Released May 12, 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 May 4 - 10, 1998 Highlights: Dry weather continued across the Northern United States from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest, providing excellent conditions for planting corn and small grains. However, rainfall was needed to help germinate crops and promote growth, especially in the northern Plains and Rocky Mountain States. The eastern Corn Belt and Southeast continued to be wet, slowing planting and providing opportunities for diseases to spread. Rain in parts of central Great Plains aided germination and crop growth. Most of Texas remained hot and dry, stressing young plants and slowing germination of recently planted crops. In California, fieldwork was active until midweek rains halted most field operations. Winter wheat: Thirty-eight percent of the crop has reached the heading stage or beyond, 4 percentage points ahead of the 5-year average. Crop development in the eastern Corn Belt was aided by above-normal temperatures, especially in Illinois and Indiana. Progress was also rapid in the central and southern Plains. Crop conditions continued to decline in the central and northern High Plains, particularly in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, due to dry weather. In Kansas, beneficial rains kept conditions nearly unchanged. Wet weather was favorable for the spread of diseases in the eastern Corn Belt and Southeast, but conditions did not significantly deteriorate. The continued dry weather in Texas had very little effect on the crop as it matured. Harvest accelerated in southern areas and began farther north in the Blacklands. Corn: One-fifth of the Nation's corn crop was planted, advancing the total to 60 percent, behind last year's 68 percent, but well ahead of the 5-year average. Dry weather continued in the western Corn Belt and Plains States, allowing progress to rapidly move ahead for the second consecutive week. Following 2 weeks of record-setting planting activity, Minnesota farmers were 3 weeks ahead of the 5-year average. Only 6 percent of the acreage remained to be planted. Farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota planted more than one-third of their corn acreage, moving total progress more than 1 week ahead of normal for those areas. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Colorado planted one-fourth of their acres and were about a week ahead of normal. In the eastern Corn Belt, frequent showers and isolated thunderstorms continued to limit planting, especially in Ohio and Indiana, where progress is more than a week behind the 5-year average. Plants have emerged on 16 percent of the corn acreage, up from 4 percent a week ago. Below-normal rainfall limited emergence in areas where planting was most advanced, but late-week showers helped germinate a large percentage of the Minnesota crop. Soybeans: Fifteen percent of the Nation's soybean crop has been planted, compared with 10 percent normally planted by this date. With corn planting winding down, farmers in Minnesota planted over half of their soybean acreage, 2 weeks ahead of the normal pace. Dry weather in the Mississippi Delta States allowed progress to approach the halfway mark in Louisiana and Mississippi, ahead of normal for both States. Rain limited progress in most Southeastern soybean-producing States as well as the eastern Corn Belt. Cotton: In spite of locally heavy rainfall, cotton planting advanced to 40 percent, up from 24 percent the previous week, but still behind the 5-year average. The planting pace was most rapid in the Mississippi Delta States, where little or no rain fell during the week. Farmers in Arkansas and Mississippi planted nearly one-third of their crop and Louisiana growers planted more than 40 percent of their acreage. In Georgia and South Carolina, farmers made good progress where conditions permitted, but remained more than a week behind the 5-year average. Tennessee farmers made little progress and fell further behind normal. In the Southwest, dry weather allowed progress to approach the 5-year average, except in California, where planting