Texas Crop Weather Issue: TX-CW2809 Released: July 13, 2009 For the week of: July 6 - 12, 2009 Cooperating Agencies: Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Department of Agriculture, National Weather Service Agricultural Summary: South East Texas and the Upper Coast received up to 5 inches of moisture while the Plains and the Trans-Pecos received up to 1.5 inches of rainfall. The central and southern part of the state observed scattered showers while the rest of the state observed trace amounts of moisture. Producers prepared wheat fields for fall planting in the Cross Timbers. In the Northern High Plains, cotton blooming suffered due to the heat and dry winds while irrigated corn and sorghum progressed well. In the Trans-Pecos, pecans were in the nut growth stage and chilies bloomed. Cotton bolls opened in the Coastal Bend. In South Texas, watermelon harvest was completed and peanut pegging was active. Supplemental feeding of livestock continued in localized parts of the state. Pastures and hay meadows suffered due to hot, dry conditions across the state. Top soil moisture was mostly very short to short across the state. Field Crops Report Small Grains: Wheat harvest neared completion in the Plains as good progress was made. Producers prepared wheat fields for fall planting in the Cross Timbers. Statewide, wheat condition was mostly very poor to fair and oat condition was mostly very poor to fair. Cotton: In the Northern High Plains, cotton blooming suffered due to the heat and dry winds. Cotton progressed well in the Northern Low Plains while insect and weed spraying was active. In the Blacklands and Trans-Pecos, cotton progressed well, however, the crop was in need of moisture. Cotton bolls opened in the Coastal Bend. In South Texas, cotton boll setting continued. Cotton condition was mostly fair to good statewide. Corn: Corn in the Northern High Plains and South Texas progressed well due to increased irrigation. Corn harvest began in the Blacklands. In the Upper Coast, corn harvest was active and yields varied. Corn condition was mostly fair to good statewide. Sorghum: In the Northern High Plains, sorghum progressed well, however the crop was in need of moisture due to dry, hot conditions. Grain sorghum headed out in the Northern Low Plains. Grain sorghum harvest continues to be active in the southern part of the state with varied yields. Sorghum condition was mostly fair to good. Peanuts: Peanut pegging was active in South Texas. Peanut condition was mostly fair to good statewide. Rice: Rice condition was mostly fair to good statewide. Soybeans: Soybean condition was mostly fair to good statewide. Fruit, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Report Sunflowers are in bloom in the Southern High Plains. Heat caused stress on tomato and watermelon vines in North East Texas. Chilies bloomed in the Trans-Pecos and flower drops was active due to the heat. Watermelon harvest was completed in South Texas. Pecan: In the Trans-Pecos, pecans were in the nut growth stage. Pecan irrigation was in full swing in the Edwards Plateau. Livestock, Range and Pasture Report Supplemental feeding of livestock continued in localized parts of the state. Pastures and hay meadows suffered due to hot, dry conditions across the state. Producers continued to cut hay across the state. Hot, dry conditions in the Edwards Plateau caused stress on livestock, forage, and wildlife. Low stock tank levels, heat, and declining forage supply caused stress on cattle in South Texas. Range and pasture condition was mostly very poor to fair statewide. Crop Progress Table - July 12, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Crop Stage --------------------------- 2009 2008 Avg 2004-2008 ------------------------------------------------------- Corn Silked 79 69 75 Dough 63 56 57 Dent 55 47 45 Mature 36 30 20 Cotton Squaring 75 51 59 Setting Bolls 61 18 20 Peanuts Pegging 50 53 47 Rice Headed 71 56 61 Sorghum Planted 99 100 98 Headed 60 56 62 Coloring 54 49 51 Mature 29 38 34 Harvested 12 22 19 Soybeans Planted 100 100 100 Emerged 99 100 60 Blooming 82 69 40 Sunflowers Planted 80 68 91 Winter Wheat Harvested 95 98 95 Oats Harvested 99 100 97 ======================================================= Crop Condition Table - July 12, 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent Index 1/ Crop ------------------------------------------ ----------- Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor 2009 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corn 4 27 27 18 24 51 61 Cotton 7 23 36 22 12 56 57 Peanuts 19 46 34 1 0 83 74 Rice 21 50 27 2 0 85 79 Sorghum 2 25 31 17 25 49 62 Soybeans 1 30 44 18 7 59 68 Wheat 1 10 34 21 44 32 53 Oats 0 12 19 18 51 29 57 Range & Pasture 1 14 28 27 30 - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - July 12, 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percent of Acreage by District * 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very Short 16 8 15 34 43 31 22 92 37 47 79 93 66 75 30 Short 46 37 44 22 29 54 51 8 29 34 19 7 24 22 57 Adequate 33 52 39 43 28 15 27 0 34 18 2 0 7 3 13 Surplus 5 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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: 96; South Texas: 10-N; Lower Valley: 10-S. =================================================================================================== Weather Information Table 1/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous National Previous Week Month-to-Date Year-to-Date Annual Three Months Weather Service Accumulation Accumulation Accumulation Normal Percent of Normal Climatic Divisions 2/ (July 6 - 12) (July 1 - 12) (Jan 1 - Jul 12) (1971 - 2000) (Apr - Jun) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Plains 0.11 0.58 7.08 19.64 81 Low Rolling Plains 0.05 0.88 9.58 24.51 83 North Central Texas 0.14 0.77 13.89 35.23 76 East Texas 0.36 0.71 17.88 48.08 72 Trans-Pecos 0.05 0.49 4.50 13.19 102 Edwards Plateau 0.12 0.53 8.59 24.73 69 South Central Texas 0.24 0.24 6.42 36.21 36 Upper Coast 0.53 0.57 12.26 50.31 58 South Texas 0.09 0.14 3.62 24.08 36 Lower Valley 0.07 0.22 3.78 25.43 39 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 weather information, please visit the following web sites: www.srh.noaa.gov/rfcshare/precip_analysis_new.php and www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ===========================================================================================================