|
Weather helps row crops play catch upSouth Dakota Continued warm weather during the week ending Sept. 28 with scattered precipitation helped row crops that have been behind schedule all season reach maturity, even allowing some parts of the state to begin the row crop harvest, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, South Dakota Field Office, Sept. 29. There were 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork in the past week. Farm activities focused on cutting silage, general care of livestock, seeding winter wheat, and starting the row crop harvest in some areas. Another warm week occurred over South Dakota with some decent precipitation in some locations, according to the State Climate Office of South Dakota. Temperatures were above average for the whole state for another week. The southeast area was the warmest overall with several stations as much as 10 F above average for the week, including Mitchell, Sioux Falls, and Yankton. The western parts of the state were less warm but still 3 to 6 F above average. With the late planted crop and some delayed development, the additional GDDs at the end of the season are welcome to help crops reach maturity. Again, only minor areas of frost occurred during the week, as temperatures in and near the Black Hills fell to around or slightly below freezing temperatures. Several thunderstorms during the week brought some needed precipitation, but amounts were quite variable. Centerville reported the most precipitation at 1.35 inches. A handful of other scattered stations reported totals over 0.5 inch. Most other reports were less than 0.5 inch. Four stations in and near the Black Hills--Rapid City, Spearfish, Hot Springs, and Custer--reported no precipitation. Four-inch soil temperatures have remained generally in the 60s over much of the state. Topsoil moisture ratings improved to 64 percent adequate to surplus. Subsoil moisture also improved to 63 percent adequate to surplus. Continued warm weather allowed significant progress in crop maturity and the start of fall harvest activities in the state. Corn advanced to 44 percent mature, but is still 25 percentage points behind the five-year average of 69 percent. Soybeans jumped 28 percentage points in the mature category to 47 percent, with the soybean harvest at 10 percent complete. Sunflowers are estimated at 19 percent mature, 17 percentage points lower than five-year average. The silage harvest continues to progress quickly, with 76 percent of the corn harvested and 74 percent of the sorghum harvested. Winter wheat is 61 percent seeded, with 23 percent of the crop emerged. Range and pasture conditions improved slightly with 62 percent in the good to excellent categories, 3 percentage points higher than last week. Feed supplies and stock water supplies remain strong at 94 and 82 percent adequate to surplus, respectively. Livestock conditions are stable, with cattle rated 87 percent good to excellent and sheep rated 90 percent good to excellent. Normal fall livestock activities are continuing without report of any major issues. 10/6/08 Date: 10/1/08
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
