MGGA Weekly Crop Condition Survey
MAY 26, 2020
Chouteau County - Lochiel Edwards
A welcome inch of rain this past week has our crop back on track. The coming heat will combine with that water to crank up the photosynthesis. Crops look good, and we are expecting harvest to start July 18, 1pm. I appreciate Henke priming the pump and making it rain. Moisture conditions are good receiving 1" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat. Weeds showing up are cheat and mustard.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Finished with spring work--spring seeding, chem fallow, top dressing and winter wheat spraying this past week. There is still spring crop yet to be put in. This area is probably part of the "slow spring" stats. The fruit trees are behind normal by up to 2 weeks. Not looking forward to the predicted hot temperatures later this week. Will get a little tough on the young spring crops. Moisture conditions are good receiving .75" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and barley. Mosquitoes showing up and kochia just poked through to join its buddies--oats, fan weed, tansy, cheat plus some others.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
It's always amazing what a week of time can bring in Montana. And when rain is involved in that equation, the results are often quite uplifting. That was the case up here where we looked like we were already in July and crops were struggling to get going. Then starting last Monday evening and going on and off through Thursday, we recieved .9-1.5 inches on our different farms. Some local reports of around or over 2". I'm almost certain I could hear a county wide sigh of relief from both the farmers and the crops. The grass is green again, the crops are jumping, and the weeds are bolting. The sweet smell of rain, lilacs and dicamba on my boots reminds me we are still in May. We powered through our chemfallow, which along with the mosquitos was a big fan of the precipitation, and hope to start spraying winter wheat today. Scouting has revealed mustard, prickly lettuce and the occasional thistle, so our plans are to spray most everything. On one scouting trip I found a wallet out in the field that was fairly decomposed. It was my dad's that he lost back in 1984. The cards expired in 86 and I'm assuming the cash was absent at the time it was lost as my family was like many in the early 80s, losing the farm amid financial and drought filled times. It was a fun find and makes me thankful we are still here 36 years later, farming in the fashion we are, watching the kids jump in muddy puddles! Moisture conditions are good receiving .9-1.5" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and peas. Mosquitoes, mustard, prickly lettuce and kochia showing up.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Feeling very blessed with the moisture we received last week! HRW has new look to it after 1.91” total precipitation coming from four separate showers last week. In 2019 we had 1.20” for the month of May and in 2020 for May 1 to today we are at 2.28”, and I am hoping this moisture trend can continue. All crops looks healthy with newborn optimism including the cheat grass and Kochia. Hope to finish chem fallow this week along with some ww clean up. Field scouted ww yesterday and appears some fields will be sprayed and some won’t. Once again, extremely grateful for the moisture. Moisture conditions are good receiving 1.91" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and lentils.
Garfield County - Scott Glasscock
We had a nice Memorial Day weekend rain. Good timing. Our crops are all planted and we just finished up branding. Spraying our winter wheat now, which is behind normal. Some of it is starting to take off, but the later planted stuff is showing that it was planted late. Spring wheat is rowed up nice, as are the peas and lentils. The corn is sprouted and should start coming up this week. The grass alfalfa hay really liked this rain and warmer weather. Looks like it will make some bales. Moisture conditions are good receiving 1.2" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, lentils, corn and hay.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Finally got some heat and things were looking up untill Wednesday with a hail storm moving through the area with a south to north movement with a lot of wind. I got .76 rain and the neighbor to the west and in the middle of the storm had over 2 inches and 2 feet of hail against his house only 1.75 miles away. Flattened everything and washed some gullies in, some fields and ditches were over running with water. Spring crop will come back and the ww was not that far along but will set it back. Still have a field of alfalfa to seed but do not know when that will happen. Everything else looks good as ww is starting to take off and spring crop is out of the ground. Some reseeding of the skips from blocked runs on the air drill, most top dressing is done and hay is looking great. Have a great weekend and hope those of you that need rain got it over Memorial weekend. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.23" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, barley and hay. Have seen a few grasshoppers that over wintered, but will do no damage.
