Released: August 9, 2004 -- 3:00 pm CST For Week ending August 8, 2004 SD-CW3204 Volume 53 Issue 32

AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY:    Showers and thunderstorms improved soil moisture conditions last week, according to USDA's South Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. However, the strong winds and hail that accompanied the storms damaged row crops and injured livestock in some areas. Small grain harvest progressed last week, but remains behind normal. Crop maturity remains behind normal for all crops in general. Producers continue to scout for insects in soybeans and sunflower, put up hay, and care for livestock, in addition to the small grain harvest. Statewide, 5.1 days were 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:   Severe thunderstorms containing strong winds and hail impacted much of the state last week. Storm damage varied in severity and coverage, as did rainfall amounts. The heaviest rainfall occurred in the dry northwest, with Bison receiving 2.04 inches of rain. The week was generally cool and damp as statewide temperatures averaged nearly two degrees below normal; however, many reporting stations registered highs in the mid 80's to mid 90's with Philip and Oelrichs recording the week's high of 102 degrees.

SOIL CONDITION:    Last week's rain improved soil moisture conditions. Topsoil rated adequate or surplus for moisture rose from 55 to 65 percent, while subsoil moisture rated adequate or better increased from 51 to 57 percent. Dry conditions continue to persist in the southwest where rainfall amounts are 3 to nearly 6 inches below normal since April 1.

FIELD CROPS REPORT:    Small grain harvest continued last week, but progress was hampered by rain and high humidity. Winter wheat harvest is 92 percent complete, just slightly behind last year and the five-year average. The spring-seeded small grains are much further behind normal for ripening and harvest. Twenty-nine percent of barley and 65 percent of oats is harvested, compared to 62 and 85 percent harvested last year, respectively. Strong thunderstorm winds flattened corn in some local areas during the important pollinating period, as corn silking advanced from 47 to 81 percent complete. Producers are beginning to contemplate the ramifications of an early frost, as another cool week is forecasted for the state.

LIVESTOCK, PASTURE, AND RANGE REPORT:    Cattle and sheep remain in predominately good condition despite some reports of hail in the north and west, which stressed some livestock. Range conditions in the southwest remain poor to very poor, as livestock have exhausted older grass growth. Alfalfa and other hay harvest made some progress last week despite the damp conditions early in the week.

         FEED AND WATER SUPPLIES COMPARISON
                 AS OF August 8, 2004 

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

                       Percent
Very
 Short      9     4     9     19     23   15
Short      22    21    16     29     25   17
Adeq.      63    72    51     50     49   44
Surplus     6     3     4      2      3    3
 

         SOIL MOISTURE CONDITION COMPARISON
                  AS OF August 8, 2004 

               TOPSOIL         SUBSOIL
         This   Last  Last  This   Last  Last
RATING   Week   Week  Year  Week   Week  Year
                       Percent
Very 
 Short     12    14    23     20     20    23
Short      23    31    36     23     29    31
Adeq.      64    52    40     56     49    45
Surplus     1     3     1      1      2     1


             

           CROP AND LIVESTOCK CONDITIONS
               AS OF August 8, 2004 

ITEM       V POOR   POOR   FAIR   GOOD   EXCEL
                         Percent
Spring Wheat  10       5     17      40     28
Barley         3       6     11      54     26
Oats           2       8     22      42     26
Corn           1       4     18      50     27
Soybeans       0       3     14      61     22
Sorghum        4       7     39      46      4
Sunflower      3      16     28      44      9
Alfalfa       14      13     19      41     13
Cattle         0       2     15      66     17
Sheep          0       0      9      72     19
Range &                                        
  Pasture     11      18     30     34      7                         



          CROP PROGRESS AS OF August 8, 2004  1/
                                                      
                    This   Last   Last   5-Yr.
ITEM                Week   Week   Year    Ave
  
                         Percent
Barley     
 ripe                79     60     87      92
 harvested           29     17     62      65
Spring wheat 
 ripe                87     55     95      93
 harvested           49     29     75      70
Oats        
 ripe                90     70     96      95
 harvested           65     37     85      79
Corn        
 tasseling           96     81     96      96
 silked              81     47     85      86
 dough               12      2     15      28
 dented               0      0      0       5
 silage harvested     0      0      1       1
Sorghum     
 headed              65     44     76      60
 coloring             3      3     15      18
 silage harvested     0      0      1       1
Soybeans    
 blooming            91     81     94      93
 setting pods        55     28     63      63
 dropping leaves      0      0      2       2
Sunflower   
 blooming            43     20     50      56
 ray flowers dry      3      2      2       9
 bracts yellow        1      0      0       4
Winter wheat
 ripe                98     96    100     100
 harvested           92     85     99      97
Alfalfa     
 2nd cutting         85     78     90      83
 3rd cutting         19      8     16      22
Other hay   
 cut                 88     82     93      87
 

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

  
   

