Released: July 12, 2004 -- 3:00 pm CST For Week ending July 11, 2004 SD-CW2804 Volume 53 Issue 28

AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY:    Small grain and row crop progress remains behind last year and the five-year average following another week of below-normal temperatures, according to USDA's South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Rain fell statewide, but accumulations varied significantly both across the state and within regions. Producers look forward to much warmer conditions this week as work begins on the second cutting of alfalfa and the winter wheat harvest. Statewide, 5.1 days were reported suitable for fieldwork. This report is based on information from county extension educators, farm service agency county directors, and other reporters across the state.

WEATHER INFORMATION:   Cool, damp conditions early in the week gave way to warmer, more summer-like weather by week's end. Hit-and-miss showers and thunderstorms produced rainfall ranging from a trace in Vermillion to the week's high of 3.65 inches in Faith. The average temperature for the state last week was 6.4 degrees below normal. Long Valley registered the week's high of 98 degrees. The week's low of 38 degrees occurred in Custer.

SOIL CONDITION:    Soil moisture conditions are relatively unchanged. Improvements were made at the extreme ends of the soil moisture ratings, as the percentage of top and subsoil rated very short or surplus fell. Seventy- three percent of the state's topsoil and 59 percent of subsoil is rated adequate.

FIELD CROPS REPORT:    Field crop conditions declined slightly for all crops, as crop maturity continues to lag behind last year and the five-year average. The spring seeded small grains are near or fully headed, which is in line with last year and the five-year average; however, the percentage of the crop turning color is well behind last year and the five-year average. The same holds true for winter wheat, which is 12 percent ripe compared to 39 percent one year ago. Soybeans blooming and sorghum heading are also behind last year, but only one percent behind the five-year averages.

LIVESTOCK, PASTURE, AND RANGE REPORT:    Cattle and sheep remain in predominately good to excellent condition, while range and pasture conditions are mostly fair to good. Eighty-five percent of the first cutting of alfalfa is harvested, compared to 99 percent harvested one year ago. The harvest of native grass and other hay mixes remains behind last year and the five-year average, at 48 percent complete.

         FEED AND WATER SUPPLIES COMPARISON
                 AS OF July 11, 2004 

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

                       Percent
Very
 Short     13     4     7     18     15   12
Short      18    15    13     25     20   13
Adeq.      66    77    56     54     59   50
Surplus     3     4     4      3      6    5
 

         SOIL MOISTURE CONDITION COMPARISON
                  AS OF July 11, 2004 

               TOPSOIL         SUBSOIL
         This   Last  Last  This   Last  Last
RATING   Week   Week  Year  Week   Week  Year
                       Percent
Very 
 Short      5     8     5     15     17    11
Short      18    16    19     23     21    23
Adeq.      73    69    65     59     58    55
Surplus     4     7    11      3      4    11

             

           CROP AND LIVESTOCK CONDITIONS
                   AS OF July 11, 2004 

ITEM       V POOR   POOR   FAIR   GOOD   EXCEL
                          Percent
Winter Wheat  10      21     39      26      4
Spring Wheat   4       7     19      49     21
Barley        17       9     16      46     12
Oats           8      11     21      49     11
Corn           1       2     19      62     16
Soybeans       0       4     21      62     13
Sorghum        0       2     29      67      2
Sunflower      4       5     32      51      8
Alfalfa       11      12     24      41     12
Cattle         0       4     16      65     15
Sheep          0      13     10      63     14
Range &                                        
  Pasture     12      17     30     33      8  


          CROP PROGRESS AS OF July 11, 2004  1/
                                                      
                    This   Last   Last   5-Yr.
ITEM                Week   Week   Year    Ave
  
                         Percent
Barley        
 headed              93     75     94      91
 turning color       22      6     39      35
 ripe                 0     NA      1       4
Spring wheat 
 headed              99     96     99      95
 turning color       29      9     43      41
 ripe                 0     NA      1       6
Oats        
 headed              94     86     97      93
 turning color       26      9     35      40
 ripe                 1     NA      4      11
Corn        
 ave. height (in.)   39     26     43      41
 2nd cult or sprayed 82     55     73      62
 tasseling            1     NA     NA      NA
 silked               0      0      0       1
Sorghum     
 headed               4      0     11       5
Soybeans    
 blooming            27     11     33      28
Sunflower   
 blooming             0     NA      2       1
Winter wheat
 turning color       92     78     93      89
 ripe                12      3     39      39
 harvested            2      1      7       8
Alfalfa     
 1st cutting         85     79     99      95
 2nd cutting         21     11     28      27
Other hay   
 cut                 48     39     69      58

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



     



   

                                                     
            TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, AND GROWING DEGREE DAYS
                        WEEK ENDING July 11, 2004
                                     
