in-crop-weather State Indiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date November 17, 2002 Issue IN-CW4602 FINAL 2002 REPORT Agricultural Summary Most of the corn and soybean fields have now been harvested in the central and northern regions of the state, according to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. However, scattered fields of both corn and soybeans remain for harvest, especially in the south central and southeastern areas of the state. Precipitation, wet soils and poor drying conditions have slowed harvest recently in most areas of the state. Corn harvest is on par with the average and ahead of last year's pace. Many farmers were applying NH3 during the week. Fall tillage continued to make good progress. Cleaning up and repairing equipment, drying and selling grain, attending FSA offices, spreading fertilizer and lime and taking care of livestock were other major activities taking place last week. Field Crops Report There were 4.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Ninety-six percent of the corn acreage is harvested compared with 93 percent last year and 96 percent for the 5-year average. By area, 96 percent of the corn acreage is harvested in the north, 96 percent in the central regions and 95 percent in the south. Moisture content of harvested corn is averaging about 17 percent. Ninety-eight percent of the soybean acreage is harvested compared with 99 percent last year and 99 percent for the average. By area, 99 percent of the soybean acreage is harvested in the north, 99 percent in the central regions and 94 percent in the south. Moisture content of harvested soybeans is averaging about 12.5 percent. Ninety-nine percent of the winter wheat acreage is seeded compared with 100 percent for both last year and the 5-year average. Ninety-six percent of the winter wheat acreage has emerged compared with 92 percent last year and 94 percent for the average. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Pastures are mostly in good shape heading into the winter period. Livestock remain in mostly good condition. Hay supplies are rated 13 percent very short, 37 percent short, 47 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. Weaning and selling calves continued. Crop Progress Table -------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5-Year Crop : Week : Week : Year : Avg -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Corn Harvested 96 90 93 96 Soybeans Harvested 98 96 99 99 Winter Wheat Planted 99 98 100 100 Winter Wheat Emerged 96 90 92 94 Crop Condition Table -------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Excel- Crop : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : lent -------------------------------------------------------- Percent Winter Wheat 0 2 32 56 10 Soil Moisture & Days Suitable For Fieldwork Table ------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : Week : Week : Year ------------------------------------------------------- Percent Topsoil Very Short 3 4 1 Short 12 11 7 Adequate 66 67 80 Surplus 19 18 12 Subsoil Very Short 11 13 1 Short 26 27 10 Adequate 57 56 77 Surplus 6 4 12 Days Suitable 4.0 4.3 6.8 Contact information --Ralph W. Gann, State Statistician --Bud Bever, Agricultural Statistician E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov http://www.nass.usda.gov/in/index.htm Other Agricultural Comments And News AG LAW SPECIALIST: NOW'S THE TIME TO REVIEW FARMLAND LEASES WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Farmland owners and the producers who lease their land might want to examine their rental agreements in light of crop income and support payment changes within the 2002 Farm Bill. Producers cannot receive government payments on rented land until they've submitted a valid lease to their local office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), said Gerald Harrison, a Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service agricultural law specialist. Although the deadline is April 1, 2003, for selecting base acre and yield options and reporting them to the FSA, landowners should now be evaluating program options so that any changes in leases can be made and tenants can begin planning for the next crop season, Harrison said. Landowners might need to gather production data on leased acres from previous crop years in order to make informed decisions. "Many leases are reevaluated every calendar year," Harrison said. "This year we have some special information to look at in the new farm bill. There may be some differences between the landlord and tenant on what the rent ought to be in the future, and that may take some time to evaluate with respect to the data on a given farm. The program data will vary by farm. "Many landowners will need help finding that data. They may be hard-pressed to come up with data from prior years, particularly if they're cash renting and only the current or former tenant has that information." Indiana law requires landlords to notify tenants of lease termination three months before leases expire. However, the law protects tenants from landlords who wish to break existing leases, Harrison said. State law recognizes oral lease agreements as binding, although the law can be a bit fuzzy on lease termination notification, Harrison said. With oral leases the law usually requires the three-month notification, based on the end of the crop year. The Indiana statute does not say when a crop year ends, although in most communities it is considered the end of February. "Tenants and landlords have to be very careful about the notice situation and whether there is a right to, or a requirement for, a notice," Harrison said. "'Term leases' may not require a notice, whether the lease is oral or written. However, it's a good idea to give a notice, particularly from the management point of view. Producers, tenants and landlords need to know where they stand with their farm operations." New farmland owners often are unaware of a tenant's rights, Harrison said. "Disputes that come up every year in Indiana and, I'm sure, across the country, are that new farmland owners think they bought a farm free of the lease or the farm goes into an estate and maybe the heirs don't want the current tenant," he said. "The fact of the matter is, a lease is good against a decedent's estate or a new owner, if indeed