MGGA Weekly Crop Condition Survey
AUGUST 30, 2022
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Cut and hauled canola to town because all the bins are full. It did pretty good considering I had no clue what I was doing. Had three days of thunderstorms last week, they didn’t amount to much of anything but kept the combine from going. Started hauling hay, maybe a third done. Hope to finish the durum tomorrow. Then on to cleaning winter wheat to start all over. Moisture conditions are poor receiving maybe a half inch or precipitation in the past week. Crops planted were winter wheat, durum, barley, canola, hay and millet. Hoppers are still a problem.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Harvest is over!! For us and this area. Winter wheat yields and quality were pretty good. The spring crops took the brunt of summer drought and continuing drought. Winter wheat seeding conditions are not very good. It is dry--too dry and hot to be seeding. So there are 2 options--seed into the dry conditions and hope for moisture to germinate and get a quicker start on the winter wheat and worry about the weeds and volunteer later or wait for moisture, kill the volunteer and weeds and seed into moisture and have a quick germination. Either way, it appears the 2023 winter wheat crop will be off to a late start. Then there is also the other problem--hoppers. There are more than enough hoppers to destroy a newly emerged winter wheat crop. The hopper here are unwelcome migrants that flew in late in the growing season. Luckily they did very little damage to the wheat crops. Barley did not fair so well. They do like pulse crops. Oh well, no two years are exactly the same. Gotta roll with the punches. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted were winter wheat and spring wheat.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
The area is 99% finished with harvest. Quiet and cool mornings are returning. Unfortunately we are back into the swing of things around here as far as the pattern of moisture. Predictions looked good for some rain last week but what materialized was .05 for the whole week. When you are as dry as we are, that's just a sneeze. Spotty again with decent rain in small areas from what I’ve heard. Rainfall at the guage north of here is 3.77 inches year to date. Dirt is dry. Everything is brown. Heat is still here with the next 7-10 days being a scorcher. Hoppers continue their residency. All those factors have winter wheat seeding on the back burner for now. No drills going yet here. Grumbling of very little to none going in. Another two weeks and things will start looking and feeling different. School is in full swing and the mornings are already cooler and darker by the day. Just a good rain or heavy snow away from being reinvigorated with optimism. One can only hope. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .05" of precipitation in the past week. Hoppers still a problem.
Judith Basin County - Greg Matthews
Harvest will continue in the area for a couple more weeks as welcome moisture hit the area last week and little harvesting got done. Got 4 days of rain out of 7 and got .58 last week, others received far more moisture in the narrow dumpers coming through the area, example, Judith Gap had one storm and got 1.5 inches. Had some barley tested and test weight ran from 39 to 47.5 lbs. Hay and straw moving up and down the highway. And the hoppers are still a problem. Seeding ww this fall will be a challenge with dry ground and hoppers. Best to all and stay safe. Received .58" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted were winter wheat, spring wheat and hay.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Harvest has officially started for me. Have taken some winter wheat that surprised me on how well it yielded considering the year we have had. Same goes for the malt barley. Quality appears good but have not had it officially tested. The pivots are really showing their worth this year as we basically irrigated everything up out of the ground. The flooded acres are not looking good at all, and the pivoted ground will help make up the difference, but definitely a yield drag in the grand scheme. Neighborhood has been cutting for last two weeks with some patching here and there just trying to get some acres shaved off. We did receive some rain which cooled everyone's jets a little. Grasshoppers are getting worse it seems as they migrate out of the mature fields into the green ditch and road grass. Have to leave the windows up or get a cab full of hoppers going down the trails. Looks like good weather to enjoy harvest. Be safe out there. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .5" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted were winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and hay. Grasshoppers still a problem and plenty of weeds.
AUGUST 23, 2022
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Finished cutting barley and Willow creek. Tried cutting the canola but still too green. Moved and cut one field of durum. Thought it looked like it would do about ten bushel, but actually ran thirty, except where the grasshoppers had made a home. Which was about a ten acre patch that looked like it had been cut already. Tried cutting the other field of durum but it was too green. That will probably be next week's project. Almost done which is a good feeling. Moisture conditions are poor. Crops planted are winter wheat, durum, barley, canola, hay and millet. Hoppers are still here.