remained more than 2 weeks behind normal. Rice: The planting pace slowed but remained ahead of normal, at 71 percent complete. Farmers in the Mississippi Delta, aided by dry weather, made the most progress. California growers fell further behind as midweek rain halted planting again. Over half of the rice acreage had emerged, with some fields being flushed three times to obtain good stands. Small grains: Below-normal rainfall allowed growers of the Nation's spring wheat, oat, and barley crops to continue planting well ahead of normal from the Great Lakes, across the northern Plains, and into the Pacific Northwest. Planting in major small grain-producing States was ahead of the 5-year average, with many of them nearly finished. Emergence was also ahead of normal for the small grains, but did not keep pace with planting due to dry soils. Other crops: Sorghum planting advanced to 26 percent, slightly behind the 5-year average. In the Mississippi Delta region, progress was ahead of normal, except in Mississippi, where progress was slow despite dry weather. Progress was also ahead of normal in the northern Plains, where farmers were nearly finished planting other crops. Thirty-one percent of the peanut acreage was planted, but rain continued to delay planting in the Southeast. Progress was ahead of normal in the southern Plains. National Weather Summary Volume 85, No. 19 May 3 - 9, 1998 For additional information, call (202) 720-7917. Highlights: Wet weather continued from the east-central Plains to the East Coast, slowing spring planting. In California, unusually heavy late-season rainfall and cool weather (as much as 6 degrees F below normal) further delayed fieldwork and crop development. Across the upper Midwest, however, rain aided in the emergence of spring-sown crops. Beneficial rains also fell across the central High Plains. In contrast, heat and dryness intensified across the South. Weekly temperatures averaged as much as 10 degrees F above normal in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Since mid-March, little rain has fallen from southeastern New Mexico and western Texas to Florida. In the Northwest, a third consecutive week of very warm weather (3 to 12 degrees F above normal) further reduced soil moisture. Cool, rainy weather plagued California for much of the week. In the southern California mountains, 6.52 inches fell on Mount Wilson during the first 9 days of May. More than half of that total (3.52 inches) fell in 24 hours on May 4-5. In the Sierra Nevada foothills, Blue Canyon netted 4.19 inches during the 9-day period. May 1-9 rainfall totaled 0.93 inches in Bakersfield, including a daily-record total (0.64 inches) on the 5th, raising their all-time-record seasonal total to 13.96 inches (244 percent of their seasonal normal). During the week, seasonal rainfall records were eclipsed in Santa Barbara (breaking their 1940-41 record of 45.21 inches) and at UCLA (breaking their 1977-78 record of 40.74 inches). On Thursday, downtown San Francisco received a 107th day of measurable rain during the season (July 1 - June 30), tying a long-standing record set in 1889-90. Late in the week, rain and snow overspread the Great Basin. In Nevada, Elko noted a daily-record rainfall (0.54 inches) on Saturday, and Austin received 9 inches of snow on May 9-10. More than two dozen daily-record highs were set on May 6-9 from Texas to Florida. On Wednesday, highs reached 100 degrees F as far north as Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX. A day later, Austin, TX logged 102 degrees F, their second-highest temperature in May (behind 104 degrees F on May 24, 1925) and only 3 days shy of their earliest triple-digit heat (100 degrees F on May 4, 1984). Highs in Laredo, TX soared to 109 degrees F on May 6 and 7. Laughlin Air Force Base, in Del Rio, TX, notched 110 degrees F on the latter date. Late in the week, smoke from fires across Mexico and Central America drifted into the lower Rio Grande Valley, lowering visibilities to as little as 1 mile. With the expansion and intensification of heat, short-term dryness worsened across the Deep South. By Friday, daily-record