OR-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: May 19, 2008 Week ending: May 18, 2008 OR-CW0708 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: May 19, 2008 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: cweek@, @year_cwk@ Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 07-08 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: After a moderate start to the week, conditions quickly warmed up to record setting temperatures by the end of last week. High temperatures ranged from 105 degrees in Roseburg to 82 degrees at the Crescent City weather station. Low temperatures ranged from 46 degrees in Portland and The Dalles to 21 degrees in Redmond and Christmas Valley. The Astoria weather station received the most precipitation with 1.04 inches followed by the Detroit Lake station with 0.52 inches. Only 16 of the 43 stations received measurable precipitation with most reporting just a trace. Temperatures were well above average and precipitation levels were below normal in most areas of the State. Field Crops: Hot and dry weather conditions prevailed during the latter part of last week, which allowed field crops to get a good growth spurt. Farmers were busy catching up with field work and irrigating full throttle field crops across the State to avoid heat stress. Dry land winter grains in north central areas already showed signs of heat stress. Much more moisture is needed to keep these grains growing. Haying has begun in many western areas and the dry weather allowed for good haying conditions. Grass and hop fields in Marion County grew fast with the aid of the warmer weather. In Washington County, crimson clover was nearing bloom, while red clover was ready for harvest. Vegetables: Vegetable growers took full advantage of the very warm and dry weather this past week, allowing many to finally get their crops in as well as spurring growth in those vegetables already planted. This warm weather should give many vegetables a good start. Onions, peas, and sweet corn were all reported as still being behind schedule in Umatilla County. Onions were just starting to emerge in Klamath County. Fruits and Nuts: In the north Willamette Valley, strawberries, early apples and pears, and some varieties of blueberries continued in bloom. Grape development continued. There has been Pseudomonas syringae damage in stone fruits this season. In the south Willamette Valley, plums were at the end of bloom with an estimated 80 percent crop reduction; cherries appear to have over a 70 percent reduction. Apples continued in bloom with a large looking crop. Blueberries were starting to bloom and showing cold damage on leaves. Strawberries were in various stages of bloom. There is some concern about sunburn on strawberries in cold frames or haygrove plastic houses. Southern Oregon grapes showed a lot of new growth. Cool temperatures early in the week gave way to unseasonably warm weather in Hood River County. Petal-fall spray applications continued in the lower Hood River Valley. At week's end, crop development in the lower Hood River Valley was as follows: Red Delicious apple at post bloom (WSU stage 9); Pinot noir grape at Eichhorn-Lorenz stages 9 through 12. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Nurseries were busy with irrigation as very warm weather arrived last week. Shade was also being applied on some of the more sensitive nursery crops. Greenhouses remained busy preparing vegetable and flowing plants for sale. Livestock, Range and Pasture: The warm weather was a welcome change on irrigated pasturelands, improving growth after a long cool spell. Non- irrigated pasture and rangeland and grasses on well drained soil were drying out and will continue to suffer without some moisture. Livestock were reported to be doing well. Calving was about finished up, with a few late calves here and there. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 05/18/08 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 6 35 58 1 Subsoil : 9 24 65 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 05/18/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat headed : 4 - 18 20 Barley planted : 98 93 98 91 Barley emerged : 90 61 88 75 Spring wheat emerged : 95 78 96 88 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.9 6.6 6.4 5.