Sept. 22, 2006

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WESLACO - The year's first late-summer cool front to make it through the entire state brought welcome relief to agricultural concerns reeling from blistering summer temperatures and drought.

The front that managed to clear the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas late Monday moderated temperatures statewide and brought badly needed rainfall to the area, according to Dr. Bob Wiedenfeld, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station soils scientist in Weslaco.

"Most areas here got between 5 and 6 inches of rain," he said. "It's still hot, but the rain coupled with slightly cooler temperatures will help establish stands of the fall and winter vegetables that are planted between August and November. But the biggest benefit from the change in weather was the relatively heavy rainfall that helps leech our soils of the salts that build up after months of irrigating with salty river water."

Texas Cooperative Extension personnel from throughout the state reported varying amounts of rainfall and cooler temperatures.

PANHANDLE: Temperatures were below average much of the week before warming to above normal at week's end. Very light showers occurred across the area. Rain was generally less than a tenth inch, with isolated reports of a quarter to 1 inch. Soil moisture is rated from very short to surplus, with most areas reporting short to adequate.

Corn harvest continues. Corn silage harvest is about wrapped up. Cotton bolls continue to open, but warmer conditions are needed to mature the crop. Sorghum is mostly headed and turning color. Peanuts are rated mostly fair to good. Soybean and sunflower harvests continue. Wheat is about 35 percent planted. Range conditions continue to improve and are rated mostly fair to good. Cattle are in good condition but are being pestered by horn flies and mosquitoes.

SOUTH PLAINS: Scattered thunderstorms and some high winds were reported throughout the week with reports from a trace to 3 inches of rainfall. Soil moisture is adequate. Cotton has started regrowth due to the rainfall received. Many of the later bolls are slowly maturing, as the cool weather has slowed growth and maturity. Corn harvest has started in some areas. Peanuts are in fair to good condition. Some producers started digging peanuts this week and several more plan to start soon. Several peanut fields are showing rain-related disease symptoms, including some foliar diseases and pod rot. Recently planted wheat is coming to a stand. Pastures and ranges are in fair condition and starting to green up. Cattle are in good condition. Watermelons continue to be harvested, but moisture has affected both quality and quantity.

ROLLING PLAINS: Rainfall was received across the district. Pasture conditions are expected to continue to improve until a killing frost occurs. Pastures and hay meadows have responded well and greened up from the September rains. Cooler weather has helped conserve soil moisture. Some producers are now planning on a possible second cutting of hay for the year. Producers are beginning to plant wheat for grazing. Cotton is beginning to open, but cool temperatures have delayed maturity. Livestock are in good condition. Insects, flies and mosquitoes have increased dramatically over past three weeks on livestock and homesteads. Several producers continue to take the opportunity to clean out water tanks while they are low, but many tanks and ponds have started to refill.

NORTH: Soil moisture ranges from very short in most areas to adequate in only a few places. Corn, soybeans and sorghum are reported as being 100-percent harvested. Cotton bolls are opened, but the cotton is in very poor condition. Recent rains have helped overall conditions. Some farmers with enough soil moisture are starting to plant winter wheat and oats. Early plans suggest more wheat acreage this year, maybe as much as in the 50,000-acre range. Ranchers in some areas are planting winter annual pastures. The planting has been slow, but continues at a steady pace. More winter forage will be planted if rains continue. There was still a shortage of hay and stock water. Many stock tanks are very low or dry. The rains have provided some topsoil moisture but produced little runoff for livestock water. Pastures have greened up and will give cattle producers a respite from feeding. Hay demand appears to have tapered off. Cattle sales have slacked off. There are many reports of range and pastures in very poor condition.

EAST: Drought continues to linger. Producers continue to sell livestock with some complete sale outs. Hay quality is poor to fair at best where available. The hay cost is high, ranging from $60 to $100 dollars per roll. Some cattle are beginning to lose body condition. Beavers have creeks dammed up.

FAR WEST: Soil moisture ranges from very short to surplus. Range and pastures are in very poor to excellent condition. Cotton also in very poor to excellent conditions. Very scattered rainshowers this week. El Paso County is still suffering from excessive rainfall received in recent weeks. There are reports of up to 16 inches, double the average rainfall for this time of year. Cotton crop in this county is suffering due to excess moisture and it is feared that the climate might jeopardize cotton lint quality due to lack of heat units and some foliar diseases. Pecan trees also are suffering because of excess moisture. Alfalfa farmers lost 2 to 2.5 cuts due to rains. Onion farmers have not been able to prepare land for fall planting.

WEST CENTRAL: Temperatures continued to be mild this week. Light showers were reported in many areas. Soil moisture is very good in many areas. There was an increase in field activity and small grain planting due to recent rains. Range and pastures are showing improvement in grasses and forbs. Stock tanks are still low and will need heavy rainfall and runoff to fill. Supplemental feeding of livestock continues. Large numbers of livestock have been sold.

CENTRAL: Small-grain planting continues, but seed supply is low. Several counties received rain over the weekend. Milder temperatures were expected this week. Hay producers may get another cutting in early October if weather conditions cooperate. Range conditions remain poor. De-stocking continues due to dwindling water supplies in beef cattle operations. Most producers are now feeding livestock with hay and protein and energy supplements.

SOUTHEAST: No rain again this week except in the southern part of the region getting one- half inch of rain. Cattle continue to be sold at markets, reducing cattle numbers. Hay is being purchased in high quantities. Crops are completed, except for a 30-acre cotton field in need of harvesting. Pastures have burned up with little grazing to offer. All crops are being harvested and growers are hopeful for profitable prices.

SOUTHWEST: Approximately 1.8 inches of much-needed rain and the cool weather were a welcome relief from the hot, dry summer, but the region remains very dry. Total cumulative year-to-date rainfall is at 5.9 inches. This year is the second driest period on record, behind 1956 rainfall totals. The period between April, 2005 to Sept. 18, 2006 has been the driest period on record with only about 15.9 inches of rain, compared to a long-term average of 39.5 inches for the same period. The recent rainfall will allow planting of small-grains and other fall crops. More rain will be needed to sustain plantings as the soil profile is almost completely dry. Some fall-planted vegetables are up to a good start. The recent problem with e-coli in bagged spinach from California is causing Texas farmers to re-think their plans to plant fall spinach. The market may weaken and cause producer losses. The cotton harvest is complete. About 30 percent of the crop remains stored in field modules. Wet fields are causing delays in transporting modules to gins. The recent rain will help wildlife stock-tanks. Forage conditions are expected to improve soon.

COASTAL BEND: Sporadic showers occurred in the reporting area, ranging from one half to 6 inches. Temperatures were below normal. There was very little field activity due excessive wetness. Soybeans are ready to harvest as soon as producers can get into fields. Rangelands are beginning to respond to moisture.

SOUTH: Most of the region has had adequate soil moisture. Area landowners received between 4 and 9 inches of rainfall this week, which halted field operations. Pastures are beginning to green. Dryland wheat and oat producers took advantage of the soil moisture to plant cool season crops late this week. As hay pastures begin to dry, harvesting will proceed. Cotton harvesting was completed, producing plentiful yields. Approximately 20,000 bales remained on the gin yard. Preparation of seed beds was begun for planting of cabbage, carrots, spinach and onions later this month.