             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       66  -6  90  51| 1.45   9.39   7.41  -1.54  -1.50|   841  -116
Buffalo     67  -4  91  53| 1.02   4.86   4.45  -3.93  -3.12|   824   -76
Dupree      67  -7  88  51| 1.58  10.54   8.99  -0.17  +0.02|   929  -139
Mc Intosh   66  -7  88  49| 1.43   7.67   6.24  -2.42  -2.33|   829  -169
Newell      68  -5  85  53| 2.55   9.15   7.69  -0.42  -0.34|   801  -141
Timber Lake 66  -7  87  51| 0.84   8.59   6.40  -2.44  -2.62|   861  -176
Aberdeen    64  -9  88  45| 1.52  13.47  10.98  +2.62  +2.37|   845  -217
Eureka      67  -5  88  48| 1.05   9.43   8.04  -0.61  -0.37|   898   -69
Faulkton    65  -9  93  45| 1.52  14.77  12.18  +3.70  +3.27|   863  -168
Mobridge    66  -8  90  50| 0.58   7.85   6.82  -2.69  -1.76|   900  -164
Roscoe      62 -11  81  46| 1.04  13.28  10.18  +1.74  +0.62|   707  -325
Britton     65  -9  86  44| 2.51  13.55  12.01  +2.58  +2.79|   957  -132
Clear Lake  64  -9  85  47| 1.62  13.46  11.49  +0.22  +1.22|   749  -318
Sisseton    64 -10  87  46| 2.65  12.13  10.43  +0.38  +1.17|   856  -270
Webster     65  -8  87  46| 2.33  12.63   9.70  +1.02  +0.43|   796  -255
Watertown   65  -8  85  46| 1.55  12.29  10.92  -0.24  +0.98|   821  -232
Faith       66  -8  87  52| 3.65  11.30  10.58  +0.51  +1.65|   854  -205
Milesville  69  -6  94  53| 1.58  12.03  10.04  +0.93  +0.91|  1007  -140
Long Valley 72  -3  98  52| 0.21   8.05   6.07  -3.28  -3.33|  1116   -10
Philip      70  -6  94  52| 0.67   6.80   5.99  -3.34  -2.47|  1087   -90
Rapid City  69  -4  87  52| 1.78   8.48   6.54  -1.99  -1.94|   933    +7
Spearfish   69  -3  94  50| 1.43   9.87   7.45  -4.51  -4.07|   894   +17
Chamberlain 69  -8  92  47| 0.68  13.21   9.99  +2.53  +1.13|  1055  -225
Highmore    69  -5  91  48| 1.20  12.67  10.40  +1.08  +0.95|  1030  -103
Huron       68  -7  91  46| 3.32  15.67  12.51  +3.46  +3.11|  1041   -97
Onida       67  -8  92  49| 1.64  10.02   7.28  -1.09  -1.44|   996  -178
Pierre      69  -7  95  49| 1.51   9.41   7.05  -2.28  -2.55|  1088  -106
Brookings   65  -6  84  46| 1.26  14.03  12.22  +1.26  +1.49|   823  -140
Madison     66  -7  85  46| 2.54  14.80  12.90  +1.46  +2.74|   901  -156
Mitchell    67  -9  88  48| 1.72  16.82  13.86  +3.78  +3.52|   961  -302
Sioux Falls 68  -6  86  51| 0.82  20.14  16.57  +7.27  +6.56|  1076   -93
Custer      62  -4  83  38| 0.23   6.00   4.52  -5.40  -4.96|   472   -91
Hot Springs 71  -3  93  51| 0.38   5.72   3.56  -4.12  -4.75|  1002   -64
Oelrichs    70  -4  95  49| 0.45   5.37   3.53  -5.35  -5.22|  1020   -77
Porcupine   70  -4  92  51| 0.24   7.03   4.41  -3.05  -4.15|   969  -101
Murdo       68  -7  93  51| 0.75   9.44   6.99  -2.05  -2.18|   999  -121
Winner      72  -5  96  52| 0.07  15.00  11.42  +0.67  -0.02|  1290   -77
Armour      70  -6  91  47| 0.47  14.49  11.12  +0.84  +0.42|  1191  -129
Centerville 69  -5  87  47| 0.05  15.24  11.01  +1.10  -0.29|  1090  -133
Marion      67  -8  85  48| 1.70  18.83  15.43  +5.13  +4.80|   974  -203
Pickstown   70  -6  92  47| 0.32  12.20   9.58  -0.82  -0.88|  1119  -141
Vermillion  71  -5  86  48| 0.02  18.97  14.16  +5.06  +2.94|  1332   -94
Yankton     71  -5  89  53| 0.14  18.04  12.79  +4.50  +1.81|  1137  -131



Source: National Weather Service, provided by AWIS, Inc.
Growing Degree Day values calculated using standard corn formula with no temperature caps.