Crop Weather Report

t

Issue: 08-24
Issued: Weekly: Apr-Oct
            Monthly: Nov-Mar	 Montana Field Office · 10 W 15th St, Suite 3100 ·  Helena, MT 59626
(406) 441-1240· (406) 441-1250 FAX · www.nass.usda.gov/mt
	Released: Aug. 25, 2008
For the Week Ending:                        Aug. 24, 2008	

Weather Summary

Crop Progress Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg	
Turning					
 Durum Wheat	95	92	96	89	
Harvested					
 Barley	60	29	87	70	
 Dry Peas	95	75	89	n/a	
 Durum Wheat	50	40	67	49	
 Lentils	86	70	86	n/a	
 Oats	71	42	90	74	
 Spring Wheat	61	37	82	68	
 Winter Wheat	87	70	100	96	
Hay Second Cutting					
 Alfalfa	77	56	87	74	
 All Other Hay	60	33	79	62	
Most of Montana received below normal precipitation for the week ending August 24th. The northwest district received a moderate amount of precipitation. Superior received the most weekly accumulated precipitation at 1.45 inches. Twelve cities either set new daily high temperature records or tied with previous high records during the week. Highs were mostly in the 90s to 100s, and lows mostly ranged from 30s to 40s. Roundup had the high temperature of 105 degrees, and Wisdom had the low temperature of 26 degrees. Topsoil moisture adequate and surplus, at 18 percent, is below last week’s 20 percent, above last year’s 12 percent, and is the same as the five-year average. Subsoil moisture adequate and surplus is 20 percent, unchanged from last week but above last year’s 19 percent and the five-year average of 17 percent. The number of days suitable for field work was 6.0 days, down from the previous week’s 6.5 days.  

The weather outlook for September 1st through September 7th is for below normal temperatures and above normal precipitation east of the continental divide and for above normal temperatures and near normal precipitation west of the divide. Normal temperatures for this period in Montana are highs ranging from 70 to 80 degrees and lows in the lower 30s to the lower 50s. 

Field Crops Report

Durum wheat, oats, and spring wheat conditions declined this week while barley conditions improved slightly. The second cutting of hay is well underway. Corn is a few weeks behind normal in progress, and irrigated corn producers may have to irrigate late this year. The south central and southeast districts are seeing a high number or grasshoppers in dryland fields. Harvesting of all the small grains is still behind last year.

Crop Condition Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg	
Barley	
 Very Poor	2	2	n/a	n/a	
 Poor	8	8	n/a	n/a	
 Fair	41	43	n/a	n/a	
 Good	42	39	n/a	n/a	
 Excellent	7	8	n/a	n/a	
Durum Wheat					
 Very Poor	18	18	n/a	n/a	
 Poor	28	26	n/a	n/a	
 Fair	31	30	n/a	n/a	
 Good	22	25	n/a	n/a	
 Excellent	1	1	n/a	n/a	
Oats					
 Very Poor	14	3	n/a	n/a	
 Poor	4	10	n/a	n/a	
 Fair	45	49	n/a	n/a	
 Good	33	37	n/a	n/a	
 Excellent	4	1	n/a	n/a	
Spring Wheat					
 Very Poor	5	7	n/a	n/a	
 Poor	17	15	n/a	n/a	
 Fair	36	33	n/a	n/a	
 Good	37	41	n/a	n/a	
 Excellent	5	4	n/a	n/a	

Soil Moisture & Field Work Table	This
Week	Last
Week	Last
Year	5 Yr Avg	
Topsoil Moisture	
 Very Short	30	29	47	45	
 Short	52	51	41	37	
 Adequate	18	20	12	17	
 Surplus	0	0	0	1	
Subsoil Moisture	
 Very Short	29	32	41	45	
 Short	51	48	40	38	
 Adequate	20	19	19	17	
 Surplus	0	1	0	0	
Days Suitable for Fieldwork	
 Days	6.0	6.5	6.4	6.3	

Livestock Report

Range & Livestock Table	This Week	Last Week	Last Year	5 Yr Avg	
Range and Pasture Feed Condition	
 Very Poor	9	8	10	16	
 Poor	28	25	20	24	
 Fair	36	35	33	34	
 Good	20	25	33	22	
 Excellent	7	7	4	4	
Livestock Moved From Summer Ranges	
 Cattle and Calves	6	2	16	7	
 Sheep and Lambs	7	2	12	5	
More ranchers have moved their livestock from summer ranges this past week. Movement is similar to the five-year average. Range and pasture feed conditions have declined this week with 27 percent good to excellent compared to 32 percent the previous week. 