warmth spread as far as Lafayette, LA (93 degrees F) and Pensacola, FL (92 degrees F). A day later, Ft. Lauderdale, FL posted a high of 94 degrees F. Farther north, however, more than 2 inches of rain fell during the week in many areas from eastern Oklahoma to the Carolinas, and along the Atlantic Coast, maintaining wet soils. At week's end, the lower Ohio River remained above flood stage by 7.5 feet in Shawneetown, IL and 7.7 feet in Grand Chain, IL. In the upper Midwest, the rapid spring-planting pace was rewarded by midweek rainfall. On Thursday, daily-record totals were reported in LaCrosse, WI (1.31 inches) and Rochester, MN (1.37 inches). Dry weather persisted, though, across parts of the Northwest, northern Plains, and Great Lakes region. On Saturday, Marquette, MI marked a 21st consecutive day without measurable rain, their longest since May-June 1932. On the northern Plains, a combination of blowing dust and smoke from forest fires in Alberta produced hazy conditions. Markedly colder weather continued to overspread Alaska. Along the west coast, Kotzebue registered -3 degrees F on Sunday en route to weekly temperature departure of -7 degrees F. Along the south coast, 8.6 inches of snow fell in Valdez on May 3-4, shattering their May snowfall record of 6.5 inches, set in 1995. Meanwhile in Hawaii, another week of below-normal rainfall maintained drought conditions. Corn: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 76 51 79 58 GA : 91 85 95 97 IL : 39 30 85 46 IN : 14 10 69 35 IA : 77 38 74 53 KS : 89 72 71 66 KY : 37 36 54 50 MI : 50 23 46 23 MN : 94 81 75 46 MO : 54 42 67 49 NE : 83 43 64 49 NC : 75 67 94 91 OH : 14 10 80 43 PA : 27 24 41 29 SD : 58 23 16 17 TX : 91 83 79 88 WI : 51 26 45 28 : 17 Sts: 60 39 68 46 -------------------------------------- These 17 States planted 90% of last year's corn acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 89 83 79 80 MN : 93 71 22 40 MT : 83 71 57 65 ND : 72 53 15 31 SD : 97 89 43 58 : 5 Sts : 81 65 31 45 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Corn: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : CO : 18 0 NA NA GA : 86 75 NA NA IL : 11 1 NA NA IN : 4 0 NA NA IA : 8 0 NA NA KS : 37 13 NA NA KY : 23 18 NA NA MI : 22 0 NA NA MN : 43 1 NA NA MO : 0 0 NA NA NE : 8 0 NA NA NC : 65 56 NA NA OH : 4 1 NA NA PA : 5 1 NA NA SD : 10 3 NA NA TX : 73 65 NA NA WI : 1 0 NA NA : 17 Sts: 16 4 NA NA -------------------------------------- These 17 States planted 90% of last year's corn acreage. Spring Wheat: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 57 NA 56 59 MN : 55 NA 4 12 MT : 49 NA 11 17 ND : 36 NA 1 8 SD : 74 NA 5 25 : 5 Sts : 47 NA 6 15 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's spring wheat acreage. Soybeans: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 14 NA 11 14 AR : 20 NA 15 11 GA : 5 NA 9 10 IL : 3 NA 32 10 IN : 3 NA 30 12 IA : 14 NA 11 10 KS : 13 NA 9 5 KY : 1 NA 3 3 LA : 47 NA 24 19 MI : 10 NA 6 4 MN : 53 NA 17 9 MS : 40 NA 34 31 MO : 4 NA 8 4 NE : 12 NA 4 5 NC : 12 NA 14 13 OH : 4 NA 38 16 SC : 8 NA 10 7 SD : 14 NA 1 2 TN : 2 NA 4 3 : 19 Sts: 15 NA 18 10 -------------------------------------- These 19 States planted 93% of last year's soybean acreage. Winter Wheat: Percent Headed, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 97 89 97 88 CA : 99 98 99 98 CO : 4 1 4 1 GA : 99 93 99 98 ID : 0 0 0 0 IL : 46 13 8 11 IN : 37 12 9 10 KS : 24 3 22 23 MI : 0 0 0 0 MO : 48 27 29 22 MT : 0 0 0 0 NE : 0 0 0 0 NC : 93 82 94 85 OH : 5 0 0 0 OK : 82 59 75 77 OR : 1 0 0 3 SD : 0 0 0 0 TX : 69 52 64 67 WA : 5 2 0 1 : 19 Sts: 38 24 33 34 -------------------------------------- These 19 States planted 91% of last year's winter wheat acreage. Cotton: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 65 49 56 61 AZ : 89 75 94 92 AR : 39 7 35 38 CA : 60 45 98 91 GA : 37 24 48 59 LA : 66 23 62 68 MS : 42 12 31 54 MO : 16 5 41 25 NM : 70 54 69 71 NC : 41 25 36 49 OK : 12 7 1 7 SC : 38 18 57 62 TN : 10 7 36 36 TX : 34 23 26 29 : 14 Sts: 40 24 41 46 -------------------------------------- These 14 States planted 98% of last year's cotton acreage. Oats: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 