in-crop-weather
State
Indiana Crop Weather
Week Ending Date
April 8, 2007
Issue
IN-CW142007
                        Agricultural Summary
THIS REPORT IS THE FIRST CROP AND WEATHER REPORT FOR THE 2007 GROWING
SEASON. A SERIES OF WEEKLY CROP PROGRESS REPORTS WILL BE PUBLISHED
EACH MONDAY AT 4:00 P.M. ET THROUGHOUT THE CROP SEASON. These reports
will cover planting and harvesting activities, crop development,
weather data and timely crop management information provided by
farmers, FSA, and Purdue University experts. For the earliest possible
access, look for these reports on the internet shortly after the
4:00 P.M. release time. Our home page address is located at the bottom
of this publication. Follow the links to view the text and Pdf files.
                         Field Crops Report
There were 1.5 days suitable for field work. There was some fieldwork
completed during the week on soils that were dry enough to support
heavy equipment. There are concerns about the condition of wheat,
alfalfa and fruit crops due to the sub-freezing temperatures that
occurred during the week.
Twenty-one percent of the winter wheat acreage is jointed compared
with 13 percent for both last year and the 5-year average. Winter
wheat condition is rated 51 percent good to excellent compared to 78
percent last year at this time. Many farmers will be evaluating wheat
stands to determine if they should leave the wheat for harvest or
destroy it in order to plant corn or soybeans.
Major activities during the week included: applying dry fertilizer
and anhydrous ammonia, preparing planting equipment, hauling grain to
market, tillage of soils, hauling manure and taking care of livestock.
                    Livestock, Pasture and Range Report
Pasture condition is rated 8% excellent, 48% good, 32% fair, 11% poor,
and 1% very poor. Livestock are reported to be in mostly good
condition. Feeding of hay has slowed on many livestock operations as
pastures have improved in recent weeks.
                    Crop Progress Table
-------------------------------------------------------
                       : This : Last : Last : 5-Year
     Crop              : Week : Week : Year :  Avg
-------------------------------------------------------
                             Percent
Winter Wheat Jointed      21      5     13     13
                    Crop Condition Table
-----------------------------------------------------------
                    : Very :      :      :      : Excel-
     Crop           : Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :  lent
-----------------------------------------------------------
                             Percent
Pasture                 1     11     32     48      8
Winter Wheat 2007       2     12     35     45      6
Winter Wheat 2006       1      3     18     63     15
        Soil Moisture & Days Suitable
             for Fieldwork Table
----------------------------------------
               : This  : Last  : Last :
               : Week  : Week  : Year :
----------------------------------------
                      Percent
Topsoil
  Very Short       0      0       0
  Short            0      0       3
  Adequate        50     43      56
  Surplus         50     57      41
Subsoil
  Very Short       0      0       1
  Short            0      0       8
  Adequate        66     61      73
  Surplus         34     39      18
Days Suitable    1.5    1.4     2.0
Contact information
--Greg Preston, Director
--Andy Higgins, Agricultural Statistician
  E-Mail Address: nass-in@nass.usda.gov
  http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Other Agricultural Comments And News
                     SHOULD WE KEEP THAT WHEAT STAND?
Wheat prices have remained high since the crop was planted last fall,
and some producers have sold their crop forward, so the incentive to
grow wheat remains high. However, corn prices have risen considerably
since then, and so the incentive to replace wheat with corn this
spring has also strengthened. Planting conditions for wheat last fall
were less than ideal, with delays due to wet soils and late harvest
of the previous crop. Much of the Illinois wheat crop went into the
winter with growth somewhat less than normal, especially where
planting was late. Excessive wetness in places, followed by cold
temperatures and uneven snow cover in February, contributed to the
problems. Still, the crop has had some chance to recover, and present
conditions are about average in most places, despite the earlier
difficulties.
Regardless of its appearance, almost any wheat crop with an adequate
stand at the time it greens up has the potential to produce a good
yield. An adequate stand is one that will produce enough tillers to
result in 60 or more heads per square foot. When fall planting and
winter conditions are favorable, we normally say that 20 plants per
square foot are enough for high yield, with 15 plants per square foot
worth keeping if they're healthy, crop leaves are in good shape, and
there is good potential for tillers to form.
Though tiller (head) number is the critical factor in determining
wheat yield potential, trying to guess how many tillers will form per
plant is not easy. If plants are healthy, if leaves cover most of the
ground area coming out of dormancy, and weather is favorable (average
temperatures and less-than-average rainfall, with a lot of sunshine)
for several weeks after greenup, each plant can produce three or four
productive tillers, so a stand as low as 15 plants per square foot
might be adequate. If the plants are small coming out of dormancy, if
the weather stays cold or turns warm too quickly, and if there is
added stress from wet soil conditions, then there might be only one
or two productive tillers per plant, so even 20 or more plants per
square foot might not be enough for high yields.
