Texas Crop Weather Issue: TX-CW0408 Released: January 22, 2008 For the week of: January 14 - 20, 2008 Cooperating Agencies: Texas A & M Cooperative Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture, National Weather Service Agricultural Summary: Cool and continuous dry conditions were prevalent throughout most of the state with a few heavy showers in Eastern Texas. Small grains continued to struggle due to lack of rainfall in most areas of the state. Field preparation was underway in the Northern Plains as cotton harvest neared completion in the Low Plains and the Edwards Plateau. Pecan harvest neared completion in the Cross Timbers and Trans-Pecos. Soil moisture was mostly very short to short across the state. The Eastern coast of the state received the largest amount of rainfall with 0.50 to 3.0 inches of rainfall. The Blacklands and East Texas received 0.01 to 1.5 inches of rainfall. South Texas received 0.01 to 1.0 inches of rainfall. The rest of the state observed little to no rainfall. Supplemental feeding of hay to livestock continued in most areas of the state as pasture conditions continued to decline due to lack of rainfall. Field Crops Report Small Grains: Winter wheat continued to struggle in the Northern Plains and Edwards Plateau due to lack of moisture. Winter wheat was slowly emerging in the Northern Low Plains. Winter wheat was in need of rain in the Cross Timbers and the Blacklands with some reports of green bugs. Some winter wheat was being planted in Trans-Pecos. Dry conditions also continued to put stress on wheat in South Central Texas and South Texas. Cotton: Field preparation was underway in the Northern Plains as cotton harvest neared completion in the Low Plains and the Edwards Plateau. Fruit, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Report Pecan harvest neared completion in the Cross Timbers and Trans-Pecos. Onion, carrot, and cabbage irrigation was underway in South Texas. Potato planting and spinach harvest was in full swing in South Texas. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Supplemental feeding of livestock continued to increase due to the decline in forage quality. Ranges and pastures continued to be in need of rainfall. Crop Progress Table - January 20, 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------- Average Crop Stage 2008 2007 2003-2007 ---------------------------------------------------------- Percent Cotton Harvested 99 98 100 Winter Wheat Emerged 91 99 97 Oats Emerged 96 99 90 Pecans Harvested 97 98 97 ========================================================== Crop Condition Table - January 20, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Index 1/ Crop ------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- Percent 2008 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wheat 0 9 29 32 30 35 62 Oats 1 10 33 21 35 37 56 Range & Pasture 4 20 40 23 13 -- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 20, 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 51 28 49 25 29 18 2 13 30 42 9 50 0 54 10 Short 35 59 34 61 58 38 30 29 42 45 62 50 5 38 30 Adequate 14 13 17 14 13 44 65 53 28 12 29 0 45 8 60 Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 1 0 0 50 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 14 - 20) (January 1 - 20) (January 1 - 20) 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 0.03 0.12 0.12 34.00 55 East Texas 0.53 0.76 0.76 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 1.05 1.07 1.07 34.48 58 Upper Coast 2.99 3.10 3.10 47.63 64 South Texas 0.43 0.43 0.43 23.49 23 Lower Valley 1.23 1.23 1.23 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 ================================================================================================================