Texas Crop Weather Issue: TX-CW0708 Released: February 11, 2008 For the week of: February 4 - 10, 2008 Cooperating Agencies: Texas A & M Cooperative Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture, National Weather Service Agricultural Summary: Scattered showers were observed across some of the Northeast regions of the state with the most rain in East Texas. Small grains continued to struggle due to lack of rainfall and windy conditions in most areas of the state. Cotton field work continued in the Panhandle. Pecan producers continued to prune their trees. Land preparation was underway for spring planting. Soil moisture was mostly very short to short across the state. East Texas received the largest amount of rainfall with 0.10 to 0.50 inches of rainfall. The Panhandle received 0.01 to 0.10 inches of rainfall. The rest of the state observed very little to no rainfall. Supplemental feeding of hay to livestock continued in much of the state as pasture conditions continued to decline due to lack of rainfall and windy conditions. Field Crops Report Small Grains: Continued dry and windy conditions affected small grains. Winter wheat continued to struggle across most of the state due to lack of moisture. Wheat condition was poor to fair statewide. Oat condition was very poor to poor statewide. Cotton: Field work continued in the High Plains and the Southern Low Plains. Cotton harvest continued to draw to a close in the Southern Low Plains. Fruit, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Report Pecan and wine grape producers continued pruning their trees and vines. Sugarcane, citrus and vegetables continued to be harvested in the Lower Valley. Irrigation of spinach, cabbage, onions and carrots continued in South Texas. Potato planting continued in South Texas. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Supplemental feeding of hay, protein and cubes to livestock continued across much of the state due to the condition of small grains. Ranges and pastures continued to be in need of rainfall and less wind. Range and pasture condition was poor to fair statewide. Crop Progress Table - February 10, 2008 --------------------------------------------------------- Average Crop Stage 2008 2007 2003-2007 --------------------------------------------------------- Percent Winter Wheat Emerged 94 100 99 Oats Emerged 99 100 -- Pecans Harvested 100 100 99 ========================================================= Crop Condition Table - February 10, 2008 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Index 1/ CROP ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------- Percent 2008 2007 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wheat 1 8 31 33 27 37 63 Oats 1 10 31 25 33 37 57 Range & Pasture 1 17 39 27 16 -- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - February 10, 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 56 38 67 67 43 16 5 3 38 48 14 58 0 43 55 Short 33 52 31 32 54 47 22 8 57 45 49 42 4 48 15 Adequate 11 10 2 1 3 36 64 65 5 7 37 0 49 8 30 Surplus 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 24 0 0 0 0 47 1 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 (February 4 -10) (February 1 - 10) (Jan 1 - Feb 10) Annual (Nov, Dec, Jan) Climatic Divisions Accumulation Accumulation Accumulation Normal Percent of Normal --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Plains 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.87 57 Low Rolling Plains 0.00 0.00 0.04 23.78 32 North Central Texas 0.09 0.09 0.56 34.00 53 East Texas 0.12 0.12 2.18 45.69 67 Trans-Pecos 0.00 0.00 0.17 12.96 72 Edwards Plateau 0.00 0.00 0.08 24.01 54 South Central Texas 0.00 0.00 1.45 34.48 62 Upper Coast 0.05 0.05 4.66 47.63 88 South Texas 0.00 0.00 0.52 23.49 34 Lower Valley 0.00 0.00 1.57 25.34 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ===============================================================================================================