Cascade County - Steve Sheffels
Harvest complete! Approximately 15% below average wheat and barley crops. 20% lower than normal precipitation on this crop. All-in-all we're declaring victory. It feels very good to have it all in the bin. Earliest harvest finish date in at least 15 years. There is enough soil moisture in the fallow to seed winter wheat for next year. Plan on seeding the week after Labor Day. Moisture conditions are fair receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and barley. More grasshoppers than 'normal', less than last year.
Chouteau County - Nathan Keane
It is one of the worst harvests in history for yield. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no measurable precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, garbanzos, flax, hemp and hay. Huge grasshopper pressure. Pigweed a problem, no diseases. We have two days left on our chickpeas, a half day left on our flax and we will be waiting another month to harvest our hemp.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Harvest is just about totally wrapped up here in this area. There is still some spring wheat, barley and peas to cut yet. By this weekend, harvest should be finished here. South of us, there is still a considerable amount of grain to harvest yet. We hope to be done by the weekend. The early dryness took it's toll on the spring wheat. Our quality is just excellent with 58 and 59 lb spring wheat and 14.5 to 16.3 protein. Beautiful grain. Winter wheat seeding conditions are not good at all. Even in the chem fallow there is not much to no soil moisture. But the multi year drought in the mid 80's broke in August 1989 with 9 inches of rain in late August and early Sept. No one got to seed winter wheat in Sept. It was all seeded in Oct. Then in Feb 1989 we had a winter storm that killed 95% of the winter wheat in this area. 1989 was a spring wheat year. Could happen again as there appears things repeat themselves theory out there. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Grasshoppers migrating in. Not causing any damage to wheat, but clipping barley heads. They like canola.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Just finished harvest last night. We were pleased with how things turned out this year minus a few big hail storms. Had a great crew and some really nice harvest weather. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Hoppers are a problem.
Judith Basin County - Greg Matthews
Finished SW on Sunday and glad to be done. SW was okay for the lack of moisture, light and a okay yield 30-35. Area is getting done with harvest as others are getting started. Grasshoppers are still getting worse and seem to never die. Waiting for the rain predicted for the upcoming week. Hope everyone has a safe week and no fires. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .16" of precipitation in the past week.
AUGUST 16, 2022
Blaine/Phillips County - Raymond Keller
We are in the middle of harvest. We just finished winter wheat and are moving into spring wheat. Yields have been good considering the year. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .25-.9" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Hoppers are a problem.
Broadwater County - Franck Groeneweg
Harvest is 20% completed. Yields are very disappointing, probably half of what it looked like it could be. It quit raining by the first of July and with no subsoil moisture the crop could not fill what was there. Winter Wheat on CRP 15 bpa. Hard White Spring Wheat on fallow 22bpa. Moisture conditions are poor. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, garbanzos, canola and flax.