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 05/18/08 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 6 33 37 22 2 Spring wheat : 7 42 31 17 3 Barley : 3 30 53 12 2 Range and pasture : 2 20 25 41 12 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTERN OREGON BENTON/LINN/LANE: Unseasonable hot weather has taken a toll on topsoil moisture available to grass seed and grain crops, especially well drained, lighter soils. The heat has advanced maturity in fawn and gulf grass seeds. Grass seed was heading and was looking good. Rain is much needed to reach the yield potential of all grass seed and grain crops. Fungicide sprays were being applied. Grass hay and silage harvest has begun. Lots of crops were being planted and irrigation is going. Windrowers and combines were being tuned. Vegetable crops were going in. Plums were at the end of bloom with 80 percent of the crop down so far. Cherries appear to have over a 70 percent crop reduction. Apples were blooming and it looks like a huge crop still. Blueberries were starting to bloom and seeing cold damage to leaves. Strawberries have had a huge bloom but blooms were at various stages. There is some concern about sunburn on strawberries in cold frames or haygrove plastic houses. CLACKAMAS: The week began with mild dry days until showers came Tuesday. Drying returned Wednesday, warmer Thursday, then very hot (high 90's) Friday, and Saturday moderating some Sunday. First early high quality hay was made over the weekend. Crimson clover was coloring up. Winter wheat was beginning to head. Little green sweet cherries were big enough to see driving by. The heat was too much too soon. COLUMBIA: It was very hot (> 95) at end of last week. Great fruit set for the few small orchards and home gardeners. High temperatures challenged nurseries for irrigation and getting some shade on the more sensitive crops. COOS/CURRY: Conditions went from being unseasonably cool to windy with record-setting high temperatures in just a few days. Pasture grasses were at the peak of their production. Pastures with well-drained soils were showing the first signs of drying out. DOUGLAS: Well above average temperatures on Friday and Sunday. Temperatures soared into the 100's two consecutive days with other days during the week above average. This has everyone irrigating crops as top soil moisture levels are drying rapidly. Hay, row crops, vegetables were all getting attention and water as the warmth has spurred growth. Tree crops were not in need of additional fungicides at this time as warm dry weather is allowing growth without infection. JACKSON: With the good weather last week, spring grain planting should be done. Some first cutting of hay was being made. It was a very hot week, so good drying weather. Lots of spraying last week on fruits as blossoms had dropped. Vineyards were starting to show good growth. Lots of ground preparation was being done on vegetables as well as some planting. Some early corn, and tomato and pepper plants were being planted. The warm weather gave vegetable plantings a good start. Greenhouses were still very busy getting vegetable and flowering plants out for sale. Pastures are quite good now, but the hot week really dried out some non-irrigated ground. Most calving was done with a few late calves here and there. There were three days at or over 100 degrees last week. Haying was getting started and now lots of irrigating too. It was a good week for outside work. JOSEPHINE: Conditions were ideal at the beginning of the week. By Wednesday, conditions began to decline with record-breaking heat and high winds. Overnight lows were in the low 70's and daytime highs were in the 100's. That made it hard to work, especially in mid-day. Plants were beginning to wilt, even under irrigation as new growth was too soft to sustain itself from the wind and heat. Grapes were looking good with lots of new growth. MARION: Last week started out as a nice one for the farmers with cool conditions and a few scattered showers. It was good weather with pretty normal temperatures. It seems the rush to get field work underway has pretty well died down as there were fewer tractors running early in the morning and later in the evening than in past weeks when the weather was holding the farmers out of their fields. However, last weekend turned very hot and irrigation water was really being poured onto the crops that were in need of water to avoid heat stress. With temperatures in the mid to upper 90's on Friday and Saturday, we got our first taste of summer. Water was being applied to nurseries, many hop fields, and some grass fields. As a result of the warm-up in weather, grass fields were especially growing very fast and were starting to head out. It looks like the hop fields put on a major growth spurt as some of the hops plants shot two or more feet up the strings over the weekend. The first cutting of alfalfa was being cut, cured, baled, and stacked on some fields during this past week. The growth in field crops last week should help crops make up some lost time caused by the cool conditions so far. POLK: Above average temperatures beginning Thursday and continuing on through the weekend. The winter wheat crop was looking very good. There was still some spring planting to be done. Spring crops that were planted earlier were sprouting. Grass seed fields were look good. It's too early for projecting condition of cherries and other fruit crops due to frost during bloom. Producers say they expect harvest will be later this year but are unsure of frost damage. TILLAMOOK: Grass was growing well and the weather has warmed to above normal temperatures. It reached into the mid-90's on Friday, May 16. Grass silage was being harvested. Some fields of cut silage were rained on Monday and Tuesday. There was still snow on the Coastal Range, providing good water flow in all streams. WASHINGTON: According to AGRI-MET data, temperatures reached 93 degrees in the Forest Grove area on Friday. Reports of high temperatures were received throughout the County. Crops were being irrigated. Less visibility of snow in the Coastal Range was observed. Crimson clover was nearing full bloom. Lowland small grains were being re-planted and weed control was on-going for fall wheat. Red clover was ready to cut in some fields. Berries were blooming with longer and warmer days. It was finally warm enough to plant vegetables. There have been reports that the peach crop has not been affected by pollination issues. Greenhouses and nurseries were irrigating shrubs and trees. There was much improvement in range and pasture conditions in just one week. YAMHILL: The weather turned warm near the end of last week. This will help the growth rate of all orchard crops. There is a lot of Pseudomonas syringae damage in stone fruits this season. The cold weather in the spring may have made this problem worse. Red clover silage has started and red clover for hay was being cut. Wheat hay has been cut and baled. Grasses looked great. EASTERN OREGON BAKER/UNION: Unseasonably hot temperatures (mid- to high-80s) arrived at the end of last week. GILLIAM: Lack of moisture with hot, dry weather. HOOD RIVER: Cool temperatures early in the week gave way to unseasonably warm weather. Petal-fall spray applications continued in the lower Hood River Valley. At week's end, crop development in the lower Hood River Valley was as follows: Red Delicious apple at post bloom (WSU stage 9); Pinot noir grape at Eichhorn-Lorenz stages 9 through 12. KLAMATH: Unusually hot weather this past week. Top soil was drying out and crops were being irrigated. Small grains have been planted. Earlier frost heaves, stagnant water from heavy snow melt, and a spring cold snap resulted in about a 70 percent winter wheat re-plant. The planting should continue the next two weeks. Onions have been planted and the early ones were just emerging. LAKE: Unseasonably hot temperatures for the majority of the week and over the weekend. No precipitation was received. Farming has begun in many areas of the County. MALHEUR: Temperatures suddenly went from below normal to above normal. There was no rainfall and some wind. Runoff from rapid snow melt will help some reservoirs. The warm weather helped crop growth, but declining moisture levels began to take their toll on rangeland grasses. MORROW: Developing drought in Morrow County has impacted non-irrigated wheat yield significantly. Outlook for this year's crop is not good. Depleted soil moisture and hot weekend weather will decrease yield further. No significant pest problems. SHERMAN: With no moisture again last week and the heat over the weekend, the potential for a 2008 crop is looking much worse. Range pastures are nearly to the point of no recovery even with a good shower. Cereal rye began heading last week but wheat was still behind in development. It was not all bad as the heat will not do much damage to plant productivity, although we expect high temperatures to turn some fields blue and shallow spots to yellow up. Other spring planted grains took off with the nice weather. They may be more impacted by heat this weekend than winter grains. The County is in need of long gentle rains. A crowd of 50 attended Long Term Experiment Filed Day at Sherman Station in Moro. It is a very good program with some surprising new information that is research based. Expect it will lead to some change in practices. UMATILLA: Below normal precipitation coupled with high temperatures has stressed both wheat and barley crops. The western portion of the County was the most severely impacted but other areas were also starting to be impacted. Dryland wheat is being especially impacted by current weather conditions. Poor range conditions were evident with minimal growth from the long cold season and below