nd-crop-weather STATE NORTH DAKOTA CROP, LIVESTOCK & WEATHER REPORT RELEASE DATE, WEEK ENDING DATE Released: April 25, 2005 For Week Ending: April 24, 2005 ISSUE ND-CW1705 AGRICULTURAL SUMMARY General: Producers made excellent progress planting last week due to the warm, dry conditions, according to the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork was reported across the entire state as the north central and northeast districts have begun to dry out. Topsoil moisture supplies were rated 7 percent very short, 26 short, 64 adequate and 3 surplus. This compared with the five-year (2000-2004) average of 4 percent very short, 16 short, 69 adequate and 11 surplus. Statewide, on average, there were 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork. FIELD CROPS REPORT Crops: Excellent progress was made seeding small grains, which was well ahead of the five-year average. Hard red spring wheat was 29 percent seeded, about a week ahead of average, and 3 percent emerged. This compared with 30 percent last year and 17 percent average, while 5 percent was emerged last year and 2 percent on average. Durum wheat was 15 percent seeded compared with 6 percent on average. Barley was 22 percent seeded and oats was 28 percent seeded. Producers showed the most seeding progress on sugarbeets with 34 percent seeded compared with the average of 19 percent. All other crop plantings, except potatoes, were ahead of average. Corn was 11 percent planted compared with 7 percent average. Dry peas were 21 percent seeded. LIVESTOCK, PASTURE AND RANGE REPORT Livestock: Calving and lambing season continued, slightly ahead of the five-year average. Calving was 84 percent complete and lambing was 89 percent complete compared with 83 and 88 percent on average, respectively. Shearing was 94 percent complete. Hay and forage supplies were rated 5 percent very short, 17 short, 73 adequate and 5 surplus. Grain and concentrate supplies were 3 percent very short, 9 short, 80 adequate and 8 surplus. Pastures were rated 68 percent growing compared to 54 percent last year. Pasture and range conditions were rated 7 percent very poor, 21 poor, 43 fair, 27 good and 2 excellent. CROP PROGRESS TABLES Crop Development Progress 1/ April 24, 2005 with Comparisons Week Ending 2000- Crop April 24, April 17, April 24, 2004 2005 2005 2004 Avg. (Percent) BARLEY Planted 22 6 21 10 Emerged 1 NA 2 1 DURUM WHEAT Planted 15 6 16 6 Emerged 2 NA 3 1 HRS WHEAT Planted 29 11 30 17 Emerged 3 NA 5 2 OATS Planted 28 9 25 12 Emerged 1 NA 2 1 CANOLA Planted 13 4 13 6 CORN, ALL Planted 11 0 15 7 DRY EDIBLE BEANS Planted 0 NA 0 0 DRY EDIBLE PEAS Planted 21 5 NA NA FLAXSEED Planted 5 NA 5 2 POTATOES Planted 4 NA 5 5 SOYBEANS Planted 0 NA 1 0 SUGARBEETS Planted 34 1 34 19 1/ Crop development percents represent all acreage in or beyond each stage. NA = Not Available SOIL TEMPERATURES Soil Temperatures: Average soil temperatures on April 24 ranged from a low of 44 degrees F in Langdon to a high of 56 in Watford City. These readings reflect daily average temperatures under 4 inches of bare soil recorded by the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network (NDAWN). SOIL TEMPERATURE TABLE Average Soil Temperatures*, April 24, 2005 Station Temperature Station Temperature Degrees F Degrees F NORTHWEST CENTRAL Bowbells 50 Carrington 52 Minot 54 Robinson 46 Williston 55 Streeter 48 NORTH CENTRAL EAST CENTRAL Baker 51 Dazey 50 Bottineau 46 Fargo 46 Rolla 49 SOUTHWEST NORTHEAST Bowman 51 Cavalier 50 Dickinson 53 Grand Forks 51 SOUTH CENTRAL Langdon 44 Linton 52 WEST CENTRAL SOUTHEAST Turtle Lake 55 Oakes 50 Watford City 56 Wyndmere 46 * Thermometers located 4 inches under bare soil. Source: NDAWN, Department of Soil Science, NDSU. SOIL MOISTURE TABLE Soil Moisture: North Dakota Week Ending 2000- April 24, April 17, April 24, 2004 Date 2005 2005 2004 Avg. (Percent) TOPSOIL Very Short 7 7 8 4 Short 26 21 22 16 Adequate 64 67 64 69 Surplus 3 5 6 11 SUBSOIL Very Short 13 11 11 7 Short 23 24 29 20 Adequate 60 60 57 65 Surplus 4 5 3 8 WEATHER SUMMARY Weather: Temperatures continued above average for the third week of April. Precipitation was below average for most of the state. Near record temperatures were reported across the eastern third of the state. A cold front bringing scattered showers and some thunderstorms moved across the state late on Monday and into