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Finished cutting winter wheat on Friday. Started cutting Willow Creek, lots of straw bales so far and a decent yield for it, about thirty bushel. Started cutting barley today, yields are disappointing, grasshoppers and not enough water in July to fill. Guess that’s why three quarters of the farm is winter wheat. Sounds like most of the spring crops down here are that same story. Where has the summer gone, kids go back to school tomorrow. Be time to start seeding again before we know it. Moisture conditions are poor. Crops planted are winter wheat, durum, barley, canola, hay and millet. Hoppers are a problem.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Winter wheat harvest in this area is almost totally wrapped up. Yields were not too bad considering the year. The below temperatures in June is what made the winter wheat crop. By the test weight, one could tell it just ran out of moisture there at the very end. Spring wheat harvest is on. The early seeded spring wheat was just too far along when the July rains came. Test weight is really light. Sitting on our portable trashing machine, known to us Yankees as a combine, known as a header to the Aussies--us Yanks have headers on our combines, the Aussies have a front on their headers. I was reading that one gallon of diesel fuel used in production ag equals 550 man hours of field labor. Often that labor was the spoils of war. That labor was used to build the pyramids, build the acquaducts, harvest the tobacco, pick the cotton and more. Today some of the spoils of war is stollen grain and disabled John Deeres. At 18 gallons of diesel fuel per hour, it is just hard for me to get me arms around the fact that would have been 9,900 man hours to harvest and trash the grain, when we on top of our combines do it in just 1 hour. But I guess there was not 7 or more billion people on earth in those days. Welcome to feeding the world. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .25" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Hoppers are really getting bad. Migrating in.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Harvest is about 2/3 done for us. Spotty storms have slowed things down a little but not too bad. Lots of combines rolling in the area. Yields on the spring crop are probably right at average. Great quality. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .25" precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Garfield County - Scott Glasscock
We finished harvest yesterday. It was not a great harvest, but thankful we had some bushels to cut. The yields were a little better than last year. We had two hail storms so that took some bushels. I’m just glad we got good rain with the hail so we had a harvest. Every year we always learn new things that help us in the future years. After last year's disaster I knew we needed a better safety net so we put on more insurance for this year's crop. I am glad we did. It will help us make it another year. I’m not sure what I’ve learned this year, but I know I’ve learned something. I’m hoping the grasshoppers are gone next year. I’m sure if they are, there will still be challenges. We just have to deal with them as they come and be thankful we get to do what we do. Now we are on to cleaning combines, hauling hay and moving cows. We will need rain to plant winter wheat. I’m sure it will come. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, lentils, peas, corn, hay and sorghum. Grasshoppers are a problem.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
We finished harvest a week ago. It went fast. No breakdowns and light crops make for high efficiency. The heat kept things dry so there were no hold ups. Broke our harvest record by 4 days. Not something we are bragging about. Lots of empty bins. The country is getting close to finishing up in a week or so. Hope we can get a change in the weather so we can gain back some enthusiasm going into fall seeding. Wishing everyone a strong finish out there. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Judith Basin County - Greg Matthews
Finished WW on Thursday and started on the barley. Looks a little light and the yield is down, hope to get better as I move to the north where it rained more. Rained out Friday and Saturday receiving .34 and .37 and more than that to the west and had a good lightning show Friday night. Grateful for the rain as probably would have had numerous fires. Fire potential extremely high. Will start up again on Monday. Hoppers getting worse in all the pastures, will spray some of them to lower the population. Good luck to all and stay safe. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .71" of precipitation in the past week.
McCone/Dawson County - Kurt Voss
About half done harvesting. Yields have been good but a little less then expected. Moisture conditions are fair receiving no measurable precip for several weeks.. Crops planted are spring wheat, barley, corn, peas, hay, lentils and oats. Grasshoppers and sawfly on a few fields, nothing significant for weeds or diseases.
Stillwater County - Michelle Jones
Well we are officially wrapped up with wheat harvest and only have 70 acres of barley left. We’d have finished it all on Friday but are currently rain delayed. The wheat was above average and good quality. The barley was a mixed bag on yield (generally above average or above expectations though). Disappointing quality - light to super light test weight. Will likely be the last year we grow Synergy (the only dry land variety currently contracted by Breiss). It cannot compete with Hockett or Metcalf. The rains that delayed us were pretty heavy in places…1-2.5” fell in the storm on Friday. Half the farm was missed entirely - that half generally got 0.5-0.7” on Saturday. Overall should get us started seeding in a few weeks. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .5-2.5" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, barley, safflower and hay.
AUGUST 9, 2022
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Still cutting winter wheat and spraying for grasshoppers. Hopefully be done with winter wheat in a few days. We were rained out two days this last week which was fine, everyone needed a break. Yield is still extremely good. My three year old was out with me and his foot fell in a crack in the field. It is extremely dry out in the fields, have to keep the crescent wrench on a string because if you drop it you won’t get it back. So we will need lots of rain in September to get any winter wheat seeded. Baled the millet and it did three bales to the acre. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .75" of precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, durum, barley, canola, hay and millet. Hoppers, lots and lots of hoppers.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Harvest is in full swing in this area. Much of the pulse crops have been harvested. Winter wheat harvest should be wrapped up by this time next week as this is pretty much the last place in the lower 48 to harvest HRW. Yields are 25 to 85, 61.5 to 63.5 lb test weight, mid to high 12's protein. However, I am hearing of some low protein winter wheat. Hoppers are getting bad. I don't know where they are coming from. The poor Kochia--as if any one has any sympathy for it--is a hopper main stable at this point. When the hoppers get done with it, it looks like standing timber after a forest fire. Have not heard of any spring wheat cut yet but there is some barley being cut. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
Harvest is rolling right along. Had a rain day on Saturday. Back at it on Sunday afternoon. About half done with the winter wheat. Great quality wheat but no protein scale at this time. Moisture conditions are fair receiving .3" precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Grasshoppers are a problem.