normal precipitation levels. The first cutting of hay will start in the next week or two. Potatoes, onions, peas, and sweet corn were still behind. WASCO: The last half of week was extremely hot and dry. Grain crops were starting to show drought stress and rain is needed quickly. Winter wheat producers were very concerned with the high temperatures over the weekend. Alfalfa fields have not started to bloom. Grapes were leafing out and grape clusters were visible. Berry and pea crops were blooming. Livestock on range and pasture grasses were doing quite well in most areas, but the high temperatures concerned forage and rangeland producers. Some areas were reporting short grass stands. The hills on rangelands were getting brown rapidly. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: May 18, 2008 (as of 11:00 am) 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : Growing : Last week precip. 4/ : Season cum. precipitation 5/ : Air temperature 2/ : degree days 3/ :-------------------------------------------------------------- Station :-------------------------------:-----------------: Total : : : Total : : Pct. : : Low : High : Avg. :DFN 6/ : Total :DFN 6/ : inches :DFN 6/ :Days 7/: inches :DFN 6/ : normal :Days 7/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ COASTAL AREAS : Astoria/Clatsop : 45 93 61 +9 76 +58 1.04 0.38 3 56.86 -3.58 94 171 Bandon 8/ : 38 88 59 +7 66 +50 - -0.63 - 51.45 -3.66 93 160 Crescent City : 39 82 59 +6 65 +37 - -0.68 - 43.64 -17.91 71 110 Florence : 33 99 61 +8 82 +61 - -0.85 - 80.49 9.95 114 145 North Bend : 37 86 59 +6 66 +42 - -0.65 - 56.10 -3.22 95 135 Tillamook : 39 99 63 +12 90 +76 0.41 -0.59 2 52.91 -27.55 66 158 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 41 98 67 +12 117 +80 0.03 -0.46 1 39.16 2.22 106 147 Corvallis : 35 92 65 +11 106 +73 - -0.42 - 41.02 1.64 104 141 Detroit Lake 8/ : 37 95 61 +12 81 +67 0.52 -0.25 2 80.85 18.86 130 157 Eugene : 37 95 64 +9 99 +58 - -0.49 - 33.40 -12.18 73 124 Hillsboro : 37 92 63 +9 97 +61 0.08 -0.27 1 29.59 -4.37 87 127 McMinnville : 38 97 65 +10 110 +70 0.02 -0.40 1 32.43 -7.83 81 137 Portland : 46 95 66 +10 114 +65 0.15 -0.34 1 29.75 -2.62 92 140 Salem : 38 99 66 +12 116 +84 - -0.42 - 34.77 -1.01 97 125 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 38 102 67 +8 118 +55 - -0.28 - 26.48 -2.91 90 111 Medford : 36 102 70 +13 144 +88 - -0.21 - 15.08 -2.05 88 93 Roseburg : 40 105 69 +13 138 +90 - -0.35 - 30.51 0.16 101 124 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 27 96 58 +8 71 +53 0.01 -0.23 1 9.73 -1.65 86 87 Echo 8/ : 38 97 66 +7 111 +47 0.07 -0.07 2 6.86 -0.79 90 88 Heppner : 37 95 61 +6 81 +42 0.11 -0.24 1 10.56 -0.89 92 99 Hermiston : 36 98 66 +7 112 +48 0.09 -0.05 2 6.74 -0.91 88 69 Madras 8/ : 27 93 62 +8 91 +59 - -0.17 - 6.00 -2.30 72 82 Moro : 39 95 61 +8 80 +54 - -0.21 - 8.38 -1.08 89 73 Parkdale 8/ : 41 91 61 +6 78 +38 - -0.21 - 19.95 -8.99 69 94 Pendleton : 39 97 65 +8 110 +55 0.14 -0.07 2 8.51 -1.63 84 80 Prairie City 8/ : 27 93 62 +8 91 +59 - -0.17 - 6.00 -2.30 72 82 The Dalles : 46 98 68 +14 128 +96 - -0.14 - 12.27 1.45 113 74 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 33 86 61 +12 82 +71 - -0.21 - 10.41 -3.46 75 82 Bend : 25 91 56 +6 61 +47 - -0.17 - 11.58 2.17 123 71 Burns : 25 92 58 +8 71 +54 - -0.21 - 7.35 -0.31 96 85 Christmas Valley 8/ : 21 93 58 +5 65 +38 - -0.21 - 4.02 -5.84 41 59 Klamath Falls : 26 91 61 +8 82 +57 - -0.21 - 7.60 -3.89 66 71 Klamath Falls 8/ : 27 90 61 +9 84 +59 - -0.21 - 8.28 -3.21 72 95 Lakeview : - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lorella 8/ : 24 92 59 +7 72 +47 - -0.21 - 6.98 -4.51 61 93 Redmond : 21 97 61 +10 86 +69 - -0.14 - 1.66 -4.85 25 33 Worden 8/ : 25 91 59 +7 71 +46 - -0.21 - 6.86 -4.63 60 92 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 27 91 58 +5 63 +41 0.03 -0.25 2 6.57 -0.84 89 90 Joseph : 31 85 54 +7 47 +42 0.09 -0.36 2 14.06 -6.25 69 104 La Grande : 30 91 61 +7 82 +51 0.08 -0.27 1 9.38 -4.49 68 78 Union : 31 92 58 +6 67 +46 0.07 -0.28 1 7.84 -2.15 78 81 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 34 96 66 +7 112 +43 - -0.14 - 5.30 -2.67 66 60 Rome : 27 95 60 +5 80 +40 - -0.21 - 6.09 0.05 101 71 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Summary based on NWS data. Copyright 2008: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2/ Air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. 3/ Growing degree days base-50 degrees Fahrenheit. 4/ Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. 5/ Season cumulative precipitation starts September 1, 2007. 6/ DFN=Departure from normal (using 1961-1990 normals period). 7/ Precipitation days = Days with precipitation of 0.01 inch or more. 8/ Agri-Met weather stations.