OR-crop-weather Oregon Crop Weather Released: August 18, 2008 Week ending: August 17, 2008 OR-CW2008 OREGON CROP WEATHER NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE USDA, NASS, Oregon Field Office Phone: 503-326-2131 Released: August 18, 2008 Toll Free: 1-800-338-2157 Week ending: August 17, 2008 Email: nass-or@nass.usda.gov Volume: 20-08 Internet: www.nass.usda.gov/or Weather: Record high temperatures were reported this past week throughout the State as many records for this time of year were broken. High temperatures ranged from 109 degrees in The Dalles, down to 63 degrees at the Crescent City station. Low temperatures ranged from 59 degrees in Portland, down to 37 degrees at the Christmas Valley and Redmond stations. Half of the stations reported high temperatures of at least 100 degrees. Only six out of the forty three stations reported any precipitation. The Agency Lake station reported the largest amount with only .08 inches. Temperatures were well above average and precipitation levels were still well below normal throughout the State. Field Crops: Wheat yield reports continued to be mixed, even within local. Some areas reported lower test weights. Active week for alfalfa harvest. Potato yield potential in Umatilla/Morrow area looked better than it did after the cool spring. Red clover ready for swather. Hop harvest started. Grass seed harvest, like wheat, was still significant but mostly done. Also like wheat, yields varied more than usual. Vegetables: Farmer's markets and roadside stands were going strong and were offering an abundance of produce throughout the State. Sweet corn was reported to be readily available throughout the Willamette Valley. Tomatoes were yielding succulent fruit in Washington County. Corn was showing a poor pollination, tomatoes have been slow to ripen, and truck gardens were selling locally grown melons in Josephine County. Fruits and Nuts: The blueberry harvest was winding down in southwestern Oregon with just a few late fields to go. Yields were reported to be down about 15 percent from last year. Wine grape crops were looking good and were only about a week behind schedule as they were getting closer to the normal maturity pace with all of the August heat. Filberts were looking good and walnuts were sizing in Washington County. Pear growers continued cutting fire blight in many locations throughout the Hood River Valley. Lower valley pear growers were preparing for the Bartlett harvest. Apples and pears were being picked around The Dalles, and a number of new orchards are starting to show up in the Wamic area. Nurseries and Greenhouses: Greenhouses were busy getting fall plants started including decorative and vegetable starts. Nurseries were planting shrubs. Nurseries also remained busy with watering, plant up-keep activities, and rotating potted plants to new locations. Livestock, Range and Pasture: Supplemental feeding and watering continued as the State experienced another hot, dry week. Pastures and range were drying up and water sources were starting to dry up in some locations. Livestock were still in good shape, especially those on irrigated and higher elevation pastures. Soil Moisture-Week Ending 08/17/08 ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Very : : : : short : Short : Adequate : Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------ : Percent : Topsoil : 49 28 23 0 Subsoil : 34 42 24 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Progress-Week Ending 08/17/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This : Last : Last : 5 year Crop : week : week : year : average -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Alfalfa hay, third cutting : 34 11 24 5 Winter wheat harvested : 93 86 93 90 Barley harvested : 89 64 86 79 Spring wheat harvested : 86 71 77 76 : Days suitable for fieldwork : 6.9 6.5 6.7 6.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition-Week Ending 08/17/08 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Very : : : : Crop : poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Winter wheat : 10 31 40 17 2 Spring wheat : 9 43 30 14 4 Barley : 2 27 44 25 2 Corn : 0 0 26 57 17 Range and pasture : 22 32 34 12 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTERN OREGON CLACKAMAS: It was very hot this week. Grass seed harvest is nearing its end. Late blackberry varieties are coming on. Spring grains are ready. Gravenstein apples are starting to fall. It is time to wean spring calves as well as time to spray blackberries. COOS/CURRY: Very little wind this past week so fog has extended the grazing season on lowland coastal pastures, but everything else is dry and brown. Temperatures were near the 5-year average for the week, both in Coos and Northern Curry and in Southern Curry County. Bandon (Coos & Northern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 53.06 degrees, 4.37 degrees above the 5- year average. High temperature for the period was 65.81 degrees, 3.46 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.04 inches, compared to a 5-year (including drought years 2003-2004) average of 0.00 inches. Precipitation