Source: USDA' S NASS NC FIELD OFFICE, 10/24/16
SOIL MOISTURE PERCENT VS ST A SS Topsoil Moisture 2 16 61 21
Subsoil Moisture 2 11 62 25
VS= Very Short ST = Short A = Adequate SS = Surplus
DAYS SUITABLE FOR FIELD WORK
This Week Last Week Last Year 5-Year Avg.
5.9 3.8 6.7 6.0 CROP CONDITION PERCENT VP P F G EX Cotton 11 17 33 35 4 Pasture 7 25 35 29 4 Peanut 5 11 33 43 8 Soybean 8 11 35 39 7 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:
Cotton – Bolls Opening 97 93 98 96
Soybean – Dropping Leaves 84 70 86 77
HARVESTED:
Apple 87 81 87 88
Corn for Grain 96 94 94 94
Cotton 20 10 23 27
Hay 3rd Cutting 82 77 83 80
Peanuts 36 24 39 57
Sorghum for Grain 71 65 n/a n/a
Soybeans 24 15 23 17
Sweet Potato 63 46 61 71
Tobacco: Burley 87 78 90 95
PLANTED:
Barley 45 15 36 40
Oats 29 11 31 37
Winter Wheat 15 n/a 17 17 COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT REPORTS Rutherford County is experiencing extremely dry conditions. Producers are waiting to see if it rains before planting wheat. Livestock producers have been feeding hay most of the summer and now fall. Janice Nicholson – Rutherford County FSA
The week started off with near record temperatures with highs in the upper 70's –low 80's and ended with widespread frost and the first trace of snow of the season in the higher elevations as temperatures dropped into the low 30's over most of the county. We did get a little bit of rain later in the week; however, precipitation amounts were very light with most areas of the county receiving around .25" or less. The light rain combined with windy conditions resulted in a lot of leaf drop from trees. Most frost sensitive crops are now finished as most growers stripped late season tomatoes and peppers prior to the frost. Pastures continue to decline due to the dry conditions and most all livestock producers are already feeding hay. Christmas tree growers are busy preparing for harvest which will begin in a few weeks.
Stanley Holloway – Yancey County Extension
Some farmers feeding hay now they need for winter. Wells and springs drying up. Driest I have seen it in 50 years.
Keith Wood – Cherokee County Extension
Some producers are still trying to cut hay, many in fields where the hay is thin that probably wouldn't deserve cutting in normal years because they believe hay is going to be short this winter and are trying to bale everything possible. If drought conditions persist, producers will be feeding hay much sooner than normal.
Stephen Bishop – Cleveland SWCD
Weather made for a good week of harvesting. Lots of progress made in harvesting peanuts, cotton, and soybeans. Yields lower than anticipated due to much rain during the season and Matthew. Creek levels are below flood stage thankfully.
Roy Thagard – Greene County Extension
Floodwater limited travel to grain delivery points so unless on-farm storage was available, grain harvest was hindered. Rising water flooded soybean, peanut and sweet potato fields. Hopefully, the full impact of the floodwater can be evaluated tomorrow. Mike Carroll – Craven County Extension
Hurricane Matthew damaged area sweet potato crop with percentage of crop rotting in field. An estimated 50 or more barns of tobacco were lost during the storm due to power outages at critical curing stages. Peanut, cotton, and soybean harvest underway. Wait and see at this point regarding how bad the Hurricane damaged these crops. Many pond dams broke, farm roads washed out, barn tin blown off, and trees down on fences. Brian Parrish – Harnett County Extension
Harvest activities continue in areas where dry field conditions allow. Hopefully we will get a better idea of the level of impact Hurricane Matthew had on crops as more growers get back into the fields. Some areas have been greatly affected by flood waters. Debris has been washed into many drainage ditches.
Mac Malloy – Robeson County Extension
For the full report, click here.
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