or-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: July 9, 2007 Week ending: July 8, 2007 OR-CW1507 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: July 9, 2007 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: July 8, 2007 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov OR-CW1507 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: It was a hot, dry week across the State, especially to the east of the Cascades. The highest temperature recorded was 107 degrees in Hermiston, though Echo, Pendleton, Ontario, and Rome were all close with a high of 106 degrees. A total of 16 stations recorded triple digits. The coastal areas were cooler, with Bandon recording a high of only 71 degrees. Lows ranged from 59 degrees in Ontario, down to 42 degrees in Condon, Christmas Valley, and Worden. Precipitation was minimal, with only 7 stations reporting measurable moisture. Lorella was the only station to report over 0.05 inches, with 0.37 inches. The Klamath Basin experienced severe thunderstorms on Friday evening, resulting in temporary flooding and hail, and losing of entire fields of grain, potatoes, onions, and strawberries. Field Crops: Hot and dry weather conditions prevailed this past week across the State. Grass seed harvest as well as grass hay and grass silage harvest continued throughout the Willamette Valley last week. Crops were growing and maturing rapidly with the warmer temperatures, but soil moisture levels were extremely low. Producers in Washington County are preparing for triple digit temperatures that are anticipated this week. Grasshoppers were feasting on crops throughout Baker County. Some frost and heat damage was showing in grain crops too. Kentucky bluegrass for seed was swathed in Jefferson County last week. A rain storm brought hail and large amounts of rain in Klamath County, which caused temporary flooding. Extremely hot and dry conditions in Eastern Oregon have stressed dry land crops this past week. Emergency grazing of CRP ground was requested in Wallowa County and County Commissioners have sent a disaster declaration to the governor. Vegetables: Onions were in full production in Benton, Linn, and Lane counties. Snap beans were growing rapidly in the Willamette Valley. The sweet corn crop was showing substantial growth due to the hotter weather. Carrots grown for seed were in full bloom and conditions were favorable for good pollination. Large amounts of rain in Klamath County damaged complete fields of potatoes and onions. Fruits and Nuts: Most areas in the Willamette Valley were finished with their strawberry crops for the season. Raspberries were winding down. Blackberries, blueberries, and early currants and gooseberries were available through local venues. Sweet cherry harvest was wrapping up in Washington County and in higher elevations of Yamhill County. There has been some rain induced cherry cracking in the southern Willamette Valley where yields are varied. Tart cherry harvest continued. Apricot and peach harvest should begin soon. The second generation codling moth controls were applied to apples and pears. Hazelnuts and walnuts continued to size. Dry and warm to hot weather prevailed during the week in Hood River County. Cherry harvest was ongoing in the lower and middle Hood River Valley. A few days with calm conditions provided opportunities for applying summer orchard cover sprays. Summer orchard activities continued throughout the valley. Sweet cherry harvest continued in The Dalles area on Bings and Rainiers. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Greenhouses kept busy with routine summer maintenance including feeding, watering, weeding, and other stock care. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Pastures and rangeland continued to dry out across the State. Several range fires were burning in eastern Oregon forcing ranchers to move cattle in some cases. Many other areas remained very vulnerable to wild fires because of the dry conditions. Entering the warmest summer months, most areas will need considerable rain or pasture conditions will continue to deteriorate rapidly. Water hauling continued in rangeland areas where waterholes were dry. Livestock were in good condition throughout the State. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 07/08/07 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 31 48 21 0 Subsoil : 32 45 23 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 07/08/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, second cutting : 55 31 35 7 Winter wheat harvested : 4 3 3 4 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.8 6.5 6.6 6.