                                                     
            TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION, AND GROWING DEGREE DAYS
                        WEEK ENDING August 8, 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       72  -2  97  53| 2.04  10.49   8.51  -2.05  -2.01|  1493  -104
Buffalo     73  +1 100  56| 1.85   7.49   7.08  -2.63  -1.82|  1482   -35
Dupree      72  -3  93  55| 1.12  12.13  10.58  -0.24  -0.05|  1574  -186
Mc Intosh   71  -3  91  54| 0.47   9.21   7.78  -2.63  -2.54|  1462  -191
Newell      73  +0  98  56| 0.39   9.95   8.49  -1.06  -0.98|  1448  -144
Timber Lake 70  -4  90  56| 1.07  10.10   7.91  -2.66  -2.84|  1481  -212
Aberdeen    70  -4  87  52| 0.42  15.34  12.85  +2.27  +2.02|  1416  -299
Eureka      71  -1  88  53| 0.51  10.75   9.36  -1.28  -1.04|  1520   -71
Faulkton    71  -3  92  50| 1.44  18.72  16.13  +5.63  +5.20|  1457  -222
Mobridge    73  -1  94  55| 0.56   8.86   7.83  -3.36  -2.43|  1551  -186
Roscoe      69  -4  89  51| 1.22  15.93  12.83  +2.31  +1.19|  1251  -422
Britton     70  -3  83  52| 0.26  14.12  12.58  +1.08  +1.29|  1579  -166
Clear Lake  69  -4  88  53| 0.36  15.50  13.53  -0.80  +0.20|  1295  -400
Sisseton    68  -6  83  48| 0.27  13.49  11.79  -0.76  +0.03|  1415  -376
Webster     70  -3  85  56| 0.81  14.71  11.78  +0.30  -0.29|  1368  -317
Watertown   70  -3  88  55| 0.39  13.86  12.49  -1.27  -0.05|  1382  -312
Faith       72  -3  95  55| 0.95  12.52  11.80  -0.01  +1.13|  1488  -260
Milesville  72  -4  93  56| 1.78  14.31  12.32  +1.25  +1.23|  1685  -183
Long Valley 76  +1  98  55| 1.51  10.69   8.71  -2.79  -2.84|  1837    -3
Philip      76  -1 102  56| 0.49   8.39   7.58  -3.59  -2.72|  1804  -116
Rapid City  74  +2  99  55| 0.47   9.46   7.52  -2.69  -2.64|  1604   +36
Spearfish   73  +2  95  56| 0.94  11.74   9.32  -4.11  -3.67|  1553   +54
Chamberlain 75  -2  97  54| 1.32  15.40  12.18  +2.61  +1.21|  1769  -268
Highmore    74  -2  93  56| 0.78  15.66  13.39  +1.55  +1.42|  1690  -145
Huron       73  -3  94  54| 1.66  18.06  14.90  +3.70  +3.35|  1680  -153
Onida       74  -2  95  55| 0.85  12.28   9.54  -1.02  -1.37|  1686  -207
Pierre      75  -2 100  55| 1.09  10.94   8.58  -2.74  -3.01|  1800  -140
Brookings   69  -2  88  51| 0.39  17.31  15.50  +1.86  +2.09|  1363  -182
Madison     70  -3  88  52| 1.33  18.95  17.05  +2.94  +4.22|  1450  -233
Mitchell    72  -4  92  54| 1.29  19.97  17.01  +4.92  +4.66|  1576  -405
Sioux Falls 71  -3  88  53| 1.92  22.35  18.78  +7.17  +6.46|  1683  -172
Custer      68  +3  89  47| 0.07   7.87   6.39  -6.16  -5.72|   934   -95
Hot Springs 76  +3  98  54| 0.13   6.81   4.65  -5.02  -5.65|  1658   -84
Oelrichs    77  +2 102  55| 0.45   6.88   5.04  -5.59  -5.46|  1736   -78
Porcupine   74  +0 100  56| 0.58   9.27   6.65  -2.77  -3.87|  1652  -118
Murdo       74  -1 101  56| 0.61  10.27   7.82  -3.17  -3.30|  1706  -122
Winner      77  -1 100  57| 0.50  16.03  12.45  -1.09  -1.78|  2053   -86
Armour      72  -4  93  45| 0.77  15.40  12.03  -0.65  -1.07|  1866  -186
Centerville 71  -3  89  52| 0.97  17.26  13.03  +0.27  -1.12|  1703  -183
Marion      71  -3  89  54| 1.17  22.01  18.61  +5.97  +5.64|  1560  -288
Pickstown   74  -3  96  54| 0.08  13.53  10.94  -1.62  -1.65|  1788  -208
Vermillion  72  -4  89  53| 0.82  20.77  15.96  +4.06  +1.94|  1978  -176
Yankton     72  -3  94  55| 0.68  20.53  15.28  +4.38  +1.69|  1775  -198
Source: National Weather Service, provided by AWIS, Inc.
Growing Degree Day values calculated using standard corn formula with no temperature caps.