U.S.A., Montana. Malting barley has been particularly hard hit, with some fields being harvested for feed. In the week that ended last Sunday, 75 % of Montana topsoils were rated “very short” of moisture – up 5 percentage points from the week before. Average for the last five years, including four years of severe drought, is 31 % “very short” for mid-August. 20% of topsoils were rated “short” last week, compared with 27 % the week before, and 4 % were rated “adequate,” compared with 3 % the previous week.

Subsoil moisture also deteriorated. The Montana Crop-Weather Report rated 64 % of subsoil as “very short,” 28 % as “short” and 8 % as adequate last week. Only 35 % of subsoils are rated “very short” in the five-year average for this time of year. Spring-planted crops are wilting under continued hot weather, and more of the same can be expected, according to the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service report.

22 August, 2003