Crop Progress and Pasture Conditions

South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS — For the week ending July 26, 2015, weekend storms brought rain and strong winds to eastern South Dakota, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Rainfall amounts varied, with the heaviest amounts occurring across the north central and northeast. Strong winds and small hail associated with the storms were also reported. Winter wheat harvest was ongoing with producers beginning spring wheat harvest in some locations. There were 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 6 percent very short, 24 short, 66 adequate, and 4 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 6 percent very short, 24 short, 68 adequate, and 2 surplus.

Field Crops Report: Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 20 fair, 61 good, and 14 excellent. Corn silking was at 71 percent, ahead of 64 last year and 56 for the five-year average.

Soybean condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 20 fair, 60 good, and 16 excellent. Soybeans blooming was 72 percent, behind 79 last year, but near 75 average. Setting pods was at 29 percent, near 32 last year and 26 average.

Spring wheat condition rated 1 percent very poor, 9 poor, 33 fair, 50 good, and 7 excellent. Spring wheat headed was 98 percent, near 99 last year and the average. Coloring was at 85 percent, well ahead of 60 last year, but near 82 average. Harvested was at 2 percent, near 3 last year, but behind 18 average.

Winter wheat condition rated 7 percent very poor, 22 poor, 37 fair, 31 good, and 3 excellent. Winter wheat coloring rated 96 percent, equal to last year and near 99 average. Mature rated 84 percent, ahead of 75 last year, but near 83 average. Harvested was at 43 percent, ahead of 24 last year, but behind 49 average.

Oats condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 23 fair, 62 good, and 10 excellent. Oats coloring was at 93 percent, well ahead of 71 last year, and ahead of 83 average. Harvested was at 40 percent, well ahead of 19 last year, and ahead of 29 average.

Barley condition rated 3 percent very poor, 3 poor, 16 fair, 64 good, and 14 excellent. Barley headed rated 93 percent, near 90 last year and 96 average. Coloring was 65 percent, well ahead of 20 last year, but near 67 average.

Sorghum condition rated 0 percent very poor, 1 poor, 25 fair, 69 good, and 5 excellent. Sorghum emerged was 98 percent, near 96 last year. Headed was 54 percent, ahead of 43 last year, and well ahead of 30 average.

Sunflower condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 27 fair, 68 good, and 3 excellent. Sunflowers emerged was 98 percent, near 95 last year. Blooming was at 9 percent, behind 16 last year and 15 average.

Alfalfa conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 6 poor, 27 fair, 56 good, and 10 excellent. Alfalfa hay first cutting rated 96 percent complete, equal to last year and near 98 average. Second cutting rated 45 percent complete, behind 52 last year, and well behind 65 average.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report: Pasture and range conditions were rated 2 percent very poor, 8 poor, 26 fair, 55 good, and 9 excellent.

Stock water supplies rated 6 percent very short, 16 short, 74 adequate, and 4 surplus.

North Dakota

FARGO, N.D. – For the week ending July 26, 2015, warm and dry conditions were experienced in parts of the State, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Eastern areas received up to an inch of rain; however, dry conditions and signs of drought stress were reported in the west. There were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 0 percent very short, 11 short, 75 adequate, and 14 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 0 percent very short, 7 short, 82 adequate, and 11 surplus.

Field Crops Report: Winter wheat condition rated 1 percent very poor, 7 poor, 27 fair, 54 good, and 11 excellent. Winter wheat coloring was 92 percent, well ahead of 70 last year. Mature was 27 percent, well ahead of 3 last year.

Durum wheat condition rated 0 percent very poor, 1 poor, 17 fair, 63 good, and 19 excellent. Durum wheat headed was 92 percent, well ahead of 47 last year, and ahead of the five-year average of 73. Coloring was 51 percent, well ahead of 9 last year and 19 average.

Spring wheat condition rated 0 percent very poor, 3 poor, 13 fair, 65 good, and 19 excellent. Spring wheat headed was 99 percent, ahead of 89 last year and 92 average. Coloring was 66 percent, well ahead of 26 last year and 37 average. Mature was 13 percent, ahead of 2 last year.