Weather Information for the Week ending 08/24/2008                          
Station ID		Precipitation	
	Temperature	GDDs	This Week	April 1 to Date	October 1 to Date	
	Hi	LOW	AVG	B50	DFN	Total	DFN	Total	DFN	%NRM	Total	DFN	%NRM	
NORTHWEST														
Alberton	99	42	65	103	-5	1.06	+0.78	6.51	-0.23	97	15.79	+3.29	126	
Anaconda	95	35	64	97	+9	1.06	+0.71	6.88	-0.67	91	13.35	+1.37	111	
Clinton	98	38	63	91	+22	1.09	+0.82	7.91	+1.55	124	16.46	+2.58	119	
Corvallis	99	40	64	98	-6	0.83	+0.55	3.56	-2.59	58	7.89	-2.53	76	
Creston	96	42	65	104	+15	0.56	+0.21	8.56	-1.48	85	12.38	-5.91	68	
Deer Lodge	93	37	61	81	+9	0.43	+0.15	5.63	-1.19	83	8.03	-1.23	87	
Drummond	98	37	63	90	+0	0.88	+0.56	6.19	-0.59	91	10.93	-0.38	97	
Hamilton	93	45	65	106	+7	0.00	-0.28	2.62	-3.64	42	5.97	-3.20	65	
Kalispell	99	42	66	111	+25	0.50	+0.22	6.54	-1.40	82	11.62	-4.14	74	
Missoula	100	42	68	127	+19	0.66	+0.38	5.35	-1.39	79	10.08	-2.42	81	
Olney	97	33	59	63	-5	0.48	+0.13	5.88	-3.48	63	18.60	-2.60	88	
Polson	98	43	65	106	-10	0.93	+0.63	7.24	-0.85	89	11.55	-3.00	79	
St Ignatius	101	43	65	108	-5	1.38	+1.10	8.75	+0.09	101	12.80	-2.10	86	
Seeley Lake	96	43	66	110	+25	0.07	-0.28	4.54	-2.94	61	15.21	-3.83	80	
Sula	93	33	62	84	+21	0.33	-0.02	6.80	-1.65	80	12.56	-2.00	86	
Superior	101	35	66	111	-9	1.45	+1.11	9.81	+2.92	142	18.94	+3.70	124	
Swan Lake	98	38	62	89	+22	0.74	+0.32	8.36	-1.49	85	24.97	-1.45	95	
Thompson Falls	104	44	69	134	+5	1.15	+0.87	6.39	-1.71	79	22.55	+0.92	104	
West Glacier	96	40	64	99	+13	0.70	+0.29	8.78	-2.11	81	26.96	+0.45	102	
NORTH CENTRAL														
Chester	94	40	69	131	+27	0.22	-0.06	7.18	+0.05	101	8.81	-0.72	92	
Chinook	97	42	68	130	+14	0.17	-0.14	9.46	+1.21	115	11.69	+0.36	103	
Choteau	91	39	64	99	-7	0.06	-0.28	8.62	+1.31	118	10.98	+1.89	121	
Cut Bank	95	39	65	107	+22	0.04	-0.38	10.01	+1.44	117	10.94	-0.09	99	
Ft Assinniboine	97	39	69	133	+7	0.16	-0.12	8.47	+0.17	102	10.15	-1.40	88	
Fort Benton	98	41	70	140	+15	0.17	-0.18	9.66	+1.18	114	12.17	+0.01	100	
Goldbutte	95	39	66	116	+24	0.45	+0.03	9.52	+0.80	109	11.80	-0.07	99	
Harlem	99	41	71	146	+30	0.28	+0.07	6.96	-0.53	93	8.42	-1.54	85	
Havre	98	42	70	141	+24	0.20	-0.08	6.87	-0.23	97	8.35	-1.88	82	
Malta	102	42	73	160	+43	0.05	-0.21	7.65	-0.83	90	11.32	-0.13	99	
Rudyard	94	42	68	128	+18	0.03	-0.25	8.90	+2.00	129	9.59	+0.85	110	
Shelby	96	40	67	117	+23	0.04	-0.31	7.29	-0.53	93	8.58	-2.20	80	
Turner	98	39	70	141	+33	0.06	-0.15	8.06	+0.55	107	9.28	-0.49	95	
Valier	94	42	66	112	+4	0.12	-0.30	7.78	-0.67	92	9.80	-0.98	91	
NORTHEAST														
Bredette	98	38	69	133	+9	0.28	+0.00	7.56	-1.54	83	10.35	-1.18	90	
Culbertson	98	39	71	145	+17	0.28	+0.01	5.83	-3.28	64	8.05	-3.76	68	
Glasgow	103	41	72	151	+23	0.06	-0.22	9.21	+1.76	124	11.52	+1.50	115	
Glendive	98	44	75	175	+33	0.47	+0.15	7.38	-1.28	85	9.19	-2.70	77	
Jordan	102	40	71	149	+15	0.21	-0.03	8.27	+0.17	102	11.63	+0.20	102	
Nashua	101	38	73	166	+21	0.24	+0.01	9.55	+1.48	118	11.62	+1.25	112	
Opheim	97	30	68	130	+32	0.06	-0.16	8.53	-0.31	96	10.77	-0.21	98	
Plentywood	97	37	70	140	+23	0.32	+0.04	7.56	-1.20	86	9.71	-1.83	84	
