Crop progress report 09/29: Harvest continued in Washington

There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, unchanged from the previous week.

Western Washington received some rain, and temperatures were slowly cooling off. The weather slowed the drying of corn stalks, which delayed silage harvest.

Yakima County had abnormally dry conditions for this time of year, and producers still had not seen frost. Apple harvest picked up with mid-season apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Cosmic Crisp, Fuji, and Red Delicious varieties coming into the packing houses. Hop harvest continued and was nearly complete. Vegetable harvest slowed with cooler temperatures; however, tomatoes, peppers, and winter squashes took more shelf space at farmer’s markets and vegetable stands. Growers started to harvest field corn as well as juice grapes.

East central Washington continued to experience dry weather, including a dust storm over the weekend. Some ranchers brought cattle home for the winter, and fall planting was progressing well.

Southeast Washington similarly had warmer weather than normal.

Washington crop progress:

Winter wheat planted:
71% this week
54% last week
61% last year
64% 5-year average

Winter wheat emerged:
38% this week
22% last week
33% last year
29% 5-year average

Alfalfa hay 4th cutting:
72% this week
66% last week
74% last year
59% 5-year average