Barley condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 15 fair, 69 good, and 14 excellent. Barley coloring was 80 percent, well ahead of 32 last year and 43 average. Mature was 9 percent, ahead of 1 last year.

Oats condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 13 fair, 67 good, and 15 excellent. Oats coloring was 79 percent, well ahead of 27 last year and 38 average. Mature was 6 percent, near 3 last year.

Corn condition rated 0 percent very poor, 4 poor, 16 fair, 67 good, and 13 excellent. Corn silking was 54 percent, well ahead of 31 last year, but near 53 average.

Soybean condition rated 0 percent very poor, 4 poor, 15 fair, 67 good, and 14 excellent. Soybeans blooming was 86 percent, ahead of 76 last year and 78 average. Setting pods was 51 percent, well ahead of 31 last year, and ahead of 37 average.

Canola condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 14 fair, 65 good, and 19 excellent. Canola coloring was 33 percent, ahead of 23 last year, but near 29 average.

Sunflower condition rated 0 percent very poor, 8 poor, 18 fair, 66 good, and 8 excellent. Sunflowers blooming was 25 percent, well ahead of 3 last year, and ahead of 12 average.

Flaxseed condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 15 fair, 75 good, and 8 excellent. Flaxseed blooming was 96 percent, ahead of 84 last year and 82 average. Coloring was 28 percent, well ahead of 4 last year, and ahead of 12 average.

Dry edible peas condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 16 fair, 67 good, and 15 excellent. Dry edible peas dropping leaves was 46 percent.

Dry edible beans condition rated 0 percent very poor, 6 poor, 20 fair, 60 good, and 14 excellent. Dry edible beans blooming was 75 percent, ahead of 64 last year, but near 73 average. Setting pods was 27 percent, near 30 last year, but behind 33 average.

Potatoes condition rated 3 percent very poor, 5 poor, 26 fair, 51 good, and 15 excellent. Potatoes blooming was 96 percent, ahead of 86 last year and 89 average. Rows filled was 64 percent, well ahead of 38 last year, and ahead of 54 average.

Alfalfa condition rated 2 percent very poor, 9 poor, 28 fair, 51 good, and 10 excellent. Alfalfa hay first cutting was 96 percent, ahead of 91 last year, but near 95 average. Second cutting was 34 percent, well ahead of 9 last year, and ahead of 20 average.

Sugarbeet condition rated 0 percent very poor, 2 poor, 17 fair, 62 good, and 19 excellent.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report: Pasture and range conditions rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 18 fair, 65 good, and 13 excellent.

Stock water supplies rated 0 percent very short, 4 short, 87 adequate, and 9 surplus.

Minnesota

Eleven percent of Minnesota’s oat acreage was harvested for grain as of July 26, 2015, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. During the 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork soybeans were being scouted and sprayed for aphids. Other field activities for the week included harvesting small grains and baling hay.

Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 0 percent very short, 6 percent short, 87 percent adequate, and 7 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were rated 0 percent very short, 6 percent short, 89 percent adequate, and 5 percent surplus.

Eighty-two percent of Minnesota’s corn acreage was silking or beyond, 1 week ahead of last year and 4 days ahead of the five-year average. Corn condition rated 87 percent good to excellent. With 90 percent of the soybean crop blooming or beyond, 44 percent of soybeans were setting pods or beyond, 1 week ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 80 percent good to excellent. Ninety-three percent of the barley crop was turning color or beyond, with condition rated at 63 percent good to excellent. Ninety percent of the oat acreage was turning color, 9 days ahead of normal. Oat condition rated 79 percent good to excellent. Ninety-two percent of the spring wheat acreage was turning color, over 3 weeks ahead of the previous year. Spring wheat condition rated 79 percent good to excellent, down 4 percentage points from last week. Forty-four percent of the dry edible bean crop was setting pods or beyond, with condition rated at 74 percent good to excellent. Potato condition rated 93 percent good to excellent. Sunflower condition rated 61 percent good to excellent. Sugarbeet condition rated 85 percent good to excellent, up 4 percentage points from last week.

