Source: USDA'S NASS NC FIELD OFFICE, 10/8/18

SOIL MOISTURE PERCENT
VS ST A SS
Topsoil Moisture 0 10 77 13
Subsoil Moisture 0 8 76 16
VS= Very Short ST = Short A = Adequate SS = Surplus

DAYS SUITABLE FOR FIELD WORK
This Week Last Week Last Year 5-Year Avg.
6.5 4.8 6.7 n/a

CROP CONDITION PERCENT
VP P F G EX
Corn 11 20 36 27 6
Cotton 6 21 40 30 3
Pasture 1 10 37 51 1
Peanuts 6 11 31 42 10
Sorghum 3 9 46 41 1
Soybeans 6 16 32 39 7
Sweet Potatoes 5 18 43 29 5
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. 
PLANTED:
Oats 17 2 16 12
PHENOLOGICAL:
Cotton Bolls Opening 93 86 84 86
Soybeans Dropping Leaves 73 55 64 55
HARVESTED:
Apples 81 77 80 74
Corn for Grain 88 83 88 87
Cotton 8 3 12 8 
Hay: Third Cutting 70 64 75 67
Peanuts 25 8 23 20
Sorghum 33 26 65 36
Soybeans 11 5 15 9
Sweet Potatoes 38 25 49 43
Tobacco: Burley 65 57 68 75
Tobacco: Flue-cured 92 83 89 89

COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT REPORTS
Attempting to salvage corn with poor to fair results. Evaluation of
feasible cotton harvest difficult due to excessive lint loss and
tangled stalks.
Mike Carroll – Carteret County Extension

Field work is limited to attempts to salvage corn, applying defoliant
materials to cotton, digging peanuts and cleaning field/farm roads
of debris. Corn harvest is slow and resulting in poor to fair yield
and quality. Based on limited digging, potential peanut yield will be
fair in spite of storm damage.
Mike Carroll – Craven County Extension

Rain has delayed the cutting of silage and hay. Producers are
rushing to try to finish silage harvest before Hurricane Michael
comes ashore. Temperatures are warm for this time of year.
Julia Houck – Ashe-Alleghany County Extension

No Rainfall over the period, which is the driest period in months.
Temperatures well above normal.
Robert Hawk – Swain County Extension

Little to no rain has allowed soybean to be harvested as well as
preparing land for planting of wheat, mowing and cleaning ditches.
Sweet potatoes are still be harvested and cabbage are looking
good. Cabbage harvest should start within the next 2 weeks.
Al Wood – Pasquotank County Extension

Weather conditions for the week were predominately dry with
above average temperatures. A few widely scattered rain
showers brought some light precipitation to parts of the county
with most areas receiving only a trace to less than .1".
Temperatures were unseasonably warm with highs in the lower
80's. Most hay producers took advantage of the drier weather to
finish harvesting second cutting hay. Corn silage harvest is nearly
complete and the burley tobacco crop has been cut and in the
barn.
Stanley Holloway – Yancey County Extension

Conditions are a little on the dry side in Cleveland County.
Soybean harvest is underway.
Stephen Bishop – Cleveland SWCD

Soybean harvest has started for growers. Yields as a result of
excessively wet growing conditions and hurricane Florence are
poor. Some field work has also started.
Daniel Simpson – Pamlico County Extension

Hurricane Florence ripped this area apart. Crop damage ranges
from light to severe. Blueberry fields were completely under
water. Corn was about 85% harvested prior to the storm and
growers are trying to salvage the remaining acres. Soybean
harvest started. Some yields are OK, some are a disaster. Quality
is marginal. Hay demand will be high throughout the region
through the winter. NCSU & NCDA are working on plans to help
with hay donations and assessing demand.
Mark Seitz/Tim Mathews – Pender County Extension

For the full report, click here.