Liberty County - Craig Henke
Nice May rain will perk things up. Anywhere from 1.55 to 2 inches. Took a road trip to northeastern Montana to visit grandkids. Those farmers are at high stress, saw a combine still trying to get last year's crop off. Lots of acres to seed yet. Everyone spraying winter wheat and chem fallow. Found some cut worms, one neighbor sprayed for them, always something to deal with. Peas and lentils all look great. Mustard is slowly making progress. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.55-2" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, lentils and mustard. A few cutworms and lots of tansy showing up.
Northern Yellowstone, Eastern Stillwater County - Michelle Jones
Our Memorial Day weekend rain did not disappoint - we had a fairly wide spread - getting anywhere from 0.7-2.2 but considering we were originally forecast for 0.25-0.5 we'll take it. It makes up some of the deficit we've seen in April and May. The winter wheat continues to look excellent. Same with the alfalfa and spring wheat, safflower is looking good as well. We wrapped up seeding last week with corn and a small plot of sorghum sudangrass. As soon as fields are dry enough we'll start spraying summer fallow next week before likely moving on to spring wheat and barley. Some sunshine and warm weather next week will be good for the crops. Moisture conditions are good receiving .7-2.2" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, safflower, corn, hay and barley. No weeds that exceptionally troublesome or noteworthy.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Spring seeding chores are on hold once again this past week due to wet weather. Not a complaint, just an observation. Most everything has emerged right up to where the drill is parked, with earlier crops gaining leaves. Still have most of my canola to put in the ground as last week's moisture events have left duck ponds in my fields. Evidently Eric's shipment of moisture was delivered to the wrong address. 1.81" of rain filled my rain gauge last week, with the big storm last Monday night wiping out all of my winter wheat with a violent hail storm. Looked like someone took a flail mower over mine and many others' crops from Simms to Power. My wheat was still in a grassy state, no joint, so I think it will bounce back, but others are not so lucky. We are sitting at just short of 4" of moisture for the year, and 3.25" for the month. Other than wet conditions, crops are progressing slowly as it has been relatively cool and in need of some heat units, which by the end of the week it sounds like that will be remedied. A little info for all, take a look at the CoCoRaHS website. This is a community collaboration of weather, mostly moisture levels of rain, in which one can report moisture events or non-events. This info is actually used when drought reports are generated by NOAA. Reporting is sporadic across Montana, but worthy. My weather-nut $.02. MGGA also has a joint phone meeting Wednesday morning at 8AM MDT with Congressman Greg Gianforte and State FSA Director Mike Foster concerning the Coronavirus Relief Program to help us all with explanations of just how the program will benefit us when applying for the CFAP program. Hopefully we can have a good conversation and get a real good explanation of just what the benefits are. Please feel free to participate. Phone number is 800-593-9924, passcode 8605866. Have a great week! Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.81" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola and hay. Weeds showing up are wild oats, cheat grass and tansy mustard.
MAY 19, 2020
Chouteau County - Lochiel Edwards
Higher temps are boosting growth rate of all crops. Still a bit of seeding going on but most fields are up and going. Dry weather persists in the northeast Triangle, with a few narrow bands of odd showers helping the select few. Wheat is showing its Montana heritage, thanks to Phil and Luther and those who've gone before, and is hanging in there. Rain forecast for the coming week would be appreciated. Edwardsfarm received 2-3 tenths on 400 acres this week in a quick downpour with hail. Dry, dusty roads a half mile on either side of that. That's Montana! Moisture conditions are fair receiving .04" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat. Weeds showing up are cheat and mustards.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Winter wheat is growing slower than average. It takes over 2 weeks for the spring crops to emerge. That gives a basis for the slow spring planting in the Northern Plains. All the top dressing is done along with chem fallow. Not all the spring seeding is done yet. Looking back, the activities on the tractor are far more demanding than yester year. It used to be that all one had to do is keep the front tractor tire in the one way furrow, get your famous "Farmer's Tan" and watch at least 2 of the 3 gauges. On the Massey 55, the temperature gauge was the most important. The amp meter, well only if the tractor did not start the next day. Now, it is oil pressure, engine temperature, low coolant level, transmission pressure, transmission temperature, hydraulic temperature, hydraulic oil level, volt meter, air conditioner temperature, AM/FM or Sirius XM stations, business band radio, GPS setting, auto steer, acre and mapping. To mention a few. Plus the drill functions in concert with the blockage monitor. Oh yes, texting. (Almost forgot). Not ready to go back to the "good old days" except for Pioneer Power Days. Moisture conditions are good receiving 5.5" of snow plus 2 showers. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and barley. Lots of weeds showing up, typical spring weeds.