The interaction of present crop condition and weather over the next
few weeks suggests a cautious, wait-and-see approach to deciding
whether to keep a wheat stand. In most cases, the crop should be
given time to develop tillers before the decision is made. Tiller
formation slows when the weather is warm enough for upright growth
to begin. Upright growth ("jointing") usually begins in late March
to early April in the southern half of Illinois and about mid-April
in northern Illinois. If the crop recovers quickly to form good
ground cover and good tiller numbers before it starts upright growth,
then its potential is good. If it warms up early, jointing will start
sooner, and tiller number may be reduced. If plants are small with
few tillers as they come out of dormancy, there's much less chance
that they will get enough favorable weather to produce a good canopy
and good tiller numbers.
In most cases, the decision on whether a wheat crop is worth keeping
can be made when the crop is 8 to 10 inches tall, by which time you
can usually count what will likely become productive (head-bearing)
tillers. Tillers likely to become productive will begin upright
growth shortly after main tillers, and so will be nearly as tall as
main tillers by the time the crop is 10 inches tall or so. Small
tillers at this point have to compete with larger tillers, and so are
less likely to be productive, especially if the weather is warm and
growth is rapid.
One factor in the decision about keeping a wheat stand is the amount
of unrecoverable cost already invested in the crop. For most people,
the largest unrecoverable cost by far is seed, which can cost $40 or
more per acre. Most of the nitrogen applied as top-dress during the
winter should be available to a replacement corn crop, unless there
is a lot of rainfall before the corn starts to take up most of its N,
which is after it reaches the 6-leaf stage or so. If herbicide has
not yet been applied to the wheat crop, it might be wise to wait to
apply it until it's clear that the crop is worth keeping. Harmony
Extra, widely used for wild garlic and broadleaf control, has a
45-day interval before corn can be planted.
Even if we can get a handle on yield potential within the next few
weeks, we need to remember that yield potential is not always
reached. The condition of the wheat crop in late March is not very
well correlated with final yield, because the crop is so sensitive
to weather conditions around the time of flowering and a few weeks
after. If the weather is dry during the flowering and early
grain-filling period, foliar diseases and Fusarium head scab pressure
tend to be low, and yields are often good. On the other hand, we have
seen that warm, wet weather around the time of flowering can wreak
havoc on the wheat crop. The former scenario has been much more
frequent than the latter in recent years, but if it is warm and wet
in late April and early May when wheat is heading in southern
Illinois, one might want to retain the option to destroy a diseased
crop even that late and replace it with corn.
In most cases, using glyphosate to destroy an existing stand of wheat
works fairly well, as long as the weather is favorable for growth. It
might help to raise the rate some if wheat plants are close to
heading. It is possible to take wheat off as forage, but regrowth
after cutting an immature wheat crop can be difficult to control. In
some recent work in DeKalb, Jim Morrison and Lyle Paul found that
wheat about a foot tall (in early May at that location) had only about
a ton of dry matter per acre. We would expect that to double by early
boot, so it may or may not be worth the expense of harvesting as
forage. If the crop is killed and left standing in the field, with
the replacement crop no-tilled, be sure to check for the presence of
insects (such as armyworm) in the residue. The loss of the wheat host
will have such insects very hungry when corn plants emerge.
Where double-cropping is possible, getting a good double-crop is
critical to profitability. Unfortunately, double-crop yields are
highly variable over years, with no guarantee that there will even be
enough moisture at (or after) wheat harvest to get and maintain a
good stand of soybeans. Harvesting wheat at grain moisture near 20 %
(rotary combines work best for this) and drying the grain might allow
earlier planting of soybean, which can greatly improve the chances of
double-crop success. Wheat harvested at such high moisture needs to
be aerated quickly to prevent spoilage at the high temperatures
common during wheat harvest.
Some might be considering planting corn or grain sorghum instead of
soybean as a double- crop. Neither of these crops is as "proven" as
soybean when planted this late, but both might have some potential,
especially if planting can be earlier than June 20 or so. While high
grain price would be a reason to use one of these crops,
disadvantages include high seed and fertilizer cost (especially for
corn), sensitivity of sorghum to cool temperatures late in the
(delayed) season, less tolerance of corn to periods of dry weather,
and the possibility of high insect pressures in late-developing corn.
Emerson Nafziger, IPM, The Bulletin (Pest Management & Crop
Development Information for Illinois), College of Agriculture,
Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The INDIANA CROP & WEATHER REPORT (USPS 675-770), (ISSN 0442-817X) is
issued weekly April through November by the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field
Office, 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd, Suite 110, West Lafayette IN
47906-4145. Second Class postage paid at Lafayette IN. For
information on subscribing, send request to above address. POSTMASTER:
Send address change to the USDA, NASS, Indiana Field Office, 1435 Win
Hentschel Blvd, Suite 110, West Lafayette IN 47906-4145.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Weather Information Table
       Week ending Sunday April 8, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------
                | Past Week Weather Summary Data
                |---------------------------------
 Station        |      Air      |            | Avg
                |  Temperature  |  Precip.   |4 in.
