VO: From Texas Cooperative Extension, this is your weekly Texas Crop and Weather Report for June 6, 2007.
In the PANHANDLE, field activities are on hold until drier conditions return. Corn is rated fair to excellent with most areas reporting good. Cotton is ninety percent planted with stands rated mostly fair. Peanuts are ninety percent planted and stands are rated fair to good. Sorghum is fifty percent planted and stands are rated fair to good. Wheat is rated mostly good to excellent. Range conditions vary from very poor to excellent with most areas reporting good. Cattle are in good to excellent condition. Horn flies continue to be a major problem.
In the SOUTH PLAINS, frequent thunderstorms have made spring planting a struggle. Rainfall ranged from a half to six inches. Some areas received hail and high winds, damaging crops and flooding fields. Wheat looks good, though some was damaged by heavy rain and lodged by high winds. Corn is in good condition and has responded well to recent rains. Sorghum that has been planted looks good. Peanuts look good and should survive the weather, but some fields were hit pretty hard by hail and heavy rains. Pastures and ranges are in good to excellent condition.
In the ROLLING PLAINS, rains continued to hamper the wheat harvest, with some fields beginning to layover. Only about twenty percent of the crop has been cut. Producers are worried about custom harvesters moving north and leaving little help in getting this year's crop out. Reports of forty-five to sixty-five bushel dryland wheat have been received. Warm season grass pastures are greening up, but some producers are worried about how much grass is really under all the weeds. Some of the early planted cotton has emerged and is looking good. Livestock are in good condition. Recent rains have filled tanks and creeks.
In NORTH Texas, more rain came to the area, with some counties receiving torrential downpours. Soil moisture ranged from adequate to surplus, with surplus the norm for most areas. Stock tanks, lakes, creeks and rivers are full with some overflowing. The rain has put a complete stop on the wheat and oat harvest in some areas, but boosted row crop prospects. Corn is in good condition. Soybeans are in good condition and one-hundred percent planted and one hundred percent emerged. Sorghum is in fair to good condition. Winter wheat is headed and in good condition, though lodging has become a serious problem in some fields.
EAST Texas received plenty of rainfall, but this has prevented producers from harvesting hay. Forages and vegetables are doing well. Lakes and farm ponds are full. Blueberries, peaches, squash, tomatoes, beans, onions and potatoes are all being harvested.
In the FAR WEST, soil moisture ranged from very short to surplus, with pastures in very poor to good condition. Corn is in poor to good condition. Cotton is in fair to good condition. Sorghum is in good to excellent condition. Winter wheat is in very poor to good condition. Oats are in fair to good condition. Scattered showers were reported across the region with rain accumulations of two-tenths to one-and-a-half inches. Pastures are improving because of recent rains. Cantaloupes are doing well with some being replanted.
In WEST CENTRAL Texas, cooler temperatures, light showers and cloudy, accompanied by high humidity, came this week. All the recent rains have slowed field activity, and flooding has taken out fences in a few areas, and some producers lost hay cuttings due to washing. Cotton planting has been in full swing where field conditions allow. Most small grain fields need to dry out for grain to mature. Wheat fields should be harvested in the next few weeks. Where fields are dry enough, there has been some cutting and baling of hay. Pastures continue to green up and show excellent growth.
In CENTRAL Texas, heavy rains kept wheat fields too wet for harvesters to enter. Black point fungus has been detected, and with moisture delaying harvest, sprouting in the head could be a problem. Producers continued to cut hay when they can get in the fields. Cattle are fat and doing well. Cotton is off to a good start.
In the SOUTHEAST, scattered rains have slowed or stopped farming activities. Fields remained too wet for hay harvests or fertilizer applications. Many fields are ready to cut, with producers waiting on drier conditions. No reports of insect or disease damage were filed. Livestock are doing well. Despite the heavy spring rains, there are varying amounts of grass in pastures.
And in the SOUTHWEST, rainfall was about twice the long-term average for May. The year-to-date cumulative rainfall is about a hundred and twenty-five percent of the long-term average. Farmers are cutting an excellent hay crop. Corn, sorghum, cotton, peanuts, potatoes, watermelons and cantaloupes are making good progress. Wildlife populations are down because of the recent drought, but rain has improved the nutrition situation for remaining wildlife. A good fawn crop is expected. The harvesting of wheat, oats, cabbage, beets (for processing), onions, green beans and squash should resume as soon as fields dry down.
In the COASTAL BEND region, scattered showers, some heavy, were received early this week with sunny weather in the latter part of the week. Some temporary field flooding. Crop conditions have greatly improved with the rains. Cattle prices are good with plentiful grass. Hay continues to be in good supply and is being sold at a premium.
In SOUTH Texas, adequate soil moisture prevails, with good to excellent range and pasture conditions. The western part of the region received a timely rainfall for dryland corn and sorghum. Warmer temperatures were the norm for most of the cotton area, and the crop made excellent progress. The abundance of high-quality forage has helped livestock retain excellent body condition. Early planted corn is approaching its dough stage. All sorghum planted in the western part of the region has headed and should begin changing color within the next seven to 10 days. Watermelons are in the blooming stage. The sugarcane harvest is finished. The vegetable and citrus harvests are nearly complete. Row crops are growing well under hot weather and moist conditions.
From Texas Cooperative Extension, this has been your weekly crop and weather report. From East Texas, I'm Robert Burns
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