for Current weather year, (began 10/07) stands at 50.81 inches, 4.63 inches below the 5 year average. Historical average precipitation through August is 58.74 inches. Brookings (Southern Curry): Low temperature for the period was 54.82 degrees, 3.65 degrees above the 5-year average. High temperature for the period was 69.22 degrees, 2.85 degrees below the 5-year average. Precipitation for the period was 0.02 inches (over 2 days) compared to a 5-year (including drought years 2003-2004) average of .01 inches. Precipitation for Current weather year, (began 10/07) stands at 64.31 inches, 16.69 inches below the 5 year average. Historical average precipitation for Brookings area through August is 71.53 inches. DOUGLAS: Blazing hot temperatures late in the week have people focusing on irrigation. Harvest of plums is complete, early apples are beginning, and Bartlett pears will begin harvest in one week. Blueberry harvest is winding down with just a few late fields to go. Yields on blueberries were down about 15 percent from last year. Yields on apples and pears look like they will be up about 10-15 percent from last year. Wine grape crops look good. They are getting closer to normal maturity pace with all of our August heat. Only about 5-7 days behind normal now. JACKSON: There is still some grain being harvested. Second cutting of grass hay is being made and some second and third of alfalfa. Some ground preparation work is ongoing for weed control. Pears are looking good but are a bit behind last year. Bartlett's are being picked. Peaches are also being picked and wild blackberries are also now ready. Lots of good fresh vegetables are available at roadside stands and farmer's markets. Corn, peppers, tomatoes, and summer squash are being harvested. Greenhouses are getting started on fall plants, both vegetable and decorative plant starts. Nurseries are mostly doing plant up-keep, watering, and feeding. Cattle are looking quite good on good pastures. The dry ground is really dead. Other livestock are doing well. It has been another hot and dry week. Lots of irrigation is taking place in an attempt to try to keep pastures up. JOSEPHINE: A miserable hot week with record breaking temperatures. High temperatures ranged from 100 to 113 degrees with heavy smoke. It was hard to breathe and visibility was limited. Plants were showing stress from the heat and drying winds. Watering is an important issue. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday brought lightning storms. The situation is very explosive here! Truck gardens are selling melons locally grown now. Quality has been poor in crops that needed warm, dry nighttime temperatures from 50 to 60 degrees earlier in season. Corn is showing a poor pollination, while tomatoes have been slow to ripen. Animals appear to be doing well on irrigated acreage. Pastures look good. A few farmers have taken second cutting hay off of grass fields. MARION: This past week started out with nice summer weather with highs in the 80's, and then turned very hot with highs in the 100 degree range on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday was mostly cloudy with the high temperatures dropping down to the low 80's. I hear thunder and see rain falling this morning as I write this report. The very warm late week weather was good for those rushing to finish grass seed and grain harvest. The thunderstorm activity and moisture that came with it slowed down those who hadn't yet finished their grass seed and grain harvest. I see some combines already parked in their sheds as though they are stored until next season. Most grass fields look like they are threshed, as do most wheat fields. Hops harvest has started. Beans, corn, flowers, and other specialty crops continue to be harvested as they become ready. Flower and vegetable seed fields are currently being harvested. Cane berry growers are taking out the old vines and training up the new vines for next year's crop. Oregon State Fair begins this Friday, August 22nd. POLK: Hot and dry temperatures were well above normal with highs in the upper 90's to 100 degree range for several days. A heat advisory was posted for Western Oregon. Harvest of small grains continues. Baling of grass and wheat straw continues. TILLAMOOK: It was warm and dry most of the week. There was some fog inland during mornings that kept the temperatures down. Grass hay is being harvested. WASHINGTON: Grass for seed harvest is finished and yields were variable throughout the county. Red clover is ready for the swather with the continual hot weather. Field corn is tasseling and setting ears. Growers are baling wheat straw. Everbearing strawberries continue to produce while blackberries are just about ripe. Filberts look good and walnuts are sizing. Sweet corn is available at some farmer's markets and roadside stands. Other vegetables are very abundant. Tomatoes are yielding succulent fruit. Nurseries are rotating potted plants from high plantations to low, and are planting and irrigating new shrubs. Buffalo and calves look good. Beef cows and calves also look good where water and supplemental