Released: August 5, 2002 -- 3:00 p.m. CST For Week Ending August 4, 2002 SD-CW3102 Volume 51 Issue 31

AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY:   Hot, humid temperatures were common again last week, but a cooling trend toward the end of the week provided some relief for crops and livestock, according to USDA's South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Major farm activities included cutting hay, harvesting small grains, spraying, fixing fences, working summer fallow, and moving cattle to market. Statewide, there were 6.1 days reported suitable for fieldwork last week. This report is based on information from county extension educators, farm service agency county directors, and other reporters across the state.

WEATHER INFORMATION:  Temperatures for last week ranged from lows in the 40's to highs in the 90's and 100's. A high of 111 degrees was reported in Pickstown. Precipitation varied across the state last week, with some areas reporting no accumulation and other areas receiving an inch or more. Yankton received the most rainfall, with 2.0 inches reported.

SOIL CONDITION:   Topsoil moisture conditions deteriorated slightly from last week, with subsoil conditions remaining mostly unchanged. Topsoil moisture is rated 55 percent very short, 33 percent short, and 12 percent adequate.

FIELD CROPS REPORT:   Small grain harvest continued last week, as spring wheat is now 69 percent harvested, a 22 percentage point gain over the previous week. Row crop conditions continue to decline with the hot weather and lack of precipitation. Corn is 92 percent tasseled, 76 percent silking, and 21 percent in the dough stage, all equal to or ahead of the five-year average. Soybeans are 92 percent in bloom and 60 percent setting pods, also ahead of the five-year average. Sorghum is 50 percent headed and 18 percent coloring, while sunflowers are 44 percent blooming, with 9 percent of the ray flowers drying up, all slightly ahead of average.

LIVESTOCK, PASTURE, AND RANGE REPORT:    Livestock conditions remained mostly unchanged from last week, but producers continue to worry as feed supplies become an increasing concern. Alfalfa condition is rated 82 percent very poor or poor. Second cutting alfalfa is 75 percent harvested, and third cutting is 24 percent harvested. The livestock feed and water supply comparison table was added to show current drought conditions.

           FEED AND WATER SUPPLIES COMPARISON
                  AS OF AUGUST 4, 2002 

              FEED           STOCK WATER 
            SUPPLIES           SUPPLIES 
         This  Last 5-Yr.    This  Last  5-Yr.
RATING   Year  Year  Ave.    Year  Year   Ave.

                       Percent
Very 
 Short     43     1    NA     42      2     3
Short      33    11    NA     31      6     7
Adeq.      24    83    NA     26     86    79
Surplus     0     5    NA      1      6    11




           SOIL MOISTURE CONDITION COMPARISON
                  AS OF AUGUST 4, 2002 

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

                        Percent
Very 
 Short     55    49     7     56     56     2
Short      33    35    21     29     32    23
Adeq.      12    16    69     15     12    73
Surplus     0     0     3      0      0     2




          CROP AND LIVESTOCK CONDITIONS
                AS OF AUGUST 4, 2002 

ITEM       V POOR   POOR   FAIR   GOOD   EXCEL

                           Percent
Barley        42      37     13       8      0
Corn          26      21     28      21      4
Soybeans      16      20     29      33      2
Alfalfa       56      26     13       5      0
Sorghum       40      32     25       3      0
Sunflower     38      23     32       7      0
Cattle         6      11     34      41      8
Sheep          6      11     28      46      9
Range & 
   Pasture    54      24     15       7      0






            CROP PROGRESS AS OF AUGUST 4, 2002   1/
                                                       
                                                                           
                    This   Last   Last   5-Yr.
ITEM                Week   Week   Year    Ave  
                             Percent
Barley      
 turning color       99     89     98      96
 ripe                93     80     76      77
 harvested           56     36     25      37 
Spring Wheat
 ripe                97     85     74      77
 harvested           69     47     31      35
Oats        
 ripe                99     87     81      81
 harvested           83     60     45      54 
Corn          
 tasseling           92     77     90      91
 silked              76     53     73      76
 dough               21      4     20      19
 dented               4      0      1       3
Sorghum      
 headed              50     30     54      42
 coloring            18     14      6      10
Soybeans    
 blooming            92     84     87      86
 setting pods        60     39     46      50
Sunflower   
 blooming            44     13     35      43 
 ray flowers dry      9      3      2       5
 bracts yellow        5      1      1       3
Winter Rye  
 harvested           85     55     36      60 
Alfalfa     
 2nd cutting         75     66     81      73 
 3rd cutting         24      3     16      NA 
Other Hay   
 cut                 89     81     83      81

1/ Percents represent all acreage in or beyond each stage. 



                TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, and GROWING DEGREE DAYS
                           WEEK ENDING SUNDAY AUGUST 4, 2002
             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       75  +2  96  50| 0.04   4.76   4.17  -7.53  -6.16|  1749  +267
Buffalo     73  +0  97  47| 0.00   4.47   4.10  -5.44  -4.63|  1656  +248
Dupree      75  +1  98  47| 0.00   5.26   4.64  -6.86  -5.79|  1832  +193
McIntosh    74  +1  94  47| 0.11   5.57   4.78  -5.97  -5.29|  1705  +167
Newell      72  -2  96  49| 0.00   7.10   5.87  -3.66  -3.39|  1668  +189
Timber Lake 74  +0  93  48| 0.00   5.37   4.55  -7.04  -5.90|  1793  +214
Aberdeen    70  -4  91  45| 0.89   9.15   8.31  -3.57  -2.23|  1745  +144
Eureka      72  -1  90  47| 0.12   9.14   8.49  -2.54  -1.61|  1798  +317
Faulkton    73  +0  97  45| 0.50  12.09  10.80  -0.60  +0.21|  1843  +276
Mobridge    74  -1  95  49| 0.40   5.37   5.19  -6.55  -4.83|  1885  +265
Roscoe      70  -4  94  47| 0.78   7.75   6.91  -5.52  -4.44|  1624   +64
Britton     71  -3  90  46| 0.79   7.65   6.89  -5.04  -4.09|  1867  +236
Clear Lake  71  -2  93  47| 0.25  10.64   7.70  -5.16  -5.19|  1628   +43
Sisseton    70  -4  91  48| 1.53  14.34  14.12  +0.55  +2.76|  1619   -58
Webster     71  -2  90  52| 1.33  13.24  12.39  -0.67  +0.77|  1695  +120
Watertown   73  +0  94  44| 0.72   7.48   6.77  -7.20  -5.38|  1716  +134
Faith       75  -1  98  52| 0.00   4.97   4.78  -7.31  -5.69|  1804  +176
Milesville  78  +3 103  54| 0.00   6.19   4.59  -6.52  -6.20|  2002  +260
Long Valley 79  +4 105  52| 0.00   3.91   3.62  -9.24  -7.66|  2024  +308
Philip      78  +2 106  50| 0.00   3.87   3.48  -7.82  -6.57|  2088  +297
Rapid City  77  +4 100  52| 0.00   6.61   5.69  -5.24  -4.22|  1837  +383
Spearfish   73  +2  96  48| 0.31   7.20   5.06  -8.37  -7.72|  1705  +314
Chamberlain 78  +1 103  50| 0.00   7.74   6.02  -4.70  -4.65|  1969   +64
Highmore    77  +3 101  47| 0.50   6.66   6.26  -7.04  -5.37|  1934  +222
Huron       77  +3 104  44| 1.14   7.25   5.84  -6.76  -5.42|  2038  +324
Onida       74  -2 100  45| 0.00   6.45   5.83  -6.50  -4.79|  1875  +106
Pierre      75  -2 100  46| 0.29   8.49   8.01  -4.89  -3.33|  1998  +187
Brookings   74  +4  98  44| 1.64  12.76   9.89  -2.24  -3.13|  1695  +250
Madison     75  +3 100  43| 1.32   6.78   5.51  -8.73  -6.89|  1795  +220
Mitchell    77  +2 108  47| 0.26   8.49   6.19  -6.21  -5.88|  1963  +105
Sioux Falls 78  +4  98  48| 1.22  11.59   9.76  -3.15  -2.19|  1998  +260
Custer      69  +2  94  48| 0.00   9.38   7.88  -4.28  -3.90|  1172  +223
Hot Springs 77  +3 102  51| 0.00   8.66   6.25  -2.93  -3.85|  1785  +161
Oelrichs    77  +2 107  50| 0.00   7.31   4.84  -4.90  -5.45|  1822  +132
Porcupine   75  +1 106  50| 0.00   7.25   5.58  -4.54  -4.73|  1794  +145
Murdo       77  +2 103  53| 0.00   5.17   3.88  -7.97  -7.00|  1961  +255
Winner      81  +4 107  49| 0.18   7.74   6.14  -8.98  -7.75|  2284  +279
Armour      81  +6 109  49| 0.27   7.13   6.10  -8.57  -6.72|  2228  +303
Centerville 75  +3  97  42| 0.98  11.52  10.47  -4.97  -3.24|  1973  +200
Marion      75  +2  99  47| 0.93  10.91   9.43  -4.73  -3.22|  1880  +146
Pickstown   79  +3 111  51| 0.30   6.41   5.29  -8.39  -7.02|  2141  +273
Vermillion  80  +5  98  48| 0.38  15.85  14.73  -0.37  +1.14|  2270  +239
Yankton     78  +4 100  48| 2.00  10.64   8.62  -5.07  -4.58|  2090  +237
Source: National Weather Service, provided by AWIS, Inc.
Growing Degree Day values calculated using standard corn formula with no temperature caps.