The crop condition assessment for North Dakota's hard red spring wheat crop somewhat improved. The crop is assessed as good in 48% of the cases, up from 40%, and excellent in 2% of the cases, down from 3%. The proportion of those who were rated poor to extremely poor decreased from 22% to 15%. But a sizable area of the state still requires urgent precipitation.
The state's potential for crop productivity is still uneven. Producers worry that the hotter weather that is expected to arrive the week of July 24 would put further strain on the areas that lack rainfall. In many regions, grasshopper pressures are greater than usual.
The U.S. crop evaluations increased marginally across the board. The crop is now graded good to excellent in 51 percent of cases, up from 47 percent, and poor to very poor in 14 percent of cases, down from 16 percent. A fall in the crop ratings for Montana was partially offset by improvements in Minnesota and South Dakota. 86 percent of the crop is headed nationwide, which is slightly faster than average for mid-July.
61 percent of the North Dakota durum crop was graded good to excellent, while 9 percent was rated poor to very poor. Only 17 percent of the Montana durum crop is considered good to excellent, and 16 percent is considered low to very poor. With the predicted rise in temperatures, both states need precipitation to maintain agricultural conditions.
Maturity of the durum crop is near the five-year average for mid-July, with 60 percent headed in Montana and 70 percent headed in North Dakota.
Photo Credit: pexels-anna-tarazevich
Categories: North Dakota, Crops, Wheat