Oklahoma crop weather, 10/09/2012, v.35 no.35

              United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Oklahoma Crop Weather
Oklahoma Field Office
Cooperating with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry
P.O. Box 528804 · Oklahoma City, OK 73152-8804
(405) 522-6190 · FAX (405) 528-2296 · www.nass.usda.gov/ok
A combined contribution with Cooperative Extension Service, USDA Farm Service Agency and Oklahoma Mesonet
-over-
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Information provided by respondents on NASS surveys, will remain completely confidential, as required by
Federal law. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
Volume 35, Number 35
Weekly Summary for Oct 1-Oct 7
Issued October 9, 2012
Peanut and Cotton Harvest Getting Underway
Fall temperatures and widespread precipitation were received across Oklahoma last week. This did little to improve crop conditions though and many reports from around the State mentioned persistently low pond water levels. The October 4 Mesonet report showed some easing of drought conditions with the area of the State classified in extreme or exceptional drought shrinking from 95% to 80%. Conditions were favorable for producers seeding wheat last week with the number of planted acres jumping 24 points. Some operators were reported shredding to destroy extremely poor cotton fields in order to prepare them for wheat planting. Cotton and peanut harvest were beginning to get underway, while corn and sorghum harvest both continued well ahead of the average pace. Topsoil moisture supplies barely moved from the previous week with 28 percent rated very short, 33 percent short, and 39 percent adequate this week as compared to 25 percent very short, 31 percent short, 42 percent adequate, and two percent surplus the previous week. Subsoil moisture supply ratings were unchanged from the previous week with 58 percent rated very short, 31 percent short and 11 percent adequate. There were 5.6 days considered suitable for fieldwork last week.
Small Grains: Wheat, rye, and canola planting progress gained momentum last week. Wheat planting hit 59 percent complete compared with 35 percent the previous week. Twenty-nine percent of the wheat planted was reported emerging compared with 14 percent the previous week. Rye planting reached 79 percent last week, gaining 23 percentage points from the previous week, but was on track with the average pace of 75 percent. Rye emerging passed the halfway mark at 52 percent complete. Oats planting continued to progress near the average pace with 26 percent of the crop in the ground.
Canola planting gained 23 percentage points last week to reach 73 percent of the crop. Canola emerging progressed rapidly to 30 percent of the crop, compared with eight percent the previous week, and six percent last year.
Row Crops: Conditions of cotton, sorghum, and soybeans continued to be rated in mostly poor to very poor condition. The corn harvest increased eight percentage points during the week to 87 percent of the crop. By week’s end the sorghum harvested was nearing the halfway mark at 49 percent, and well ahead of the five-year average pace of 29 percent complete. Soybeans were developing on about the normal schedule with 39 percent of the crop rated mature by week’s end. Soybeans harvested reached 14 percent last week compared with the five-year average of 15 percent. Peanuts dug reached 25 percent last week, a 20 point gain from the previous week, but near the five-year average pace of 24 percent. Peanut combining was beginning to gain traction with 13 percent of the crop completed by week’s end. Cotton with bolls opening reached 79 percent compared with 68 percent the previous week, and 84 percent normally by this time of year. Cotton harvest was just getting under way with seven percent completed by week’s end.
Hay: Alfalfa hay conditions continued to be rated mostly poor to very poor. The fourth cutting of alfalfa was 63 percent complete by Sunday, 15 points behind normal. The second cutting of other hay reached 65 percent complete, a one percentage point increase from the previous week, and ten points off the five-year average pace.
Pasture and Livestock: Conditions of pasture and range continued to be rated mostly poor to very poor. Producers continued supplement livestock due to the limited forage in pastures. Livestock conditions were rated mostly good to fair. Prices for feeder steers less than 800 pounds averaged $145 per cwt. Prices for heifers less than 800 pounds averaged $134 per cwt.
Soil Moisture Conditions by Percent
Week Ending Sunday, October 7, 2012
Moisture Rating
Current Week
Previous Week
One Year Ago
Topsoil
Very Short
28
25
59
Short
33
31
24
Adequate
39
42
17
Surplus
0
2
1
Subsoil
Very Short
58
58
81
Short
31
31
13
Adequate
11
11
6
Surplus
0
0
0
Conditions by Percent
For Week Ending Sunday, October 7, 2012
Commodity
Very Poor
Poor
Fair
Good
Excellent
Sorghum
33
26
31
10
0
Soybeans
30
39
23
8
0
Peanuts
3
4
25
64
4
Cotton
30
45
16
9
0
Alfalfa Hay
31
32
25
11
1
Livestock
3
16
45
32
4
Pasture and Range
36
38
21
5
0