St Marie	98	42	72	156	+28	0.02	-0.26	6.93	-0.52	93	8.94	-1.08	89	
Scobey	101	33	70	142	+37	0.25	-0.10	11.05	+1.99	122	13.98	+2.64	123	
Sidney	97	43	73	162	+27	0.32	+0.04	5.75	-3.32	63	7.53	-5.03	60	
Wolf Point	102	37	71	148	+6	0.34	+0.08	8.35	+0.50	106	9.84	-0.67	94	
CENTRAL														
Cascade	92	35	65	110	+31	0.28	-0.07	11.19	+2.07	123	15.79	+3.13	125	
Grass Range	95	39	69	132	+26	0.07	-0.28	12.14	+1.50	114	16.10	+1.16	108	
Great Falls	98	46	70	144	+42	0.05	-0.34	8.90	-0.03	100	11.73	-1.63	88	
Harlowton	96	43	67	117	+17	0.00	-0.35	11.59	+2.34	125	15.74	+3.11	125	
Helena	99	48	70	144	+35	0.11	-0.17	5.36	-1.52	78	7.90	-2.13	79	
Lewistown	97	42	67	119	+22	0.21	-0.21	11.02	+0.20	102	13.74	-2.37	85	
Martinsdale	93	33	65	108	+33	0.00	-0.35	7.95	-0.79	91	11.44	-0.64	95	
Neihart	92	38	63	95	+8	0.22	-0.27	12.66	+0.06	100	19.83	+0.81	104	
Rogers Pass	95	40	65	105	+15	0.60	+0.18	11.24	+0.66	106	14.79	-1.01	94	
Roundup	105	41	72	156	+26	0.34	+0.06	9.82	+1.37	116	12.47	+0.73	106	
Ryegate	96	43	67	117	+12	0.00	-0.33	9.60	+1.23	115	12.64	+1.07	109	
Stanford	91	44	68	126	+18	0.05	-0.37	10.24	-0.59	95	13.84	-1.47	90	
Townsend	95	41	66	117	+13	0.05	-0.26	5.27	-1.66	76	7.46	-1.96	79	
Valentine	101	42	69	134	+22	0.09	-0.19	10.76	+1.96	122	13.45	+1.23	110	
Wht Sulphur Spr	94	41	66	112	+26	0.21	-0.07	7.60	-0.53	93	11.27	-0.48	96	
SOUTHWEST														
Boulder	91	41	65	103	+13	0.01	-0.28	6.03	-1.34	82	8.70	-1.51	85	
Bozeman	93	39	69	133	+26	0.08	-0.27	13.57	+2.91	127	22.14	+4.98	129	
Butte	90	37	63	93	+19	0.01	-0.27	6.24	-1.43	81	8.42	-3.03	74	
Dillon	92	39	66	116	+24	0.01	-0.27	3.86	-2.63	59	6.79	-1.94	78	
Ennis	91	33	62	85	-2	0.00	-0.35	7.46	-0.77	91	12.58	+0.43	104	
Lakeview	89	37	64	102	+48	0.00	-0.35	5.83	-4.08	59	13.36	-3.94	77	
W Yellowstone	88	35	62	83	+34	0.00	-0.28	7.86	-0.91	90	19.56	-0.42	98	
Wisdom	90	26	58	57	+16	0.05	-0.17	5.04	-1.62	76	10.74	+0.01	100	
SOUTH CENTRAL														
Billings	101	51	74	168	+29	0.18	-0.03	6.44	-1.57	80	10.40	-2.85	78	
Cooke City	91	38	65	110	+75	0.00	-0.49	6.38	-4.70	58	11.70	-11.40	51	
Gardiner	93	42	70	143	+27	0.00	-0.18	2.77	-2.78	50	6.59	-2.15	75	
Hardin	102	47	74	170	+22	0.00	-0.14	8.87	+2.25	134	11.79	+1.15	111	
Huntley	103	40	70	140	+17	0.35	+0.12	8.22	+0.12	101	12.16	-0.35	97	
Hysham	98	42	71	146	+11	0.14	-0.07	8.89	+0.93	112	11.96	+0.06	101	
Joliet	98	41	69	132	+18	0.00	-0.28	7.23	-1.30	85	11.37	-2.74	81	
Livingston	98	37	68	131	+22	0.07	-0.28	7.92	-1.52	84	11.60	-2.35	83	
Nye	96	39	69	134	+39	0.00	-0.35	12.05	+1.04	109	17.25	+0.92	106	
Rapelje	99	43	70	142	+24	0.26	-0.02	8.89	-0.11	99	12.45	-1.27	91	
SOUTHEAST														
Albion	95	37	68	129	+10	0.00	-0.30	19.85	+9.83	198	22.70	+9.61	173	
Baker	95	36	70	140	+12	0.06	-0.24	8.87	-0.16	98	10.13	-2.95	77	
Broadus	95	42	73	160	+22	0.00	-0.18	13.51	+5.28	164	15.48	+3.11	125	
Ekalaka	88	39	70	144	+13	0.00	-0.28	13.42	+2.85	127	16.11	+0.64	104	
Miles City	101	45	75	175	+23	0.01	-0.21	7.87	-0.64	92	8.49	-3.57	70	
Plevna	94	35	70	141	+13	0.29	-0.01	8.81	-0.22	98	10.41	-2.67	80	
Compiled by AWIS Inc. based on NWS data.  DFN-Departure from normal 1970-2000.  GDD-Growing degree days