Fergus County - Tom Butcher
Very slow. Plenty of snow but not a lot of warm, sunny growing weather. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1"+ of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, corn and hay.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Had a good week of growing weather so we are scouting the winter wheat. Looking good with just the typical weeds. Moisture conditions are good receiving .4" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
We are well into the spring long dearth of rain up here on the Hi-line. My family is getting tired of hearing about it, or the lack there of, and watching the dirt blow. Spring seeding was effortless compared to last year. Spring wheat is up and looking good. Might be a year where the spring wheat beats up the winter wheat yields in places. The winter wheat is leaving us scratching our heads, some looking great while some brings tears to our eyes; which could be alright as long as you're standing in the field because it could probably use that moisture. Cold nights and cold soil temps, paired with relentless wind and little to no rain is the real culprit. A nice warm rain and some sun should turn things around and get us back on track. Peas are just starting to show and looking good. Top dressing is finished up for us and some guys still going, hoping we get some rain this week. I put a rain order in about 10 days ago and my tracking number says it's on its way; got hung up south of us last week in some sort of shipping issue, but I've been assured it will arrive here even if it's late. Holding off on spraying crop until maybe we get some rain. Seems a bit too stressed to go. Chemfallow is holding good but we will start over next week on it. Most guys have finished their first applications. So, for me it's more time on the mower and on my knees praying for rain. Moisture conditions are fair with just heavy dew in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and peas. No insects and diseases so far, weeds showing up are mustard, cheat and volunteer.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Received .38 during the night, showers were spotty but anything in moisture form was much needed. HRW was struggling due to cold temps, wind, and dry. HRS is emerged and will take off now with last night's rain. Seen a few folks working on weed control in their ww; we will assess ours after our fallow spraying is completed. Lots of work to be done yet but extremely grateful for some moisture. Moisture conditions are good receiving .38" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and lentils.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Finally got a little heat and crops started to grow. All of my spring crop is out of the ground, but found out that cheat is starting to just reappear in one field. A real late start for it and no fix. Some are spraying out and starting over. Winter wheat is still slow and spindly (looks like blue grass). Most seeding is wrapping up and SF sprayed. Next will be spraying WW and touching up SF (wild oats and darnel starting to show up and cheat still sprouting). Moisture was all over the place with some getting a lot and others a sprinkle or nothing. Received .12" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, barley and hay. Seeing a little worm damage in WW, but very little. Weeds showing up are cheat, wild oats and darnel.
Liberty County - Craig Henke
Ran pivots all last week and with windy days thought Edwards Farm would have got moisture. Started spraying irrigated winter wheat on Monday. Crops are changing fast with the warm weather. Lots of water in Marias River, and good snow pack so will have lots. See more pivots each year, 6 new ones by us this year. See that pasture land could use a drink. A quick shower just passed and received .31. Pump is primed. Moisture conditions are good receiving .51" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, lentils and mustard. Lots of tansy showing up.