feed is plentiful. The top high temperatures were 102 on Thursday, 101on Friday, and 100 on Saturday. No rain or even mist received. EASTERN OREGON BAKER/UNION: Grain harvest is well underway. Some producers are reporting higher yields with lower test weights. GILLIAM: Spring grain is being harvested. Test weights in fall wheat are low. HARNEY: Weather has been hot and dry. Most second cutting alfalfa was completed. Desert ranges have cured and declined in quality. Insufficient livestock water is limiting use in some areas. Livestock were performing well on higher elevation ranges that are still in relatively good condition. HOOD RIVER: High temperatures ranged from the low 80's up to 105 degrees. Summer orchard operations continued work throughout the Hood River Valley. Pear growers continued cutting fire blight in many locations throughout the valley. Lower valley pear growers prepared for Bartlett harvest. KLAMATH: Hot temperatures during the week with a little rain received during the middle of the week. Grain harvest is underway. MALHEUR: Wheat conditions looked good until harvest started. Producers are reporting "average" to "below average" production. Many think heat during the critical growing stage caused shrinkage. SHERMAN: After last weeks thunder and lightning, a few relatively nice days with some very hot temperatures! Hopefully it will be cooler and windier for the County Fair next week. UMATILLA: Potato yield prospects have rebounded considerably from poor up to average after the cold spring. Onions were progressing nicely. It is too early to assess damage from previous week's hail storm. Alfalfa looks good. Grass seed and wheat yields vary greatly. WASCO: Grain harvest is nearly completed in all areas. Alfalfa haying and irrigation were active all week. Apple and pears are being picked in The Dalles area. There are a number of orchards starting to show up in the Wamic area. Grapes are coloring in their maturity cycle. Dry land range and pastures are rapidly being depleted. Stock watering is becoming a premium, as ponds and springs continue to dry up. Livestock, however, continue to be doing well, and no early sales are being reported. Weather data for selected stations in Oregon, Week ending: August 17, 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 : 54 78 63 +3 92 +15 - -0.28 - 60.97 -4.72 93 193 Bandon 8/ : 54 66 59 +1 67 +4 0.04 -0.17 2 52.64 -5.75 90 182 Crescent City : 51 63 57 -3 48 -15 - -0.21 - 44.31 -20.40 68 121 Florence : 47 77 61 -1 79 +2 0.02 -0.27 1 85.84 10.08 113 166 North Bend : 52 70 60 +0 71 -1 0.05 -0.16 3 57.96 -4.83 92 155 Tillamook : 54 77 64 +6 102 +36 - -0.36 - 57.04 -30.65 65 179 WILLAMETTE : VALLEY : Aurora 8/ : 55 103 76 +11 186 +70 0.01 -0.20 1 41.71 1.16 103 170 Corvallis : 48 98 74 +8 169 +57 - -0.21 - 42.33 0.07 100 156 Detroit Lake 8/ : 51 103 76 +14 185 +96 - -0.28 - 89.55 22.66 134 183 Eugene : 44 99 74 +7 169 +43 - -0.24 - 34.65 -14.16 71 141 Hillsboro : 50 103 74 +9 168 +56 - -0.25 - 30.70 -6.35 83 143 McMinnville : 48 102 74 +8 166 +49 - -0.14 - 33.84 -8.93 79 148 Portland : 59 101 77 +9 193 +60 - -0.24 - 32.99 -2.75 92 161 Salem : 50 100 75 +9 179 +60 - -0.14 - 35.97 -2.78 93 136 SW VALLEYS : Grants Pass : 52 106 78 +7 198 +46 - -0.11 - 28.20 -2.55 92 124 Medford : 53 108 81 +9 218 +57 - -0.14 - 16.38 -2.21 88 104 Roseburg : 51 102 78 +9 194 +57 - -0.14 - 31.86 -0.53 98 139 NORTH CENTRAL : Condon : 46 99 72 +7 159 +49 - -0.14 - 11.74 -1.96 86 104 Echo 8/ : 50 106 77 +5 191 +35 - -0.07 - 7.79 -0.95 89 98 Heppner : 50 102 74 +6 172 +36 - -0.14 - 13.70 0.14 101 118 Hermiston : 52 107 77 +5 189 +33 - -0.07 - 7.64 -1.10 87 83 Madras 8/ : 47 103 75 +9 175 +57 - -0.14 - 7.90 -2.26 78 98 Moro : 49 104 75 +7 174 +50 - -0.10 - 9.46 -1.40 87 87 Parkdale 8/ : 48 101 73 +7 164 +45 - -0.14 - 21.99 -8.51 72 111 Pendleton : 51 108 78 +6 196 +39 - -0.14 - 10.93 -0.83 93 97 Prairie City 8/ : 47 103 75 +9 175 +57 - -0.14 - 7.90 -2.26 78 98 The Dalles : 58 109 80 +14 214 +96 - -0.13 - 12.95 0.70 106 82 SOUTH CENTRAL : Agency Lake 8/ : 43 96 69 +7 135 +47 0.08 -0.10 1 12.89 -2.98 81 96 Bend : 41 100 71 +8 145 +52 - -0.14 - 11.69 0.25 102 77 Burns : 40 98 70 +6 141 +39 - -0.14 - 9.00 -0.66 93 101 Christmas Valley 8/ : 37 98 68 +2 131 +8 - -0.14 - 7.34 -4.77 61 72 Klamath Falls : 44 97 72 +5 153 +34 0.04 -0.10 1 9.72 -3.52 73 84 Klamath Falls 8/ : 46 97 73 +7 166 +47 - -0.14 - 10.96 -2.28 83 108 Lakeview : - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lorella 8/ : 41 98 69 +3 137 +18 - -0.14 - 9.40 -3.84 71 110 Redmond : 37 106 71 +7 152 +43 - -0.14 - 2.04 -6.28 25 42 Worden 8/ : 39 97 68 +1 125 +6 - -0.14 - 8.38 -4.86 63 102 NORTHEAST : Baker City : 40 98 67 +0 120 +5 - -0.21 - 9.90 -0.55 95 116 Joseph : 42 91 67 +7 120 +43 - -0.27 - 18.93 -5.40 78 130 La Grande : 45 102 72 +4 160 +25 - -0.21 - 14.22 -2.82 83 105 Union : 44 99 70 +4 144 +27 - -0.21 - 11.25 -2.08 84 102 SOUTHEAST : Ontario : 54 99 77 +3 189 +18 - -0.07 - 6.33 -3.09 67 71 Rome : 48 100 73 +3 164 +22 - -0.12 - 7.07 -0.95 88 86 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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.