RALEIGH – North Carolina farmers took advantage of a dry, mild week to bring in more of this year’s crops, according to the latest Crop Progress and Condition Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The report, released Monday for the week ending Oct. 25, said growers had 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork, up from 5.2 the week before. See end of story for the crop report file.

We’re a farm-town newspaper, so crop reports and agricultural news are important.

Good news!

Soybeans saw some of the biggest gains. Farmers had harvested 32 percent of the crop, up 12 points from last week and ahead of last year’s 29 percent. The five-year average is 33 percent. Cotton harvest rose to 23 percent from 16 percent, matching last year’s pace.

Peanut harvest stands at 51 percent, up from 45 percent last week and level with this time last year. Sweet potatoes are 69 percent out of the ground, matching the five-year average, and sorghum is 70 percent harvested, ahead of last year’s 64 percent.

Tobacco growers are nearly done. Flue-cured tobacco is 96 percent harvested, and burley is at 85 percent, a point ahead of where it was a year ago. Corn for grain is 96 percent harvested, right on the five-year average, and apples are 93 percent in, also on pace.

The crops still in the field are looking good, too. Cotton was rated 72 percent good to excellent, with 97 percent rated fair or better. Soybeans were 48 percent good to excellent, and pasture was 36 percent good to excellent.

Small grain planting is moving along. Barley is 37 percent planted, just a point behind average, and oats are at 35 percent. Winter wheat is 24 percent planted, right on the five-year average.

Weather was a big help. Highs ranged from 71 to 77 degrees across the state’s reporting stations, and most stations saw almost no rain. At Elizabeth City, the nearest station to the Albemarle region, the high was 71 and the low 40, with no rainfall recorded.

Dry conditions have been a challenge this year, and the report notes that topsoil moisture is rated 49 percent adequate, with 46 percent short and 5 percent very short. Year-to-date rainfall at Elizabeth City is 35.74 inches, about 4.7 inches below normal, a smaller gap than many Piedmont and Coastal Plain stations are seeing.

With another stretch of good weather, farmers could close out much of the remaining harvest in the coming weeks.