Tennessee farmers expect to harvest 29.1 million bushels of winter wheat during 2015, according to the Tennessee field office of NASS. The expected crop would be down 7 percent from the previous year.
The forecast was based on crop conditions as of June 1 and increased 3 percent from the May forecast. Growers expect a yield of 71 bushels per acre, up 5 from 2014 and 2 from last month. Farmers seeded 470,000 acres last fall with 410,000 acres to be harvested for grain. Acres for other uses totaled 60,000 and will be used as cover crop for tobacco or cut as silage or hay.
Tennessee farmers were able to return to harvesting hay during the week ending June 7, which they hadn’t been able to do previously because of wet weather, according to the weekly crop progress report from NASS.
Cool and cloudy weather persisted in some areas, putting a dent in crop development, particularly cotton. Some farmers had to replant cotton and soybeans.
Dry weather in East Tennessee gave farmers excellent wheat yields, while others in the region could use some more rain for their crops, the report stated. Soybean farmers were able to achieve planting 60 percent of their crop, 11 points over the previous week’s total, on par with the 62 percent planted last year at this time and consistent with its five-year average of 63 percent.
Farmers had 4.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week. Even with weather drifting from wet to dry and cool to hot during the last few weeks, pasture, corn, cotton and soybeans remain mainly in fair to good condition throughout the state, according to the report.
Topsoil moisture was 1 percent very short, 8 percent short, 70 percent adequate and 21 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels were 7 percent short, 75 percent adequate and 18 percent surplus.
By Tesa Nauman
Tennessee Correspondent