Northern Yellowstone, Eastern Stillwater County - Michelle Jones
I think that rain is accurate for this week - we’ve picked up multiple smaller storms and the amount is fairly variable across the farm but it’s been a decent moisture week. It’s currently raining. We have wrapped up spraying winter wheat and applying liquid nitrogen. We’re hoping to plant corn over the weekend and we’ll be wrapped up with #plant2020. The winter wheat looks excellent, same with the spring wheat and safflower. Our barley seems to have gotten caught in a poor seeding timing and crusting was an issue - but it’s looking better every day. Overall can’t complain. Moisture conditions are good receiving .75-1" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, safflower, corn, hay and barley. A few cutworms and buckwheat showing up.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Recent rains have every crop coming on strong with emergence. It has made it tough to get finished up though with a shower just about every day. There are a few acres left to be drilled in the area, but can only get a few acres drilled in between rain showers. Has become a rather long and drawn out chore for some, while others have finished. Sprayers have taken the place of drills in the fields of late, either streaming top-dress or spraying winter wheat. Last night's thunderstorm was a whopper to watch come in. A lot of sparks and torrential rain with small hail caught me on the wrong end of a half mile run. Was pretty greasy getting to other end of field to get home. Crops are getting a great start, but so are the weeds. Short-grass prairie grass is coming on strong and the cows are enjoying it. Water is flowing in the irrigation system with flushing of ditches in progress. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving .85" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola and hay. Weeds showing up are wild oats and tansy mustard.
MAY 12, 2020
Chouteau County - Lochiel Edwards
High desert conditions are continuing on the north edge of Chouteau County. Good rains this past week not too far south of Edwardsfarm will be a big boost for spring and winter grains, but we are not desperate yet. March winds are still blowing, and I saw a bit of crested wheat grass turn blue, but grains will be fine and actually build character for another 10-12 days. Still some seeding left to do in my area, but the majority is planted and coming up. First time over on no-till fallow has begun. Moisture conditions are good receiving .02 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat. Weeds showing up are cheat and mustards.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Spring crop seeding keeps getting interrupted by moisture. Many acres of intended winter wheat did not get planted last fall due to 2 November-type snow storms in Sept & Oct. Good spring soil profile moisture. Over 30 inches in last year's stubble and over 42 inches in chem fallow. At the time of this report, looking out the office window and seeing 3 inches of lake effect snow from the NE and still coming down. (I think it is Hudson Bay lake effect.) No winter wheat weed spraying yet. Normally, it is all done by Mother's Day. The weeds are slow to come. The weeds seem to know and understand the weather and conditions better than we do. We are still seeding spring wheat with a ways to go. We have to work the ground ahead of the drill with vertical tillage to get some drying for the drill packers to work right. Malt barley is in the ground and up. So drink lots of beer as we are still unable to deliver last year's contracted malt barley. In light of delivery, they want to "pay" us storage. The question could become what do we do for 2020 grain storage. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.3" of precipitation. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and barley.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Received a good rain on Wednesday night and woke up to 4 inches of snow. Winter wheat is lagging behind and the spring wheat is 2-leaf. Waiting to spray the winter wheat with such cold night temps. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.3" of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Flathead County - Tryg Koch
Crops are mostly all planted and winter wheat spraying is well under way. Things are greening up nicely around the valley with spring seeded crops emerging. Moisture conditions are good receiving .75 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola and hay. No insects, but lots of weeds.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Wind......wore out on it. Rain......need it. SW is 75% emerged and 100% planted. Hope to finish lentils today and focus on chem fallow next. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .08 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and lentils.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
Still had a shot of winter this last week with no snow ranging to over a foot in the area. Still some seeding going on and a lot of seed going out of Heartland Seed in Moccassin. A lot of top dressing still to be done. WW will start to be sprayed soon as it dries out and temps improve. Hay still being fed and hauled out. Pastures are finally greening up and growing. Still have wet spots in some fields and giving up on doing anything with them. Some cattle out on grass but most still feeding hay. Received 1.14 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, barley and hay.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Crops are emerging well here on the bench. Last week saw a furious rush to get crops in the ground with a big percentage of the winter wheat being torn out and reseeded to spring grains. Winter winds took a toll and left very poor stands. Seeding chores came to a screeching halt Thursday night when the rain started. Snow pack in the mountains remains much above normal at approximately 116%. The water has been released into the Greenfields irrigation canals, but with this morning's snow and last week's rain, demand is fairly nonexistant. Overall seeding is probably around 75% complete. Which is about where I am as well with a few acres of barley and some canola left. The winter wheat is being slow and will need spraying soon. Have a good spring, when winter actually gives it up. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 1.3 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola and hay. Weeds showing up are cheat grass, and wild mustard.
MAY 5, 2020
Chouteau County - Lochiel Edwards
Earlier winterwheat is taking off; later seedings are still finding their legs. Winterkill was minimal, and I anticipate no reseeding. Wind has been prevalent the last 4 months, and, true to the farmer stereotype, we could use a rain. Spring grain seeding is estimated at 70% done in my area. My spring wheat is planted, and a half inch of moisture would make me look like a planting genius. SF moisture profiles are good, recrop profiles less so. Feeling like a dry spring, in spite of unsettled weather. Moisture conditions are good receiving .01 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat. Lots of small, black spiders, the likes of which I've not seen before. Assuming spiders are a good thing, but don't know what these eat. Weeds showing up are cheat and mustards, my familiar companions. Too early to tell on diseases, but I'll say there's no snow mold.
Chouteau County - Nathan Keane
Winter wheat is at the three leaf stage and is looking good. Our barley has recently showed itself since putting it in the ground on April 20th. We have finished seeding our barley, mustard and chickpeas. We have spring wheat and hemp left to go. Moisture is good but it’s drying up quickly. We have been missed by the last set of rain showers coming through. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, garbanzos, canola, mustard, hemp and hay. Weed problems are tansy mustard, prickly lettuce and cheat grass.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Finished seeding last Monday. Conditions were very good. Winter wheat is having a slow start. First spring wheat is out of the ground. Moisture conditions are good receiving .4 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Hill County - Trevor Wolery
Residents of Goldstone have been practicing social distancing since 1925. Spring conditions are phenomenal when compared to last spring. Planting is two-thirds finished and wind has been the devil the last two weeks. HRW and chem fallow both look healthy. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving .1 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat and lentils.
Judith Basin County - Greg Mathews
What a spring. Still fighing the mud from last fall. The ground was so cold that grain is taking a month to come out of the ground. With the cold ground the cheat and weeds were slow to come. Winter wheat looks frail and spindly. Hopefully will look better with the warm temps. Just got bad news from Malteurop that they have delayed taking any more malt barley till fall or next year and this year's crop maybe not until 2021 or 2022 at the earliest. Finished seeding on April 30. Still quite a few still seeding. Most top dressing of winter wheat is about done and some of the spring crops as well. Hay is slow to green up and I expect to see a big jump this next week. Still see people getting stuck in the fields. The wet spots just will not dry out. Did not get much rain this last week but east and north and south did. Moore got over a half inch in two storms. Hope all are doing well and staying healthy. Have a great spring. Moisture conditions are excellent with .04 of precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, barley and hay. Just the usual cheat, fanweed, volunter grain and mustards for weed problems.
Northern Yellowstone County - Michelle Jones
The winter wheat continues to look really good - we'll be spraying it early this week. The wind does continue to dry out the area, we're seeing significant evaporation and drying in areas that have been wet the past few years. Most of the area is done seeding spring wheat, barley and safflower. The late spring crops won't be seeded for a few more weeks. We still have corn left to seed. Sprayers are busy in the area. Alfalfa has been sprayed and many are transitioning to spraying Beyond. Moisture conditions are good with 0 precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, safflower, corn, hay and barley.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
The last two weeks have been a bee hive of activity here on the bench, with most of the acres being drilled this last week. Last week summer showed up and really warmed things up. Temps were near 80 for a couple days. The grass has really taken off, and the first stuff seeded is emerging. Several neighbors have finished their seeding chores while I have about 50% remaining. I should be done by the end of this week. Moisture conditions are excellent receiving 0 precipitation in the past week. Crops being grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola and hay.