                |---------------|------------|Soil
                |Hi |Lo |Avg|DFN| Total|Days |Temp
-----------------------------------------------------
Northwest (1)
Chalmers_5W      72  21  41  -8   0.11     1
Francesville     69  18  39  -8   0.00     0
Valparaiso_AP_I  67  22  40  -6   0.00     0
Wanatah          68  20  39  -6   0.00     0   47
Winamac          69  21  39  -7   0.00     0   44
North Central(2)
Plymouth         72  20  39  -8   0.30     3
South_Bend       73  22  40  -6   0.10     3
Young_America    73  22  40  -6   0.41     1
Northeast (3)
Columbia_City    73  19  39  -6   0.04     2   43
Fort_Wayne       76  20  40  -6   0.13     3
West Central(4)
Greencastle      76  23  42  -8   1.20     1
Perrysville      78  21  42  -6   0.92     1   46
Spencer_Ag       78  23  43  -6   1.10     1
Terre_Haute_AFB  76  24  43  -7   1.07     1
W_Lafayette_6NW  73  21  41  -6   0.12     2   46
Central (5)
Eagle_Creek_AP   76  24  43  -6   1.50     2
Greenfield       78  23  42  -6   0.85     3
Indianapolis_AP  78  23  44  -6   0.78     1
Indianapolis_SE  77  23  42  -7   1.01     1
Tipton_Ag        75  21  41  -5   0.46     1   44
East Central(6)
Farmland         76  21  40  -6   0.33     1   45
New_Castle       76  23  42  -4   0.52     1
Southwest (7)
Evansville       81  26  47  -7   0.61     1
Freelandville    78  24  45  -6   0.67     1
Shoals           81  24  44  -7   1.54     1
Stendal          81  27  48  -4   0.84     1
Vincennes_5NE    79  25  45  -6   0.89     1   47
South Central(8)
Leavenworth      80  24  46  -5   1.96     1
Oolitic          78  24  43  -7   1.14     1   48
Tell_City        81  32  49  -3   0.77     2
Southeast (9)
Brookville       82  24  45  -3   0.70     1
Greensburg       81  23  44  -5   0.85     1
Scottsburg       81  23  45  -6   1.34     1
----------------------------------------------------
      Weather Information Table (Continued)
      Week ending Sunday April 8, 2007
------------------------------------------------
                        Accumulation
                --------------------------------
                      April 1, 2007 thru
 Station                April 8, 2007
                 --------------------------------
                  Precipitation   |GDD Base 50oF
                 --------------------------------
                       |     |    |     |
                 Total | DFN |Days|Total|  DFN
-------------------------------------------------
Northwest (1)   |
Chalmers_5W     | 0.32  -0.58   2    25    +9
Francesville    | 0.27  -0.67   1    18    +9
Valparaiso_AP_I | 0.21  -0.80   1    16    +8
Wanatah         | 0.38  -0.59   1    12    +4
Winamac         | 0.41  -0.53   1    17    +8
North Central(2)|
Plymouth        | 1.03  +0.04   4    18    +7
South_Bend      | 0.50  -0.53   4    19   +11
Young_America   | 0.59  -0.29   2    26   +18
Northeast (3)   |
Columbia_City   | 0.44  -0.52   3    19   +13
Fort_Wayne      | 0.48  -0.40   4    26   +18
West Central(4) |
Greencastle     | 1.45  +0.49   2    34   +15
Perrysville     | 1.18  +0.17   2    34   +19
Spencer_Ag      | 1.72  +0.67   2    36   +20
Terre_Haute_AFB | 1.19  +0.22   2    38   +18
W_Lafayette_6NW | 0.55  -0.37   3    28   +19
Central (5)     |
Eagle_Creek_AP  | 2.31  +1.32   3    40   +23
Greenfield      | 1.48  +0.45   4    39   +27
Indianapolis_AP | 1.53  +0.54   2    43   +26
Indianapolis_SE | 2.14  +1.19   2    39   +23
Tipton_Ag       | 0.73  -0.28   2    34   +26
East Central(6) |
Farmland        | 0.77  -0.16   2    24   +16
New_Castle      | 1.19  +0.16   2    38   +30
Southwest (7)   |
Evansville      | 1.17  +0.08   2    51   +14
Freelandville   | 0.74  -0.27   2    50   +26
Shoals          | 2.59  +1.48   2    44   +20
Stendal         | 2.03  +0.83   2    60   +31
Vincennes_5NE   | 0.96  -0.05   2    43   +19
South Central(8)|
Leavenworth     | 2.27  +0.99   2    57   +32
Oolitic         | 1.76  +0.69   2    39   +20
Tell_City       | 1.04  -0.25   3    60   +27
Southeast (9)   |
Brookville      | 0.85  -0.17   2    55   +43
Greensburg      | 1.25  +0.19   2    55   +39
Scottsburg      | 1.94  +0.81   2    48   +24
------------------------------------------------------------------
DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period).
GDD = Growing Degree Days.
Precipitation (Rainfall or melted snow/ice) in inches.
Precipitation Days = Days with precip of .01 inch or more.
Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit.
Copyright 2007:  Agricultural Weather Information Service, Inc.
                 All rights reserved.
       The above weather information is provided by AWIS, Inc.
For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page
                        at: www.awis.com