The second cutting of alfalfa hay was 81 percent complete, 12 days ahead of last year. Some farmers were starting to cut their third crop of alfalfa hay. All hay condition rated 80 percent good to excellent. Pasture condition rated 78 percent good to excellent, unchanged from the previous week.

Iowa

A dry start with rain near the end of the week allowed Iowa farmers 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending July 26, 2015, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Activities for the week included cutting hay, aerial fungicide application to corn, and herbicide and insecticide application to soybeans. There were reports of crop stress due to the hot, dry weather, as well as weed problems in soybeans.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 0 percent very short, 6 percent short, 78 percent adequate and 16 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 0 percent very short, 5 percent short, 79 percent adequate and 16 percent surplus. Northwest Iowa was the driest area of the State with one-quarter rated very short to short on topsoil moisture.

Eighty-three percent of the corn crop had reached the silking stage or beyond, with 11 percent reaching the dough stage. Corn condition rated 83 percent good to excellent. Soybeans blooming or beyond reached 78 percent. Thirty-seven percent of soybeans were setting pods, slightly ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 76 percent good to excellent this week. Oat acreage turning color or beyond reached 96 percent, with 57 percent of the oat crop harvested for grain or seed, 5 days ahead of last year. Oat crop condition rating increased to 81 percent good to excellent.

The first cutting of alfalfa hay neared completion, while the second cutting reached 68 percent, one day behind last year, and nearly a week behind the average. The third cutting of alfalfa hay got underway this week. Hay condition was rated at 68 percent good to excellent, while pasture condition rated 77 percent good to excellent. Livestock saw some stress during the day, but generally recovered at night.

Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. — For the week ending July 26, 2015, Nebraska experienced near normal temperatures throughout the State, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Portions of the southeast received up to four inches of rain, while the rest of the State generally saw totals amouting to one inch or less. The combination of warm conditions with scattered rain facilitated crop development in most areas, although locations with minimal rainfall reported dryland stress. There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture supplies rated 6 percent very short, 24 short, 66 adequate, and 4 surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies rated 5 percent very short, 21 short, 71 adequate, and 3 surplus.

Field Crops Report: Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 5 poor, 20 fair, 57 good, and 17 excellent. Corn silking was at 83 percent, near 82 for both last year and the five-year average. Dough was at 11 percent, behind 21 last year and 16 average.

Sorghum condition rated 0 percent very poor, 1 poor, 28 fair, 61 good, and 10 excellent. Sorghum headed was at 42 percent, ahead of 34 last year and 23 average. Sorghum coloring was at 2 percent, near 5 last year and 1 average.

Soybean condition rated 1 percent very poor, 6 poor, 21 fair, 57 good, and 15 excellent. Soybeans blooming was at 77 percent, behind 82 last year, but near 78 average. Setting pods was at 33 percent, behind 50 last year, but near 32 average.

Winter wheat condition rated 15 percent very poor, 20 poor, 32 fair, 31 good, and 2 excellent. Winter wheat harvested was 81 percent, ahead of 75 last year, but near 80 average.

Oats condition rated 2 percent very poor, 6 poor, 25 fair, 61 good, and 6 excellent. Oats mature was at 91 percent, ahead of 82 last year. Harvested was at 60 percent, ahead of 54 last year, but behind 72 average.

Alfalfa condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 28 fair, 54 good, and 13 excellent. Alfalfa second cutting was at 80 percent, near 84 last year, but behind 85 average. Third cutting was at 23 percent, behind 33 last year, but near 21 average.

Dry edible beans condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 20 fair, 68 good, and 8 excellent. Dry edible beans blooming was at 68 percent, well ahead of 46 last year, and ahead of 51 average. Setting pods was at 16 percent.

Livestock, Pasture and Range Report: Pasture and range conditions rated 2 percent very poor, 6 poor, 22 fair, 58 good, and 12 excellent.

Stock water supplies rated 2 percent very short, 9 short, 87 adequate, and 2 surplus.