Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date December 12, 2004 WARM WEATHER Another week of wet weather continued to limit farming activities, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Unseasonably warm temperatures were felt across the State. Some areas experienced temperatures in the 80's. Soil moisture levels were rated 2 percent short, 68 percent adequate, and 30 percent surplus. Diminished rainfall toward the end of the week allowed harvesting and other fieldwork to continue. Wheat condition remained in mostly good to fair. Aphid populations have appeared in isolated fields for small grains. Pasture condition was rated in mostly good to fair. County Extension Agents reported an average of 4.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Vegetables condition were rated in mostly good to fair. Some producers reported disease in vegetables. Other activities included spraying turnips for diseases, harrowing fields, and the routine care of livestock and poultry. Crop Progress Table December 12, 2004 Data for the table will resume in April 2005. Crop Condition Table December 12, 2004 Crop Very Poor Vegetables 0 Wheat 0 Pasture 2 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 5 34 55 0 30 67 9 41 42 Excellent 6 3 6 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level December 12, 2004 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 0 10 56 34 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 1 14 49 36 Dist 3(NE) 0 15 42 41 2 Dist 4(WC) 0 4 42 51 3 Dist 5(C) 6 5 32 47 10 Dist 6(EC) 0 14 49 37 0 Dist 7(SW) 2 5 44 45 4 Dist 8(SC) 6 14 48 29 3 Dist 9(SE) 0 9 36 52 3 *A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga/ctyests/districts.pdf. Soil Moisture Table Dec 12, 2004 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 0 NA Short 2 NA Adequate 68 NA Surplus 30 NA 5 Year Avg NA NA NA NA Soil Moisture Table - District Level December 12, 2004 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 28 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 55 Dist 3(NE) 0 0 38 Dist 4(WC) 0 2 69 Dist 5(C) 0 1 71 Dist 6(EC) 0 2 95 Dist 7(SW) 0 2 56 Dist 8(SC) 0 3 81 Dist 9(SE) 0 7 90 Surplus 72 45 62 29 28 3 42 16 3 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY DECEMBER 12, 2004 1/ 2004 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 78 36 62 0.73 2 2.94 4.79 45.77 61 ALPHARETTA 70 33 51 3.14 5 8.16 11.98 60.36 51 ARLINGTON 78 36 61 0.69 4 4.44 7.06 50.53 61 ATTAPULGUS 78 35 62 1.31 4 7.05 10.65 49.77 63 BLAIRSVILLE 68 33 49 3.60 5 6.88 12.77 57.21 51 BRUNSWICK 80 39 64 0.21 2 2.72 3.60 50.14 64 BYRON 74 35 58 0.12 3 2.12 4.58 36.44 59 CAIRO 79 36 62 1.36 4 7.53 11.65 48.86 66 CALHOUN 75 37 51 2.85 5 8.34 14.83 58.05 52 CAMILLA 78 37 62 2.05 4 5.98 7.60 43.05 62 CORDELE 78 39 60 0.29 4 5.33 6.11 48.20 61 COVINGTON 71 37 55 0.25 4 2.40 5.80 47.65 57 DAHLONEGA 67 33 49 3.52 4 6.64 12.48 56.35 51 DALLAS 71 38 53 3.04 4 9.43 13.33 54.53 54 DAWSON 77 36 60 0.24 3 3.74 4.53 38.72 61 DEARING 75 34 58 0.81 3 4.19 6.21 45.60 59 DEMPSEY 71 37 55 0.52 5 3.92 9.43 52.60 56 DIXIE 78 35 62 0.44 3 2.81 7.74 52.70 62 DUBLIN 76 35 60 0.19 2 2.55 4.16 43.69 60 DULUTH 70 35 51 3.21 4 7.99 11.67 46.74 53 DUNWOODY 70 37 52 2.79 5 8.44 12.53 60.80 53 EATONTON 73 35 55 0.24 3 3.10 6.48 47.01 55 FORT VALLEY 74 33 58 0.16 3 2.50 5.64 32.73 59 GAINESVILLE 68 36 50 3.12 4 5.84 8.85 46.76 53 GEORGETOWN 76 36 60 0.66 2 4.39 6.16 41.13 61 GRIFFIN 71 37 55 0.63 4 4.54 10.46 53.36 57 HOMERVILLE 80 35 62 0.23 2 1.98 3.74 54.46 63 JACKSONVILLE 75 34 58 1.65 2 4.12 6.45 46.48 59 JONESBORO 72 37 55 1.17 5 4.12 10.25 46.05 55 LAFAYETTE 72 37 50 3.90 5 7.81 13.22 48.75 52 MIDVILLE 76 35 59 0.11 2 1.32 2.62 46.01 60 NAHUNTA 80 34 61 0.08 2 1.49 3.36 62.31 63 NEWTON 78 34 61 1.53 4 6.23 7.86 44.80 64 PINE MOUNTAIN 72 38 56 0.50 5 6.27 11.05 59.56 56 PLAINS 78 36 59 0.35 2 3.59 4.77 47.55 59 ROME 73 38 52 2.29 5 6.69 9.58 48.22 53 ROOPVILLE 72 37 54 1.92 5 6.42 11.94 50.93 56 SAVANNAH 75 37 58 0.69 1 2.12 3.63 49.58 63 STATESBORO 75 37 60 0.99 2 2.76 4.06 36.38 61 TIFTON 75 36 61 0.00 0 3.29 4.70 53.28 61 VALDOSTA 80 37 63 0.24 6 2.39 4.51 45.57 63 VIDALIA 76 35 61 0.93 2 3.08 4.80 49.22 61 WATKINSVILLE 71 34 53 0.83 4 6.99 11.20 50.81 54 WILLIAMSON 71 36 55 0.52 4 3.99 9.27 49.39 56 1/ Weather data supplied by Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN) and the office of the State Climatologist, University of Georgia. For detailed Georgia weather data visit the AEMN homepage, www.georgiaweather.net. NA - not available. District Highlights These comments are written by the Georgia County Extension Agents, and have been complied and edited by the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. DISTRICT COMMENTS December 12, 2004 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Fifteen+ inches of rain in three weeks has all fields saturated. Very wet. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Several large rains this week. Heavy rain and thunderstorms this week - wet field conditions - routine care of livestock and poultry is major activity. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST As much as three inches (or more) of rain in most parts of county this week. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL No comments available. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Scattered showers this week and unseasonably warm temperatures. Up into the 80's several days this week. Hay feeding still on the increase due to declining pasture conditions. The unseasonably warm weather has made it quite interesting. We are waiting to see what happens. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Warm weather creating good environment for aphids to attack small grain. Oats hit pretty hard with Barley Yellow Dwarf disease vectored by aphids. Peanuts all in, some cotton still in fields. A few acres of cotton left to pick, and soybean harvest is underway. Most yields are not as good as some earlier estimates. Cotton and soybean harvest close to being finished and should be complete by Christmas. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Few cotton acres remain. Small grain planting continued. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Nasty, wet weather. Rye is in need of rain and leafspot disease has shown up. Homeowner turnip patches are being treated for leafspot and aphids. Harrowing land and leveling. We have had several days of rain and field conditions are wet. Good rainfall Thursday evening. Cloudy, warm temperatures, and high humidity have slowed winter grazing growth and increased disease pressure in vegetables. We have not accumulated much rainfall 1/10 of an inch to 1 inch across the county. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Good rainfall this week. Some cotton and soybean harvest continued. Contact Information David S. Abbe, Director Georgia Agricultural Statistics Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga