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Released: September 5, 2000 -- 3:00 p.m. CST For Week Ending September 3, 2000 Volume 49 Issue 27

GENERAL:    Seasonable temperatures and light, scattered showers brought little relief to stressed crops and livestock, according to USDA's South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Major activities by farmers and ranchers were irrigation, haying, harvesting silage, and hauling water for livestock. Statewide, there were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork. This report is based on information from county extension educators, farm service agency county directors, and other reporters across the state.

SOIL CONDITIONS:    Water quality and quantity is a serious problem in some parts of the state. Topsoil moisture declined 10 percentage points to 67 percent of the state now rated short or very short. Subsoil moisture conditions rated 62 percent short or very short, down 6 percentage points from last week. 



    SOIL MOISTURE CONDITION COMPARISON SEPTEMBER 3

               TOPSOIL         SUBSOIL
          This  Last Last  This  Last  Last
RATING    Week  Week Year  Week  Week  Year

                       Percent
Very 
 Short     24    19    8    24    20     3
Short      43    38   18    38    36    25
Adeq.      32    39   59    35    42    61
Surplus     1     4   15     3     2    11

CROPS:    Areas with adequate moisture are doing well, with most crop progress ahead of the five-year averages. Cooler temperatures helped some, but crops hardest hit by moisture stress remain stalled. There are many reports of dry conditions impacting production and quality. Corn silage harvest is 21 percent complete, while sorghum silage is 20 percent harvested. Corn in dent stage, at 59 percent, and corn rated mature, at 10 percent, are both ahead of average. Soybeans dropping leaves are at 23 percent, ahead of the 17 percent last year and 16 percent five-year average. Sorghum headed, at 96 percent, and mature, at 8 percent, are both equal to the five-year averages. Sunflower development is also equal to or ahead of the five-year averages. Winter wheat and winter rye planting progress, at 3 percent each, is being stalled by dry conditions. 

 
     CROP AND LIVESTOCK CONDITIONS SEPTEMBER 3

ITEM         V POOR  POOR   FAIR    GOOD   EXCEL

                          Percent
Alfalfa       13      19     30      31      7
Corn           4      11     23      43     19
Soybeans       2       9     23      48     18
Sorghum        3      26     37      30      4
Sunflower      3       8     29      47     13
Cattle         0       1     17      64     18
Sheep          0       1     16      57     26
Range & 
   Pasture     7      18     35      33      7

LIVESTOCK AND FORAGE:    As water supplies and range and pasture conditions decline, many producers have been forced to move cattle to greener pastures. Cattle are rated 82 percent in good to excellent condition and sheep 83 percent in good to excellent condition. Second cutting of alfalfa, at 94 percent harvested, is virtually complete, and third cutting is 52 percent harvested. WEATHER:    Cooler temperatures at week's end brought some respite. High temperatures moved out of the state last week after many places recorded highs that exceeded 100 degrees. Temperatures ranged from 0 to 8 degrees above normal, with a high of 107 degrees in Pierre. Precipitation last week was scarce, with only four stations reporting more than 0.3 inch.



             
      CROP PROGRESS - SEPTEMPBER 3 1/
                                                                                                    
                  This   Last   Last   5-Yr.
ITEM              Week   Week   Year    Ave
                           Percent
Corn    
 dough             90     83     93     86
 dented            59     42     58     47
 mature            10      9      8      8
 grain harvested    0      0      0      0
 silage harvested  21     10     12      6
Sorghum 
 headed            96     93     96     96
 coloring          53     46     51     47
 mature             8      4      7      8
 silage harvested  20     16      3      4
Soybeans
 dropping leaves   23     12     17     16
 mature             6      0      1      4
 harvested          0      0      0      0
Sunflower
 ray flowers dry   71     56     54     65
 bracts yellow     43     33     40     42
 mature             4      3      1      4
 harvested          0      0      0      1
Winter wheat
 seeded             3      2      3      6
 emerged            0      0      0      2 
Winter rye
 seeded             3      2      3      9
 emerged            1      0      1      5  
Alfalfa  
 2nd cutting        94     93     92     95
 3rd cutting        52     45     51     NA
1/ Percents represent all acreage in or beyond each stage.






             TEMPERATURE       -----  PRECIPITATION -----     GDD BASE 50F
             -----------          SINCE  SINCE  SINCE  SINCE  ------------
           CURRENT  WEEK    CURR  JAN 1  APR 1  JAN 1  APR 1 SINCE APRIL 1
STATION    AVG DFN  HI  LO  WEEK  TOTAL  TOTAL    DFN    DFN  TOTAL   DFN
Bison       71  +9  96  42  0.00  13.43  10.90  -0.71  -1.22   2440  +259
Buffalo     68  +8  96  44  0.02   9.23   8.48  -2.19  -1.72   2404  +332
Dupree      73  +9  95  40  0.00  15.69  11.92  +1.81  -0.22   2480   +86
McIntosh    69  +8  89  41  0.26  14.99   8.72  +1.28  -3.47   2252   +21
Newell      65  +3  91  37  0.00  12.58  11.02  +0.20  +0.18   2099   -71
Timber Lake 73 +11  89  48  0.00  15.47  11.05  +0.71  -1.70   2396  +122
Aberdeen    69  +7  90  37  0.08  18.72  16.55  +3.39  +3.46   2314   +21
Eureka      69  +9  88  42  0.00  17.69  13.74  +3.65  +1.33   2321  +178
Faulkton    72 +11  93  43  0.11  19.20  17.05  +3.77  +3.78   2647  +399
Mobridge    72 +10  92  39  0.00  14.76  12.16  +0.77  +0.13   2431   +94
Roscoe      67  +5  89  44  0.08  21.65  18.06  +5.99  +4.38   2139  -112
Britton     69  +7  91  42  0.47  17.03  15.87  +1.68  +2.27   2506  +167
Clear Lake  65  +4  88  42  0.41  14.65  12.76  -4.64  -3.56   2129  -126
Sisseton    67  +5  94  43  0.09  16.63  14.37  -0.37  -0.14   2228  -159
Webster     66  +5  90  47  0.30  14.94  13.21  -2.28  -1.67   2247    +4
Watertown   67  +6  91  40  0.43  15.36  13.99  -2.47  -1.25   2262    -1
Faith       72  +9  99  41  0.02  16.76  13.89  +2.87  +1.86   2449   +69
Milesville  72  +8  96  40  0.00  14.56  10.97  -0.37  -1.99   2594   +59
Long_Valley 74  +9  97  45  0.32  15.44  11.56  +0.23  -1.72   2760  +258
Philip      74  +9  99  37  0.01  10.75   8.65  -2.69  -3.11   2665   +55
Rapid City  71  +9 100  40  0.00  17.45  13.77  +3.70  +2.01   2446  +293
Spearfish   69  +8  92  45  0.06  13.48  11.29  -4.35  -3.68   2231  +179
Chamberlain 74  +8  98  50  0.21  12.89  11.94  -1.83  -0.96   2679   -69
Highmore    74 +10  93  41  0.14  14.74  13.11  -1.61  -1.10   2751  +267
Huron       73 +10  95  42  0.35  15.26  14.16  -1.10  +0.61   2674  +226
Onida       71  +6  94  39  0.00  16.24  14.63  +0.95  +1.73   2492   -64
Pierre      77 +13 100  41  0.01   9.00   7.78  -6.40  -5.53   3029  +404
Brookings   65  +5  90  43  0.32  17.41  15.20  -1.04  -1.21   2145   +96
Madison     67  +6  89  41  1.52  20.38  18.49  +1.37  +2.66   2325   +85
Mitchell    70  +6  95  46  0.33  17.62  14.29  +0.05  -0.58   2619   -13
Sioux Falls 69  +6  90  45  0.82  21.27  18.61  +2.82  +3.02   2477   +13
Custer      65  +8  89  34  0.00  13.28  12.16  -2.72  -1.92   1628  +204
Hot Springs 70  +6  96  36  0.10  10.94   8.76  -2.23  -2.88   2464   +95
Oelrichs    71  +7  98  36  0.27  13.40  10.84  -0.66  -1.25   2529   +50
Porcupine   70  +7  95  41  0.20  16.03  11.69  +2.69  -0.13   2358   -33
Murdo       73  +9  96  46  0.08  14.35  12.07  -0.63  -0.59   2659  +194
Winner      74  +7  96  46  0.14  13.58  12.70  -5.89  -3.88   3000  +137
Armour      71  +6  90  53  0.25  14.51  12.44  -3.84  -2.96   2920  +188
Centerville 68  +4  92  47  0.24  17.23  14.00  -2.80  -3.19   2625  +143
Marion      68  +5  90  49  0.30  17.73  15.38  -1.42  -0.70   2466   +33
Pickstown   74  +9  98  54  0.11  11.18   9.12  -6.56  -6.06   2908  +234
Vermillion  72  +6  89  47  0.06  17.38  15.08  -2.36  -1.97   2936  +101
Yankton     70  +6  92  48  0.30  23.25  20.36  +4.29  +3.96   2768  +155

 
Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches.
Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit.

bar chart showing crop progress compared to the last 10 years


 
 
 
South Dakota county map showing topsoil moisture South Dakota county map showing subsoil moisture

Topsoil image in 'TIF' format for publishers
Subsoil image in 'TIF' format for publishers
 

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