a tenant has a valid lease. Many times, particularly in oral leases, a tenant has a right to a termination notice, and December or January of a current crop year is probably too late for a timely notice." Most farmland leases are in writing and are term leases, Harrison said. Term leases specify the beginning and end of the lease period. Usually, no termination notice is required since the ending date is in the lease. But "you have to take a look at where you are in your own arrangements," Harrison said. "It may vary from farmer to farmer in terms of how you've got your lease set up." Above all, Harrison recommends getting the lease on paper and consulting an attorney. Landlords also might need a farm manager's help to evaluate their land under the new farm bill and/or find the right rent or lease arrangement. Additional information on farmland lease law is available in Purdue Extension publication EC-713, "Legal Aspects of Indiana Farmland Leases and Federal Tax Considerations," by Harrison. The publication can be downloaded online at: http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/EC/ EC-713.pdf. For more information on the 2002 Farm Bill, Indiana farmland values and cash rents, check out the June, August and September issues of the Purdue Agricultural Economics Report. The report is available online at: http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/ext/paer/ Questions about lease laws can be directed to Harrison at (765) 494-4216 or by e-mail at harrisog@purdue.edu. Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu Source: Gerald Harrison, (765) 494-4216 or (765) 463-2740, harrisog@purdue.edu Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, bforbes@aes .purdue.edu;http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/ Related Website: Purdue University Department of Agricultural Economics Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Weather Information Table Week Ending Sunday November 17, 2002 --------------------------------------------------------------- | Past Week Weather Summary Data |--------------------------------- Station | Air | | Avg | Temperature | Precip. |4 in. |---------------|-----------|Soil |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN|Total |Days|Temp ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 68 28 41 -3 0.31 3 Valparaiso_AP_I | 65 24 41 -2 0.23 2 Wanatah | 65 19 39 -3 0.23 2 46 Wheatfield | 67 26 40 -1 0.15 1 Winamac | 66 26 39 -2 0.19 4 44 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 69 24 40 -3 0.24 2 South_Bend | 67 21 41 -1 0.19 2 Young_America | 68 29 41 -2 1.33 3 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 64 26 39 -2 0.67 3 42 Fort_Wayne | 65 28 41 -1 0.85 3 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 68 29 42 -3 0.76 2 Perrysville | 67 27 42 -2 0.62 3 48 Spencer_Ag | 68 29 42 -2 1.04 2 Terre_Haute_AFB | 69 27 43 -1 0.20 2 W_Lafayette_6NW | 67 28 41 -2 0.51 3 45 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 69 31 44 +0 1.19 2 Greenfield | 69 30 43 +0 0.74 2 Indianapolis_AP | 70 31 44 +0 1.25 2 Indianapolis_SE | 69 30 42 -3 0.66 2 Tipton_Ag | 67 29 42 +0 0.88 3 51 East Central (6)| Farmland | 69 29 43 +2 0.71 5 42 New_Castle | 63 30 42 +0 0.18 1 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 76 29 47 +0 1.48 3 Freelandville | 73 28 45 -1 0.60 3 Shoals | 75 31 45 -2 0.80 3 Stendal | 75 28 45 -2 1.53 3 Vincennes_5NE | 75 28 45 +1 0.77 2 47 South Central(8)| Leavenworth | 73 32 45 -2 0.94 3 Oolitic | 74 28 44 +1 0.65 3 51 Tell_City | 75 36 48 +1 1.28 3 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 74 33 46 +3 1.60 2 Milan_5NE | 73 32 45 +2 1.24 2 Scottsburg | 74 31 45 -1 1.03 3 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- | Accumulation | April 1, 2002 thru Station | November 17, 2002 | Precipitation |GDD Base 50oF | | | | | |Total | DFN |Days|Total| DFN ------------------------------------------------------------- Northwest (1) | Chalmers_5W | 21.41 -4.88 83 3366 +139 Valparaiso_AP_I | 20.81 -8.33 80 3385 +434 Wanatah | 21.42 -6.38 89 3176 +382 Wheatfield | 25.71 -0.78 68 3241 +393 Winamac | 24.06 -2.73 83 3292 +352 North Central(2)| Plymouth | 21.96 -5.67 84 3160 +59 South_Bend | 18.72 -8.45 78 3363 +458 Young_America | 26.53 +0.25 72 3407 +369 Northeast (3) | Columbia_City | 22.94 -3.27 76 3100 +331 Fort_Wayne | 24.19 +0.28 71 3381 +327 West Central (4)| Greencastle | 35.95 +5.83 79 3301 -172 Perrysville | 32.94 +5.03 80 3484 +271 Spencer_Ag | 38.21 +8.10 80 3560 +323 Terre_Haute_AFB | 36.55 +8.11 75 3804 +357 W_Lafayette_6NW | 28.85 +2.40 86 3437 +398 Central (5) | Eagle_Creek_AP | 29.47 +2.90 81 3812 +403 Greenfield | 36.86 +7.70 81 3574 +302 Indianapolis_AP | 28.23 +1.66 72 3955 +546 Indianapolis_SE | 32.04 +4.70 74 3573 +169 Tipton_Ag | 26.68 -0.78 77 3288 +351 East Central (6)| Farmland | 25.86 -0.22 77 3385 +522 New_Castle | 27.82 -0.24 67 3078 +141 Southwest (7) | Evansville | 31.18 +3.89 71 4494 +508 Freelandville | 35.09 +6.90 70 4008 +440 Shoals | 32.31 +1.62 67 3879 +418 Stendal | 35.17 +4.92 69 4207 +470 Vincennes_5NE | 39.33 +11.14 81 4120 +552 South Central(8)| Leavenworth | 34.51 +3.62 78 3999 +563 Oolitic | 35.28 +5.85 79 3773 +488 Tell_City | 36.18 +5.32 64 4564 +694 Southeast (9) | Brookville | 30.62 +2.47 71 3875 +771 Milan_5NE | 38.00 +9.85 85 3487 +383 Scottsburg | 37.19 +8.18 75 3808 +258 ------------------------------------------------------------- DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). GDD = Growing Degree Days. Precipitation (Rainfall or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precip of .01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All rights reserved. The above weather information is provided by AWIS, Inc. For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page at www.awis.com or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955. The INDIANA CROP WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is issued weekly April through November by the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Second Class postage paid at Lafayette IN. For information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER: Send address change to the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite B105, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145. Source: Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service