Flathead County - Tryg Koch
Harvest is just getting started!! Yields and test weights seem to be good. Winter wheat and peas are the first crops to hit the elevator. Most guys will be hitting it hard next week, only a few have started. Second cutting of hay is well under way and yields are about average. Prices for hay are still strong for all bale types. Moisture conditions are fair receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola, lentils and hay. Hopefully starting Thursday to begin harvest.
Judith Basin County - Greg Matthews
Started on Monday harvesting and the moisture was 9-10. Big surprise, good test weight, great yield but disappointing protein. 9 to 10 so far. Will finish WW harvesting on Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Hoppers still getting worse in areas. Straw being baled everywhere. Barley will try the end of the week, maybe. Surprise rain on Saturday morning and late that night getting .32. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .32" of precipitation in the past week.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
HOT and DRY are the words for the week. Going on another week of hot and dry weather is maturing the crops rapidly. Irrigated winter wheat is being tested yet, or taken depending on maturity. Some swathing is occurring to try and even the crop up to ready it for harvest. Grasshoppers are getting bigger by the day. Populations are not enough to cause any major damage yet. Malt barley is a week or so away from being tested. Reports of harvested winter wheat is that it is pleasantly surprising of good yields and quality. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and hay. Grasshoppers are a problem and weeds, you name it, it is there. Expect to begin harvest in a week or so.
AUGUST 2, 2022
Carter County - Michael Hansen
Started cutting winter wheat last week, got a thousand acres cut so far. Yields are well above average, test weight is 60 and protein is 15. Spring crops are dying fast, top of the heads on the durum are turning white and it may not fill. Had to swath the millet because the grasshoppers were going to eat it faster than they could be sprayed out. Sprayed canola for grasshoppers a second time, might just be a losing battle at this point. 100 degrees and twenty mile an hour wind today. The combines loving DEF system is acting up so I am writing this while waiting for the computer to show up to fix it. GPS also hasn’t been working so have to steer, I have no idea how the older generation did that!!! Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, durum, barley, canola, hay and millet. Grasshoppers are biblical. Started harvesting last Monday.
Fergus County - Robert Bold
Harvest has started here in our neck of the woods. Pulse crops are about all harvested and working on winter wheat now. I have not heard of any neighbors cutting 1,000 bushel samples this year. Everything is binnable. Of course, this Arizona weather does dry things out fast. This area now has sawflies. Causing very noticeable damage on some fields. Ours is pretty good so far but we have them too. Hoppers everywhere. This last week we have had more days of east wind than not. The more east wind--with heat, the more hoppers. So far not doing much damage. Besides, there are harvest restrictions for insecticide application. 2nd cutting hay all up. Earliest ever for 2nd cutting. Yield not bad. Early July rains made that all possible. Have a good and safe and bountiful harvest! Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Fergus County - Boyd Heilig
It’s been a hot and windy week so we were able to start harvest a little earlier than we thought. The winter wheat is yielding well with decent protein. 61 pound test weight. The early spring wheat is finishing well but the later stuff is suffering now. I hope everyone has a safe harvest season. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat. Grasshoppers are getting worse every day here. Started harvesting on July 30th.
