 where I = crop condition index and V, P, F, G, E = percentage of crop rated very poor, poor, fair, good, excellent. =============================================================================================================== Top Soil Moisture by District - January 13, 2008* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition 1-N 1-S 2-N 2-S 3 4 5-N 5-S 6 7 8-N 8-S 9 10-N 10-S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent of Acreage Very Short 49 31 40 30 29 12 5 13 35 44 25 63 0 55 55 Short 39 62 45 54 46 43 29 27 34 52 52 37 34 39 15 Adequate 12 7 15 16 25 42 61 56 31 4 23 0 61 6 30 Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * High Plains: 1-N, 1-S; Low Rolling Plains: 2-N, 2-S; North Central Plains: 3, 4; East Texas: 5-N, 5-S. Trans-Pecos: 6; Edwards Plateau: 7; South Central Texas: 8-N, 8-S; Upper Coast: 9; South Texas: 10-N; Lower Valley: 10-S. ================================================================================================================= Weather Information Table 1/ 2/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous National Previous Week Month-to-Date Year-to-Date 1961-90 Three Months Weather Service (January 7 - 13) (January 1 - 13) (January 1 - 13) Annual (Oct - Dec) Climatic Divisions Accumulation Accumulation Accumulation Normal Percent of Normal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Plains 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.87 48 Low Rolling Plains 0.00 0.00 0.00 23.78 26 North Central Texas 0.09 0.09 0.09 34.00 55 East Texas 0.23 0.23 0.23 45.69 66 Trans-Pecos 0.00 0.00 0.00 12.96 45 Edwards Plateau 0.00 0.00 0.00 24.01 47 South Central Texas 0.02 0.02 0.02 34.48 58 Upper Coast 0.09 0.11 0.11 47.63 64 South Texas 0.00 0.00 0.00 23.49 23 Lower Valley 0.00 0.00 0.00 25.34 46 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Average of all stations reporting precipitation data. 2/ High Plains: 1-N, 1-S; Low Rolling Plains: 2-N, 2-S; North Central Texas: 3, 4; East Texas: 5-N, 5-S. Trans-Pecos: 6; Edwards Plateau: 7; South Central Texas: 8-N, 8-S; Upper Coast: 9; South Texas: 10-N; Lower Valley: 10-S. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, please visit the following web sites: www.srh.noaa.gov/rfcshare/precip_analysis_new.php and www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ==============================================================================================================