Source: USDA'S NASS NC FIELD OFFICE, 8/28/17

SOIL MOISTURE PERCENT
VS ST A SS
Topsoil Moisture 4 24 62 10
Subsoil Moisture 4 22 62 12
VS= Very Short ST = Short A = Adequate SS = Surplus

DAYS SUITABLE FOR FIELD WORK
This Week Last Week Last Year 5-Year Avg.
6.3               5.3            6.7            6.0 

CROP CONDITION PERCENT
VP P F G EX
Apple 1 2 31 64 2
Corn 1 6 20 48 25
Cotton 1 4 20 55 20
Hay 1 7 29 58 5
Pasture 2 11 34 51 2
Peanuts 0 2 16 67 15
Sorghum 0 6 28 61 5
Soybeans 1 4 21 63 11
Sweet Potato 0 2 27 66 5
Tobacco: Flue-cured 3 11 30 49 7
Tobacco: Burley 0 1 49 50 0
VP = Very Poor P = Poor F = Fair G = Good EX = Excellent



CROP PROGRESS PERCENT – WITH COMPARISONS 
This Week  Last Week  Last Year  5 Yr. Avg.
PHENOLOGICAL:
Corn % Dent 92 89 95 92
Corn % Mature 72 56 79 75
Cotton % Setting Bolls 95 90 96 97
Cotton % Bolls Opening 11 N/A 19 13
Soybeans % Blooming 95 90 96 88
Soybeans % Setting Pods 78 64 83 75
HARVESTED:
Apples 32 24 38 33
Corn Silage 53 46 65 57
Hay: Second Cutting 92 88 89 81
Hay: Third Cutting 32 20 31 31
Peaches 85 82 81 87
Tobacco: Burley 12 N/A 18 34
Tobacco: Flue-cured 47 38 54 51

COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT REPORTS
For the most part it was dry across the region with average
temperatures. However on late Saturday August 26th a brief
heavy thundershower dumped .50" across the Whittier Valley
agricultural area. Most other areas of Jackson and Swain
remained dry for the remainder of the period.
Robert Hawk – Swain County Extension

Experienced normal rainfall this past week, but cooler daytime
temps in the high 70s, nights in the 60s. Gala and Honeycrisp
apples, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are being
harvested. Soybean leaves have started senescence.
Karen Blaedow – Henderson County Extension

Cooler temperatures are welcomed. Soybeans look good and they
are setting pods. We could use some rain and it looks like we are
going to get it this week. The tobacco crop is what it is at this time.
We just do not have enough barn space to strip the stalks at this
time. Some have only finished their second priming. Pastures and
hay land need rain. The second cutting of hay has started.
Charles Mitchell - Franklin County Extension

Tobacco harvest continued. Yield and quality are very variable
according to planting date, ability to irrigate, and degree of weed
and disease control. Pastures are holding up, but need water to
grow additional forages. Temperatures moderating will help cool
season grasses to grow. Soybeans that received rainfall have
really gotten a good growth spurt with the addition of moisture and
lower temperatures. Rainfall has continued to be spotty. WE still
need a good general rainfall event.
Paul Westfall – Granville County Extension

Dry conditions continue as very little rain fell across the county last
week. For tobacco growers, brown spot is causing a rapid decline
in leaf quality. Zachary Taylor – Lee County Extension

Corn harvest has just begun with average yields reported. Stink
bugs and July heat have kept yields from being better. Corn
growers were expecting slightly better yields. Tobacco harvest
continues, with disease pressure picking up. Tobacco growers
are harvesting as fast as they can, and choosing fields to pick
that will no longer hold on. Cotton bolls are just beginning to open
up. Some peanuts look like they are as soon as 2-3 weeks away
from digging. Tropical storm conditions are expected for the area
today and tomorrow which has all growers nervous.
Roy Thagard – Greene County Extension

Early corn harvest results indicate much better than average corn
yield (200 or more bushels per acre common). Growers
harvesting as quickly as possible due to threat of tropical system.
Likewise, tobacco growers filling barns quickly, in part due to
threatening storm and in part due to rapid decay of leaf tips due
to humid environment. Soybean and cotton producers scouting
for insect pests. Widely scattered fields above threshold for
caterpillars and many at threshold for stinkbugs.
Mike Carroll – Carteret County Extension

Showers and thunderstorms dropped an addition 2" to 3" of rain
across the county. Clear days allowed some corn to be
harvested, although kernel moisture is high. Early reports suggest
a good, to slightly above average yield. Disease and nematode
problems are damaging some fields in the county but overall
soybeans look very good.
Mark Seitz/Tim Matthews – Pender County Extension

Parts of the county remain dry with crops under stress. A majority
of the county received rain on Thursday with some reports over
3". Corn harvest yield reports remain above average for most.
Mac Malloy – Robeson County Extension

For the full report, click here.