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 07/08/07 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 0 13 45 39 3 Spring wheat : 1 14 44 39 2 Barley : 1 6 62 30 1 Corn : 0 0 7 60 33 Range and pasture : 7 22 52 19 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTERN OREGON BENTON/LINN/LANE: The weather has remained on the dry and hot side for the valley. Cherries are doing well for the wet and hot weather. There has been some rain cracking and yields are different in areas of the county. Strawberry yields are good so far. Blueberry picking has started, with very nice berries. Wholesale prices are between $1.75 and $2.00 per pound. Early raspberry picking started. Blackberries are nice and big, but plants are looking stressed. Early picking of currants and gooseberries is going on. The fruit crops are looking good with plenty of fruit on the trees. Onions, fresh & processed vegetables, potatoes, etc, are in the full production cycle. Hot weather may affect some plants. Most of the grass seed crops have now been cut and many are being harvested. Some of the specialty crops won't be ready for cutting for another week. The grass on the foot hills and pastures around the valley are drying out making them a fire hazard. CLACKAMAS: It is hot and dry now. We are well into the summer drought western Oregon is known for. Grass seed harvest is getting started. Grass hay harvest is all but over. Pastures are drying out. Marion berries are ready, raspberries are about done, and blueberries going strong. Anybody with irrigation is busy. CLATSOP: It is dry and some rain is needed for pastures. Grass silage harvest continues. MARION: With the 4th of July comes summer in the Willamette Valley. This week saw no rain, with highs in the mid to upper 80's and lows in the 50's. Crops are growing and maturing rapidly with the warmer temperatures. Much of the grass for seed has been swathed. Blueberry pickers were in the field. There are apricots that are ripe and ready to pick. Caneberries are in full harvest. Corn is starting to grow rapidly with the warmer weather. The busy days of summer are upon us. Very hot this week. Snap beans are growing rapidly and sweet corn is up. POLK: Grass seed harvest is in full swing. Soil moisture level is extremely low. Aphids have been noted to be a problem this year. Tart cherries are being harvested. WASHINGTON: Producers are preparing for the triple digit temperatures that are anticipated for Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Strawberries and raspberries are finished; except for late bearing variety. Grass seed and clovers are being swathed in all of Washington County. Some grass was being swathed. Grass was being hayed and oats were being baled and stored. Blueberries were doing well at stands and some going to processors. Cherries were winding down. Peaches were getting ready to pick. Sweet corn was well over knee-high the Fourth of July. Greenhouses & nurseries continued to weed and spray. Irrigation is ongoing. Buffalo calves are growing well as are other beef breeds. The high temperature was 90.6 degrees, and the low was 39.9 degrees. No rain. YAMHILL: Sweet cherry harvest is wrapping up in the higher elevations. The second generation codling moth controls are being applied to apples and pears. EASTERN OREGON BAKER: Baker has been hot and dry. The first cutting of hay is about complete. Grasshoppers have moved in and are feasting on crops throughout the county. Hot and dry conditions have played havoc on the irrigators to get everything irrigated. Irrigated grain crops are fairing. Hay yields for the first cutting are down thus far. Bluegrass is swathed and combining is starting. Fescue seed is being swathed. Frost and heat damage was showing up in grain crops. Dry, hot weather is causing pasture to deteriorate rapidly. HOOD RIVER: Dry and warm to hot weather prevailed during the week. Cherry harvest was ongoing in the lower and middle Hood River Valley. A few days with calm conditions provided opportunities for applying summer orchard cover sprays. Summer orchard operations continued throughout the valley. JEFFERSON: Hot weather and no thunderstorms have made for favorable conditions for completing field work in a timely manner. Swathing of Kentucky bluegrass grown for seed is complete and threshing is well underway. First cut of mint leaf for tea is complete. Carrots grown for seed are in full bloom and conditions have been favorable for good pollination. KLAMATH: The county experienced hot weather during the first part of the week. Some second cutting hay was being dropped and early varieties of potatoes were blooming. There were reports of low yields for some first cutting hay fields due to frost and heat. On Friday evening severe thunderstorms and high wind gusts