Flathead County - Tryg Koch
First cutting of hay is pretty much all done, with second cutting getting knocked down. Never a dull moment in the haying world. Prices are good and yields have been great in lots of fields and average in others. Some winter canola is being swathed and just about ready to combine. I would think given the high 90 degree temps we have had the past week that a combine or two will be running a few ridges within the next week. Crops look awsome, only bad news is that we can't kill diamond backs in the canola and they are going to definitely ding yields. Insecticide that we have to use is not working. Very bad deal for the canola growers in the valley. Moisture conditions are fair receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, canola, lentils and hay. Expect to begin harvest August 15th.
Hill County - Todd Hansen
Hrw will be close to if not done. Pleasantly surprised with yield. Good test weight. Beautiful wheat. Currently desicating lentils. Not my favorite job. Due to global warming. Lentils and mustard left. Stay safe. Crops planted are winter wheat, lentils and mustard. Holy hoppers.
Hill County - Eric Hanson
Hot. Dry. Windy. Harvest rolls on. Hope to finish winter wheat today or tomorrow. We will try spring wheat when we finish. The early planted fields appear ready. The last 3-4 days really brought them around and zapped any green streaks out that were there. Hope everyone’s harvest is going well. Stay safe. Moisture conditions are poor receiving a few spotty showers in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat and spring wheat.
Judith Basin County - Greg Matthews
Will try combining on Monday and see how it is. The hot windy days have sped up the turning of the grains. Worried about the spring crops as they might be light. Some have started in the Moore area and north of there. Combines were cutting peas around Great Falls last week and Denton, Winifred were harvesting WW. Hills and everything else have dried up and the fire danger is going to be high. Hope everyone has a safe and great harvest. Moisture conditions are poor receiving .04" of precipitation in the past week. Hoppers showing up more every day.
McCone/Dawson County - Trevor Schock
We started harvesting yellow peas yesterday. Test weight was about 61lbs and they have been yielding in the mid 30s bushels per acre. There are lots of grasshoppers in the fields still too. Airplanes are still running constantly spraying fields for them. Haying is winding down in the area as everyone is moving on to grain harvest. Peas, winter wheat, barley, and very early spring wheat will all be ready for harvest this week. Hot temps in the 90s and low 100s have really brought crops on fast for harvest. Negligible precip the last few weeks has dried out grass and crops. What looked like a fantastic crop several weeks ago may struggle to be average now with the heat and grasshoppers chipping away at yield everyday. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are spring wheat, peas and mustard. Grasshoppers are a problem, as well as glyphosphate resistant kochia; no diseases. Started harvesting yellow peas on 8/1.
Stillwater County - Michelle Jones
Happy Harvest! Harvest season kicked off for almost everyone a few days ago. So far initial reports are above average yields and good quality. Given where we started in March and April - budgeting for the insurance guarantee for the first time in 10 years - it’s a pretty exciting harvest. Super hot and dry weather - so everyone should be able to keep on rolling. Be careful out there! Moisture conditions are fair receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, barley, safflower and hay.
Teton County - Mitch Konen
Crops are maturing quickly with this heat and lack of moisture from above. Irrigation of this year's crops is pretty much done. I have two pivots still running on barley, but will be shutting them off tomorrow morning. Just making sure there is enough moisture to carry the recently headed out late plants and fill the heads. Haying is about done as well as they are irrigating that crop to get another. Local dryland winter wheat is beginning to get shaved off or picked up depending on if it was swathed or not. Irrigated winter wheat is being tested in a few areas. Order of the day here is to get machinery ready for harvest while we wait for the crop to finish maturing. The wild oats and weeds that escaped and started after spraying are really coming on strong now with the heat. The grasshoppers are getting big enough to knock you off your bike going down the road, so driving the pickup for windshield protection, but they still like to jump in through the door window as you go by. They are not plentiful enough to cause a lot of damage yet to crops, but they do put an extra layer of paint on the front of the vehicles. Wishing everyone a safe and bountiful harvest. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are winter wheat, spring wheat, barley and hay. Grasshoppers and mosquitoes are a problem, as well as wild oats, kochia nad lambsquarter. Expect to begin harvest in a couple weeks.
Toole County - Klayton Lohr
Spring crops are turning/burning up. Moisture conditions are poor receiving no precipitation in the past week. Crops planted are durum, garbanzos and mustard. Expect to begin harvest in three weeks.