CROP SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 18, 2005

NEW MEXICO: There were 7 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was 19% very short, 42% short, 36% adequate, and 3% surplus. Wind damage was 10% light, 19% moderate, and 2% severe. In Eddy county there was a report of 6 telephone poles being blown down by thunderstorm winds east of Carlsbad. Hail damage was 3% light and 1% moderate. Farmers spent the week planting wheat and harvesting their crops. Alfalfa was reported as mostly fair to excellent condition. Almost all of the 4^th cutting was complete, with the 5^th cutting 81% complete and the 6^th was 32% complete. Cotton was in mostly fair to excellent condition with 54% of the bolls opening. Corn was in fair to excellent condition with 90% dented and 42% mature. Silage was 83% harvested and farmers are making preparations to harvest the grain crop. Sorghum was reported as mostly fair to good, with 45% coloring and 9% mature. Winter wheat was 76% planted and the young plants were listed as 39% fair, 55% good and 6% excellent. Chile was in mostly fair to good condition. Green chile was 80% harvested. Pecans, lettuce, and peanuts were in fair to excellent condition. Ranchers spent the week tending to their livestock and weaning calves to prepare them for the market. Cattle were listed as 1% very poor, 5% poor, 16% fair, 69% good, and 9% excellent. Sheep were 3% very poor, 8% poor, 23% fair, 63% good, and 3% excellent. Rainfall in the state has been so hit or miss that some rangelands are still in desperate need of moisture, while other areas report that their grasses are beginning to recover. Overall range and pasture declined in the state, with conditions listed as 4% very poor, 17% poor, 34% fair, 42% good, and 3% excellent.

WEATHER SUMMARY

Drier air returned to New Mexico to mark the "beginning of the demise" of the summer thunderstorm season. The dry air allowed night-time temperatures to cool considerably at most locations, with minimums falling to the 20s and 30s at the mountain communities and some of the normally cooler spots in the west such as Grants, Gallup and Quemado. Overall, temperatures

ranged from a few degrees below normal in the northwest to a few degrees above normal in the southeast. Precipitation was spotty and light. Carlsbad (.17") and Clayton (.11") were the only locations that measured over a tenth of an inch. Silver City has been removed from the list.

CROP PRODUCTION

NEW MEXICO: The 2005 Corn for grain production as of September 1^st sits at 8.1 million bushels. Average yield remains unchanged from 2004 at 180 bushels an acre, but harvested acreage is down to 45,000 acres. Upland cotton is expected to yield 866 pounds an acre, for a total production of 92,000 bales. Harvested acreage is down 13,000 acres to 51,000 in 2005. American-Pima cotton is expected to yield 1,047 pounds an acre, for a total production of 24,000 bales. Harvested acreage is up slightly by 500 acres to 11,000 acres. Sorghum for grain yield is forecasted at 45 bushels an acre, down slightly from 2004, with a total production of 4.1 million bushels. Peanut production is estimated at 60.8 million pounds. Growers expect to harvest 19,000 acres and to yield 3,200 pounds an acre.

UNITED STATES: Corn for grain acreage harvested and to be harvested for grain is forecast at 74.3 million acres, down fractionally from August but up 1 percent from 2004. All cotton production is forecast at 22.3 million 480-pound bales, up 5 percent from the August forecast but 4 percent below last year's production. Yield is expected to average 782 pounds per acre, 34 pounds above last month. Upland cotton harvested acreage, at 13.4 million acres, is up slightly from August and 5 percent above 2004. American-Pima harvested area, at 265,000 acres, is up 4,000 acres from last month and up 7 percent from last year. Sorghum production is forecast at 398 million bushels, up 5 percent from last month but down 13 percent from last year.

Based on September 1 conditions, the sorghum yield forecast is 66.0 bushels per acre, up 2.9 bushels from August but down 3.8 bushels from last year. Peanut production is forecast at a record high 5.01 billion pounds, up 18 percent from last year's crop but down 3 percent from last month. Planted acres, at 1.65 million, are down fractionally from the June estimate but up 15 percent from last year. Area for harvest is expected to total 1.61 million acres, down 5,000 from the June estimate but up 15 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 3,117 pounds per acre, down 73 pounds from August but up 60 pounds from 2004. Summer Potato production of summer potatoes is forecast at 16.1 million cwt in 2005, down 1 percent from the July 1 forecast

and 12 percent below the 2004 final estimate. If realized, this would be a record low production since the series began in 1949,

six percent below the previous record low set in 1980. Harvested area is estimated at 48,300 acres, 800 acres below the July

estimate and down 10 percent from last year, the previous record low. The average yield is forecast at 334 cwt per acre, 3 cwt

above the July forecast but 6 cwt below last year.

MILK PRODUCTION

NEW MEXICO: Milk production in the state during August totaled 604 million pounds, down from the 605 million pounds produced the previous month. Production per cow averaged 1,825 pounds compared to 1,845 in August. Average number of milk cows on farms during the month was 331,000 head, up 3,000 head from the previous month and 4,000 head more than August 2004.

UNITED STATES: Milk production in the 23 major States during August totaled 13.6 billion pounds, up 4.6 percent from August 2004. July revised production, at 13.7 billion pounds, was up 4.2 percent from July 2004. The July revision represented a decrease of 6 million pounds

from last month's preliminary production estimate. Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 1,665 pounds for August, 64 pounds above August 2004. The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major States was 8.15 million head, 52,000 head more than August 2004, and 9,000 head more than July 2005.

 ^1/ Revised. ^2/ Includes dry cows, excludes heifers not yet fresh. ^3/ Excludes milk sucked by calves.