Tuesday. The heaviest rain was reported in the southwestern and south central areas. The week remained mostly dry with only widely scattered showers across the state on Tuesday and Wednesday. Highs were mostly in the 50s and 60s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures warmed briefly again on Thursday to above seasonal averages. Another cold front brought cooler temperatures for the end of the week and into the weekend. Highs ranged from the upper 40s in the northeast to the mid-50s in the southwest. Low temperatures dipped below freezing in most areas for the week's end, with lows mostly in the 20s to near 30. Temperatures slowly warmed to slightly above seasonal levels by the end of the weekend. Outlook, April 25-May 1: An end to the above average temperatures the state has been enjoying for the entire month looks likely for the last week of April. There will also be a daily chance of showers across the state for the majority of the workweek. Rain may mix with snow in some of the northern areas on Wednesday and Thursday. High temps will be in the 40s to mid-50s on Monday and Tuesday, with low temperatures in the 30s. A frontal boundary will move across the state late on Tuesday and bring even cooler temperatures for the middle and end of the week. High temperatures for the period of Wednesday through Friday will be mostly in the 40s, with low temperatures ranging from the mid-20s to low 30s. Temperatures will warm only slightly for the weekend, with highs in the upper 40s to mid- 50s and low temperatures in the upper 20s to upper 30s. WEATHER INFORMATION TABLES Temperature & Precipitation: Districts and Stations North Dakota, Week ending April 24, 2005 Average Seasonal Precipitation District Temperature Beginning April 1 Averages Past Depart Past Depart Week Normal 1/ Week Total Normal 1/ (Degrees F) (Inches) Northwest (1) 50 5 0.00 0.20 -0.94 N. Central (2) 49 4 0.01 0.34 -0.87 Northeast (3) 51 5 0.15 0.80 -0.26 W. Central (4) 48 1 0.01 0.30 -1.06 Central (5) 52 6 0.00 0.43 -0.90 E. Central (6) 54 7 0.00 0.52 -0.96 Southwest (7) 49 2 0.44 0.62 -0.65 S. Central (8) 53 5 0.03 0.84 -0.56 Southeast (9) 54 6 0.00 0.64 -0.83 1/ Normal is the 1961-90 average. NA=Not Available. Weather data collected from NDAWN stations and compiled by UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center. Temperature & Precipitation: Districts and Stations North Dakota, Week ending April 24, 2005 Temperature Seasonal Precipitation Stations Past Week Beginning April 1 by Past Depart District High Low Week Total Normal 1/ (Degrees F) (Inches) (1) Bowbells 70 26 0.00 0.15 -0.87 Williston 73 31 0.00 0.00 -1.05 Mohall 71 28 0.00 0.38 -0.70 Minot 73 24 0.00 0.25 -1.12 (2) Baker 75 26 0.00 0.50 -0.94 Bottineau 74 21 0.00 0.18 -0.80 Rugby 76 22 0.02 0.34 -0.86 (3) Cando 74 22 0.35 0.74 -0.14 Cavalier 74 24 0.11 0.94 -0.09 Forest River 81 26 0.00 0.87 -0.34 Grand Forks 84 25 0.00 0.34 -0.80 Langdon 71 25 0.39 1.15 0.30 St. Thomas 74 29 0.02 0.73 -0.48 (4) Hazen 75 18 0.02 0.58 -0.94 Turtle Lake 73 22 0.00 0.31 -1.12 Watford City 70 30 0.00 0.00 -1.12 (5) Carrington 86 19 0.00 0.53 -0.75 Harvey 78 19 0.01 0.35 -0.75 Jamestown 87 23 0.00 0.41 -0.93 Robinson 83 23 0.00 0.35 -0.98 Streeter 83 22 0.00 0.50 -1.07 (6) Dazey 87 23 0.00 0.36 -0.96 Fargo 85 23 0.00 0.75 -0.81 Hillsboro 87 23 0.00 0.45 -1.12 (7) Beach 69 26 0.62 0.73 -0.40 Bowman 72 25 0.44 0.44 -0.67 Dickinson 74 29 0.55 0.63 -0.77 Hettinger 75 22 0.16 0.66 -0.75 (8) Mandan 80 24 0.04 1.05 -0.18 Linton 82 25 0.01 0.62 -0.95 (9) Edgeley 86 24 0.00 0.68 -0.89 Oakes 84 23 0.00 0.55 -1.09 Wyndmere 84 23 0.00 0.68 -0.52 1/ Normal is the 1961-90 average. NA=Not Available. Weather data collected from NDAWN stations and compiled by UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center. CONTACT INFORMATION North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA Cooperating with: NDSU Extension Service, Farm Service Agency, ND Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) and UND Aerospace Regional Weather Information Center FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: David Knopf, Director North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service NDSU, IACC Bldg., Room 448 P.O. Box 3166 Fargo, ND 58108-3166 Telephone: (701) 239-5306 E-Mail: nass-nd@nass.usda.gov Internet: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nd/