93 79 97 84 MI : 93 80 85 61 MN : 96 84 78 69 NE : 100 98 96 95 ND : 63 40 12 27 OH : 90 83 96 80 PA : 82 77 88 75 SD : 95 87 32 50 WI : 94 84 87 60 : 9 Sts : 86 73 62 58 -------------------------------------- These 9 States planted 57% of last year's oat acreage. Oats: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : IA : 68 NA 72 63 MI : 65 NA 44 33 MN : 72 NA 29 27 NE : 70 NA 47 NA ND : 26 NA 0 6 OH : 77 NA 69 52 PA : 55 NA 64 NA SD : 66 NA 8 27 WI : 61 NA 32 NA : 9 Sts: 57 NA 30 27 -------------------------------------- These 9 States planted 57% of last year's oat acreage. Rice: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 78 65 75 67 CA : 3 1 48 29 LA : 97 91 84 83 MS : 86 77 89 79 TX : 96 92 67 78 : 5 Sts : 71 62 72 65 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's rice acreage. Barley: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 85 71 62 71 MN : 91 65 20 36 MT : 85 66 55 61 ND : 66 40 11 30 SD : 94 85 19 45 WA : 98 91 84 80 : 6 Sts : 79 58 36 48 -------------------------------------- These 6 States planted 83% of last year's barley acreage. Sorghum: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 73 60 76 61 CO : 1 0 1 7 IL : 0 0 4 1 KS : 7 3 11 6 LA : 77 34 64 55 MS : 54 50 69 64 MO : 6 3 15 11 NE : 9 0 4 2 NM : 1 0 1 5 OK : 7 5 6 9 SD : 26 7 0 1 TX : 59 53 55 65 : 12 Sts: 26 21 26 27 -------------------------------------- These 12 States planted 99% of last year's sorghum acreage. Rice: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AR : 51 NA 31 41 CA : 0 NA 18 6 LA : 86 NA 69 71 MS : 65 NA 63 61 TX : 85 NA 32 57 : 5 Sts : 53 NA 39 44 -------------------------------------- These 5 States planted 96% of last year's rice acreage. Barley: Percent Emerged, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : ID : 51 NA 40 45 MN : 48 NA 4 11 MT : 48 NA 7 16 ND : 26 NA 0 8 SD : 68 NA 2 21 WA : 85 NA 56 59 : 6 Sts : 43 NA 12 20 -------------------------------------- These 6 States planted 83% of last year's barley acreage. Peanuts: Percent Planted, Selected States -------------------------------------- : Week Ending : :-----------------------: 1993- State:May 10,:May 3, :May 10,: 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : Avg. -------------------------------------- : Percent : AL : 49 20 41 50 FL : 38 19 37 NA GA : 31 19 50 64 NC : 16 5 18 27 OK : 35 14 21 11 SC : 30 16 62 62 TX : 22 8 10 10 VA : 30 13 33 45 : 8 Sts : 31 15 34 41 -------------------------------------- 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 : 1 5 29 53 12 CA : 0 0 20 50 30 CO : 1 5 24 48 22 GA : 1 9 30 53 7 ID : 0 2 5 60 33 IL : 1 3 23 61 12 IN : 0 2 17 54 27 KS : 0 4 18 55 23 MI : 0 3 18 56 23 MO : 1 12 30 48 9 MT : 7 18 39 34 2 NE : 3 14 32 44 7 NC : 0 8 36 51 5 OH : 0 3 16 50 31 OK : 0 6 21 69 4 OR : 0 0 7 45 48 SD : 0 3 14 63 20 TX : 5 19 39 33 4 WA : 1 3 14 61 21 : 19 Sts : 1 7 23 54 15 : Prev Wk : 1 6 23 55 15 Prev Yr : 5 11 31 44 9 -------------------------------------- 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 2 28 59 11 :: NJ : 0 0 0 75 25 AZ : 0 8 24 44 24 :: NM : 1 14 30 50 5 AR : 0 4 24 63 9 :: NY : 0 0 10 42 48 CA : 0 0 15 30 55 :: NC : 0 3 22 57 18 CO : 1 5 28 59 7 :: ND : 2 14 35 45 4 CT : 0 0 5 65 30 :: OH : 0 2 14 49 35 DE : 0 5 18 70 7 :: OK : 0 2 28 64 6 FL : 5 10 65 15 5 :: OR : 0 0 9 78 13 GA : 1 3 18 64 14 :: PA : 1 2 10 67 20 ID : 0 0 3 67 30 :: RI : 0 0 0 0 100 IL : 0 1 13 64 22 :: SC : 0 1 17 65 17 IN : 0 1 22 53 24 :: SD : 1 4 16 63 16 IA : 0 4 22 57 17 :: TN : 0 1 17 64 18 KS : 0 3 17 64 16 :: TX : 7 22 45 24 2 KY : 0 2 20 57 21 :: UT : 0 0 23 66 11 LA : 0 4 29 58 9 :: VT : 0 0 0 68 32 ME : 0 0 33 53 14 :: VA : 0 1 11 61 27 MD : 1 2 10 55 32 :: WA : 0 8 10 59 23 MA : 0 0 0 60 40 :: WV : 0 3 22 62 13 MI : 1 3 27 50 19 :: WI : 1 3 19 54 23 MN : 2 10 32 51 5 :: WY : 0 0 23 61 16 MS : 1 5 21 61 12 :: : MO : 0 2 15 66 17 :: 48 Sts : 2 6 25 51 16 MT : 4 16 38 37 5 :: : NE : 1 6 26 62 5 :: Prev Wk: 1 6 25 53 15 NV : 0 0 10 72 18 :: Prev Yr: 1 8 34 49 8 NH : 0 0 1 75 24 :: : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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