Texas Crop Progress and Condition

Texas Crop Weather

Issue: TX-CW3509
Released: August 31, 2009
For the week of: August 24 - 30, 2009

Cooperating Agencies:
   Texas AgriLife Extension Service,
   Texas Department of Agriculture,
   National Weather Service

Maps:
Agricultural District Map

Agricultural Summary: Much of the state received a few drops of rain, with parts of East Texas and the Panhandle received up to a couple inches of rain. Some producers delayed planting of small grains in hopes of moisture in the Southern Low Plains. Cotton continued to mature, while irrigation continued for corn in parts of the Plains. Sorghum continued to mature due to the dry weather. Peanuts continued to develop and peg in South Texas. Sunflowers and peas continued to mature in the Southern High Plains, while vegetable planting was underway in the Lower Valley. Top soil moisture was mostly very short to short across the state.

Field Crops Report

Small Grains: Field preparations started for small grains in the Northern Low Plains and parts of the High Plains, while some producers delayed planting in hopes of moisture in the Southern Low Plains.

Cotton: Across much of the Plains, cotton continued to mature. Cotton continued to set bolls, with some bolls opening in the Plains. Harvest occurred in both South Central and South Texas. Irrigation continued for cotton in many parts of the state. Cotton condition was mostly fair to good statewide.

Corn: Irrigation continued in parts of the Northern High Plains. Some corn was harvested for silage in the High Plains. Harvest continued in the Blacklands, while harvest began to wrap up in South Texas. Corn condition was mostly fair to good statewide.

Sorghum: Sorghum matured rapidly due to the very dry weather. Sorghum condition was mostly fair to good statewide.

Peanuts: Peanuts continued to develop and peg in South Texas. Peanut condition was mostly fair to good.

Fruit, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Report

Sunflowers and peas continued to mature in the Southern High Plains, while vegetable planting was underway in the Lower Valley.

Pecans: Pecans continued to progress, with some development reaching the gel stage in the Trans-Pecos.

Livestock, Range and Pasture Report

Stock tank levels remained low for much of the state. Supplemental feeding continued in many parts of the state. Some producers continued to cull their herds due to the lack of quality pasture. Range and pasture condition was mostly very poor to poor statewide.

Crop Progress Table - August 30, 2009
Crop	Stage	2009	2008	Average 2004-2008
Crop	Stage	Percent
Corn	Dough	98	97	98
	Dent	83	88	91
	Mature	70	65	70
	Harvested	66	62	57
Cotton	Squaring	99	99	99
	Setting Bolls	89	88	93
	Bolls Opening	21	20	20
	Harvested	11	12	11
Peanuts	Pegging	100	100	99
Rice	Headed	97	100	100
Rice	Harvested	66	78	78
Sorghum	Headed	95	87	91
	Coloring	71	67	68
	Mature	64	61	59
	Harvested	61	60	56
Soybeans	Setting Pods	98	97	54
	Dropping Leaves	51	70	27
	Harvested	31	23	33
Sunflowers	Planted	88	100	100
Sunflowers	Harvested	7	1	14

Crop Condition Table - August 30, 2009
Crop	Percent					Index ^1/
Crop	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	Very Poor	2009	2008
Corn	6	31	24	14	25	54	59
Cotton	10	29	30	16	15	60	62
Peanuts	17	61	21	1	0	86	80
Rice	10	30	39	9	12	64	72
Sorghum	3	20	38	16	23	49	67
Soybeans	3	18	38	30	11	50	42
Range & Pasture	2	18	26	20	34	-	-
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 - August 30, 2009
Condition	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	1	19	21	18	26	32	1	40	17	51	87	97	54	89	65
Short	36	49	52	53	48	45	26	32	54	37	12	3	26	10	35
Adequate	62	31	25	29	26	23	72	22	29	12	1	0	17	1	0
Surplus	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	6	0	0	0	0	3	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/
National Weather Service Climatic Divisions ^2/	Previous Week Accumulation (Aug 24 - 30)	Month-to-Date Accumulation (Aug 1 - 30)	Year-to-Date Accumulation (Jan 1 - Aug 30)	Annual Normal (1971 - 2000)	Previous Three Months Percent of Normal (May - July)
High Plains	0.22	1.85	11.77	19.64	94
Low Rolling Plains	0.32	0.97	13.23	24.51	97
North Central Texas	0.20	1.16	17.66	35.23	76
East Texas	0.75	2.15	23.70	48.08	70
Trans-Pecos	0.30	0.93	6.57	13.19	103
Edwards Plateau	0.13	0.67	10.51	24.73	60
South Central Texas	0.30	0.71	7.45	36.21	23
Upper Coast	0.59	2.06	16.13	50.31	31
South Texas	0.33	0.38	4.18	24.08	32
Lower Valley	0.34	0.50	4.28	25.43	41
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