Released May 5, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin" call Rhonda Brandt (202) 720-7621, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. National Agricultural Summary April 27 - May 3, 1998 Highlights: Farmers in the upper Mississippi Valley and across the northern Plains continued planting at a near-record pace, as temperatures remained above average and rainfall was minimal. Farmers in the western Corn Belt and central Plains also made excellent planting progress despite below-normal temperatures. Rainy weather hampered planting efforts in some parts of the central Plains, most of the Mississippi Delta and eastern Corn Belt, and parts of the Northeast. Planting operations continued in the Mid-Atlantic and eastern Gulf Coast areas, where little or no rain fell. The Western United States was also dry and much warmer, allowing farmers to resume normal planting operations. Winter wheat: Crop development remained slightly ahead of normal nationally, with 24 percent headed, compared with 22 percent normally headed by this date. Fields were rapidly maturing in Central Texas and the Blacklands. Harvest was underway in the Coastal Bend and South Texas regions. In Kansas, the crop had just begun to develop heads. With 3 percent headed, development was slightly behind the 5-year average. The condition of the crop remains mostly good, and better than recent years at this date. However, conditions deteriorated in several States during the week. In the western Great Plains, from Texas to the Canada border, dry soils have begun to stress the crop. Warm, dry weather was also blamed for the decline in the Washington crop condition. In the eastern Corn Belt, the drop in the percentage rated good or excellent was less pronounced. Excessive rainfall kept soils too soggy and caused ponding in parts of Illinois and Indiana. Corn: Dry weather in the western Corn Belt and Plains States allowed planting progress to move ahead of normal for this date. Minnesota farmers planted over half of their intended corn acreage during the week, raising total planted acres to over 80 percent of intended, the most by this date according to records dating to 1956. Farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, and Colorado planted more than one-third of their corn acreage, moving total progress well ahead of normal for those areas. Progress was less advanced in Wisconsin and South Dakota, but was also ahead of normal. Rain limited planting in eastern Kansas, but good progress in the western half of the State allowed progress to remain well ahead of normal for this date. Progress remained well behind normal in the eastern Corn Belt, where frequent showers and isolated thunderstorms kept fields too wet to support machinery. Cotton: Planting fell further behind normal despite good progress in the Southwest. Rain significantly limited progress in the Mississippi Delta, the Tennessee Valley, and the southern Piedmont and Atlantic Coast areas. Among the Southeastern States, only Alabama and North Carolina were dry enough to make normal planting progress. In the Southwest, temperatures substantially warmed, allowing planting to accelerate, but progress was still considerably behind normal, especially in California. In Texas, emergence and growth were good, but moisture was short. In the Coastal Bend and Rio Grande regions, plants were squaring and soil moisture was especially short. Rice: Planting progress was slowed by rain, but remained well ahead of normal in all major rice-producing States except California. Progress also slowed in Texas and Louisiana as planting approached 100 percent of intended acres. Farmers were flushing fields to improve stands. Emerged fields were in mostly good condition. Planting was just starting in California. Small grains: Farmers made rapid progress planting small grains from the Great Lakes States westward to the Pacific Northwest. Spring wheat seeded advanced to 65 percent, more than double the normal rate. Barley planted was also well ahead of normal, at 58 percent of intended acres, compared with 33 percent normally planted by this date. Oats seeded progressed 25 percentage points to 73 percent of intended acres. Normally 42 percent would be planted by this date. Warm weather promoted growth of earlier planted small grains, but rain was needed to germinate more recently planted fields. Other crops: Sorghum planting progress was slow in most of the Southern States, but remained only slightly behind normal nationally due to above-normal progress in Arkansas and South Dakota. Peanut planting continued to be hampered by rain, especially in Georgia,where less than half the normal acreage has been planted. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No. 17 April 19 - 25, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Warmer and slightly drier weather in the Corn Belt allowed for some fieldwork and planting. Similar improvement occurred in California and the Southwest. In the East, early- to midweek rains were replaced by beneficial late-week dryness, while on the Plains, warm weather spurred wheat planting and development. Short-term dryness (5 weeks) persisted across parts of Texas, the immediate Gulf Coast, and most of Florida. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 9 degrees F below normal in the Southeast, but ranged from 2 to 9 degrees F above normal in the West and across the Nation's northern tier. During the first half of the week, cool air lingered across the Plains and Midwest. On Sunday, lows dipped to the freezing mark (32 degrees F) as far south as Lubbock, TX. Two days later, San Angelo, TX (38 degrees F) posted a daily-record low. From April 22-25, more than a dozen daily-record lows were set across the Gulf Coast region, including 42 degrees F in College Station, TX on Wednesday, and 45 degrees F in Baton Rouge, LA on Friday. Warmth arrived along the West Coast on Tuesday, where Oakland, CA notched a daily-record high of 82 degrees F. Two days later, daily records were established in Blanding, UT (80 degrees F) and Glasgow, MT (82 degrees F). Farther south, highs on Wednesday soared to 100 degrees F in Thermal, CA and 101 degrees F in Yuma, AZ. At week's end, highs rose to 87 degrees F in Topeka, KS and 93 degrees F in Lubbock. Weekly rainfall ranged from 1 to 3 inches along the Appalachian Cordillera, continuing a wet spell that pushed monthly rainfall (through April 26) to 10.46 inches in Knoxville, TN and 9.59 inches in Athens, GA. Late in the week, wet weather returned to parts of the West and Midwest. During a 24-hour period on April 25-26, 4 inches of new snow fell on Arizona's Mt. Lemmon. In Iowa, 2.40 inches of rain drenched Sioux City during the same period. In contrast, monthly rainfall through the 26th was as low as 0.02 inches in Daytona Beach, FL, 0.05 inches in San Antonio, TX, and 0.07 inches in New Orleans, LA. San Antonio's driest April on record (0.11 inches) occurred in 1984. The Mississippi River crest passed Caruthersville, MO on Saturday, about 6.1 feet above flood stage (afs). Two days later, on April 27, the river was cresting in Memphis, TN, approximately 0.7 feet below flood stage. The lower Ohio River remained in flood at week's end, with the crest approaching Shawneetown, IL (8.7 feet afs on April 26). Alaska remained in a very mild pattern, as weekly temperatures ranged from 2 to 13 degrees F above normal. On April 24-25, Cold Bay logged consecutive daily-record highs (48 and 49 degrees F). Anchorage also tallied a record (58 degrees F) on Saturday. Meanwhile, Hawaii's 6-month drought continued. With 0.03 inches during the week, Honolulu's year-to-date rainfall reached 1.55 inches (17 percent of normal). Corn: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 51 14 46 38 GA : 85 82 95 96 IL : 30 7 71 35 IN : 10 3 56 23 IA : 38 3 46 34 KS : 72 55 46 46 KY : 36 32 43 41 MI : 23 5 26 9 MN : 81 26 52 26 MO : 42 30 40 40 NE : 43 12 27 26 NC : 67 51 89 82 OH : 10 4 66 28 PA : 24 7 18 13 SD : 23 8 4 7 TX : 83 74 67 79 WI : 26 4 16 10 : 17 Sts: 39 15 46 30 -------------------------------------- These 17 States planted 90% of last year's corn acreage. Corn: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 0 NA NA NA GA : 75 NA NA NA IL : 1 NA NA NA IN : 0 NA NA NA IA : 0 NA NA NA KS : 13 NA NA NA KY : 18 NA NA NA MI : 0 NA NA NA MN : 1 NA NA NA MO : 0 NA NA NA NE : 0 NA NA NA NC : 56 NA NA NA OH : 1 NA NA NA PA : 1 NA NA NA SD : 3 NA NA NA TX : 65 NA NA NA WI : 0 NA NA NA : 17 Sts: 4 NA NA NA -------------------------------------- These 17 States planted 90% of last year's corn acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Headed, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 89 74 88 71 CA : 98 85 99 97 CO : 1 0 1 0 GA : 93 66 97 93 ID : 0 0 0 0 IL : 13 1 1 2 IN : 12 5 0 2 KS : 3 0 5 7 MI : 0 0 0 0 MO : 27 8 19 11 MT : 0 0 0 0 NE : 0 0 0 0 NC : 82 35 78 62 OH : 0 0 0 0 OK : 59 31 52 52 OR : 0 0 0 0 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 52 39 50 52 WA : 2 0 0 0 : 19 Sts: 24 14 22 22 -------------------------------------- These 19 States planted 91% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 83 65 70 73 MN : 71 33 9 24 MT : 71 40 26 43 ND : 53 23 3 16 SD : 89 70 11 42 : 5 Sts : 65 36 12 29 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 49 27 34 44 AZ : 75 52 88 86 AR : 7 2 7 20 CA : 45 25 94 82 GA : 24 10 20 38 LA : 23 13 13 38 MS : 12 5 11 33 MO : 5 3 11 9 NM : 54 25 64 59 NC : 25 9 10 23 OK : 7 7 1 3 SC : 18 6 21 36 TN : 7 3 6 12 TX : 23 19 19 22 : 14 Sts: 24 15 25 32 -------------------------------------- These 14 States planted 98% of last year's cotton acreage. Oats: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 79 48 92 77 MI : 80 64 73 44 MN : 84 56 55 48 NE : 98 79 85 84 ND : 40 16 1 12 OH : 83 72 91 65 PA : 77 63 73 59 SD : 87 68 12 36 WI : 84 46 66 40 : 9 Sts : 73 48 47 42 -------------------------------------- These 9 States planted 57% of last year's oat acreage. Sorghum: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 60 47 56 48 CO : 0 0 0 1 IL : 0 0 3 1 KS : 3 0 5 2 LA : 34 31 55 42 MS : 50 44 58 56 MO : 3 2 4 6 NE : 0 0 0 0 NM : 0 0 1 3 OK : 5 4 6 7 SD : 7 0 0 2 TX : 53 50 51 61 : 12 Sts: 21 18 21 23 -------------------------------------- These 12 States planted 99% of last year's sorghum acreage. Barley: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 71 47 50 62 MN : 65 30 7 19 MT : 66 38 25 42 ND : 40 15 2 15 SD : 85 67 4 31 WA : 91 77 68 67 : 6 Sts : 58 33 20 33 -------------------------------------- These 6 States planted 83% of last year's barley acreage. Rice: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 65 55 58 53 CA : 1 0 32 14 LA : 91 85 78 75 MS : 77 64 83 70 TX : 92 82 48 69 : 5 Sts : 62 54 58 53 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's rice acreage. Peanuts: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 3, :Apr 26,:May 3, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 20 7 17 29 FL : 19 9 18 NA GA : 19 5 23 40 NC : 5 3 7 10 OK : 14 6 14 6 SC : 16 2 32 40 TX : 8 1 6 5 VA : 13 4 18 21 : 8 Sts : 15 4 16 24 -------------------------------------- These 8 States planted 99% of last year's peanut acreage. Winter Wheat: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 0 6 30 53 11 CA : 0 0 20 45 35 CO : 3 8 25 47 17 GA : 2 6 31 53 8 ID : 0 1 4 65 30 IL : 1 3 19 63 14 IN : 1 3 14 56 26 KS : 0 3 19 58 20 MI : 1 4 17 57 21 MO : 1 10 32 48 9 MT : 7 9 37 44 3 NE : 1 8 30 51 10 NC : 1 8 27 58 6 OH : 0 2 15 51 32 OK : 0 4 19 71 6 OR : 0 0 4 45 51 SD : 0 0 9 61 30 TX : 3 18 41 35 3 WA : 3 3 13 60 21 : 19 Sts : 1 6 23 55 15 : Prev Wk : 1 4 20 57 18 Prev Yr : 5 12 33 42 8 -------------------------------------- Pasture and Range: Crop Condition by Percent, Selected States -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- State : VP : P : F : G : EX :: State : VP : P : F : G : EX -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : AL : 0 4 22 59 15 :: NJ : 0 0 0 60 40 AZ : 0 11 34 37 18 :: NM : 2 8 37 51 2 AR : 0 3 28 61 8 :: NY : 0 8 17 66 9 CA : 0 0 15 30 55 :: NC : 0 4 18 66 12 CO : 4 8 41 43 4 :: ND : 2 14 38 42 4 CT : 0 0 0 50 50 :: OH : 0 2 12 52 34 DE : 0 0 8 85 7 :: OK : 0 3 36 57 4 FL : 5 5 45 45 0 :: OR : 0 0 13 68 19 GA : 0 3 22 63 12 :: PA : 1 4 19 58 18 ID : 0 1 5 66 28 :: RI : 0 0 0 0 100 IL : 0 2 11 66 21 :: SC : 0 1 17 61 21 IN : 0 1 19 55 25 :: SD : 1 2 15 65 17 IA : 1 6 22 56 15 :: TN : 0 3 18 59 20 KS : 0 4 19 62 15 :: TX : 4 16 43 32 5 KY : 1 2 23 58 16 :: UT : 0 0 27 60 13 LA : 0 4 29 60 7 :: VT : 0 0 4 96 0 ME : 0 0 25 75 0 :: VA : 0 1 9 66 24 MD : 1 2 10 58 29 :: WA : 0 5 5 50 40 MA : 0 0 22 48 30 :: WV : 0 3 23 62 12 MI : 4 4 24 52 16 :: WI : 1 8 21 51 19 MN : 1 10 33 49 7 :: WY : 0 0 20 64 16 MS : 1 6 24 55 14 :: : MO : 0 2 19 67 12 :: 48 Sts : 1 6 25 53 15 MT : 2 9 34 50 5 :: : NE : 0 6 24 59 11 :: Prev Wk: NA NA NA NA NA NV : 0 0 18 57 25 :: Prev Yr: 2 9 35 47 7 NH : 0 5 33 48 14 :: : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VP=Very poor, P=Poor, F=Fair, G=Good, EX=Excellent National crop conditions for selected States are weighted based on 1997 planted acres. 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