hit the basin. Large amounts of rain resulted in temporary flooding. Reported losses of complete fields of grain, potato, onions and strawberries. All other types of crops received damage of some sort. The storm also brought hail to some areas. MALHEUR: Several range fires are burning at this time. Some ranches have had to move cattle. Water hauling has begun to those areas of rangeland on which the waterholes have dried up completely. The corn crop has shown excellent growth the last week. SHERMAN: Barley harvest is started but reports on quality show light test weights. Wheat harvest will start early next week if not Saturday. Impeccably warm (i.e. darn hot). Fire danger is very high for this year. The heat is hurting spring crops and will impact winter wheat a little less. WASCO: Weather conditions were hot and dry through the week. Cherry harvest continued on Bings and Rainers. Wheat fields ripening rapidly with the hot temperatures. Wheat harvest started around The Dalles on sandy soils. Other field activity included summer fallow cultivation and fertilization. Apricots were not quite ripe, while peaches are sizing nicely. Second cutting of alfalfa hay was under way all week. Livestock were in good condition with adequate forage. WALLOWA: Very hot temperatures have caused considerable loss in quality and quantity for dryland hay crops. Most dryland farms are in serious trouble for hay crops. Emergency grazing of CRP is being requested and County Commissioners have sent a disaster declaration to the governor. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: July 8, 2007 (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 : 50 72 61 +3 80 +17 0.02 -0.32 1 70.09 5.77 109 181 Bandon 8/ : 53 71 62 +5 85 +30 - -0.13 - 55.12 -2.56 96 156 Crescent City : 48 69 59 +2 63 +7 0.01 -0.11 1 57.91 -6.09 90 120 Florence : 43 75 59 +0 67 +1 - -0.27 - 84.44 9.87 113 142 North Bend : 50 72 60 +2 73 +10 - -0.15 - 59.65 -2.42 96 135 Tillamook : 46 73 60 +3 72 +18 - -0.46 - 53.68 -32.13 63 162 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 51 94 71 +6 145 +40 - -0.20 - 40.59 0.93 102 139 Corvallis : 46 90 68 +4 125 +24 0.05 -0.09 1 45.98 4.50 111 138 Detroit Lake 8/ : 53 92 71 +10 151 +69 - -0.27 - 86.63 20.96 132 159 Eugene : 48 91 69 +3 131 +18 - -0.15 - 38.21 -9.75 80 123 Hillsboro : 47 92 68 +4 127 +24 - -0.16 - 34.48 -1.67 95 136 McMinnville : 48 93 69 +5 136 +33 - -0.14 - 35.68 -6.45 85 139 Portland : 54 90 71 +5 147 +28 - -0.17 - 33.56 -1.22 96 148 Salem : 49 92 70 +5 140 +34 - -0.17 - 39.56 1.52 104 126 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 52 96 75 +5 173 +30 - -0.07 - 29.33 -1.06 97 96 Medford : 54 99 78 +7 196 +46 - -0.07 - 16.99 -1.17 94 93 Roseburg : 55 93 73 +7 164 +43 - -0.14 - 30.24 -1.60 95 111 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 42 97 71 +8 152 +51 - -0.14 - 14.11 1.05 108 99 Echo 8/ : 56 106 78 +7 198 +47 - -0.07 - 8.98 0.56 107 95 Heppner : 54 102 75 +8 180 +56 - -0.10 - 14.08 1.09 108 103 Hermiston : 56 107 80 +9 211 +60 - -0.07 - 8.36 -0.06 99 84 Madras 8/ : 49 102 72 +7 155 +45 - -0.14 - 6.65 -2.95 69 79 Moro : 54 102 74 +9 167 +54 - -0.07 - 11.26 0.81 108 83 Parkdale 8/ : 48 96 68 +4 131 +22 - -0.07 - 33.97 3.91 113 106 Pendleton : 58 106 78 +8 201 +51 - -0.10 - 9.97 -1.29 89 89 Prairie City 8/ : 49 102 72 +7 155 +45 - -0.14 - 6.65 -2.95 69 79 The Dalles : 57 100 77 +13 193 +85 - -0.07 - 12.43 0.61 105 76 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 47 96 70 +9 143 +55 - -0.07 - 14.89 -0.33 98 97 Bend : 48 99 70 +9 141 +56 - -0.14 - 10.20 -0.59 95 69 Burns : 47 102 73 +10 163 +61 - -0.12 - 8.53 -0.51 94 79 Christmas Valley 8/ : 42 102 71 +4 147 +27 0.01 -0.13 1 5.72 -5.74 50 75 Klamath Falls : 46 98 71 +6 150 +36 - -0.08 - 9.50 -3.14 75 74 Klamath Falls 8/ : 46 97 72 +6 155 +41 0.02 -0.06 1 10.52 -1.84 85 96 Lakeview : 45 99 73 +8 160 +53 - -0.11 - 3.70 -11.15 25 48 Lorella 8/ : 43 96 70 +4 141 +27 0.37 0.29 1 9.72 -2.92 77 87 Redmond : 45 103 72 +8 155 +54 - -0.14 - 4.50 -3.23 58 51 Worden 8/ : 42 94 69 +3 133 +19 0.01 -0.07 1 7.83 -4.81 62 93 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 47 103 71 +7 149 +42 - -0.17 - 5.33 -4.22 56 80 Joseph : 49 95 71 +13 150 +89 - -0.24 - 13.53 -9.66 58 106 La Grande : 52 102 77 +10 189 +65 - -0.17 - 7.26 -8.86 45 70 Union : 52 105 75 +11 175 +72 - -0.19 - 9.70 -2.75 78 89 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 59 106 83 +8 231 +56 - -0.07 - 5.84 -3.28 64 65 Rome : 48 106 77 +8 194 +51 - -0.11 - 3.23 -4.33 43 59 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Summary based on NWS data. Copyright 2007: 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, 2006. 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.