State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date February 15, 2004 Issue GA-CW0704 Agricultural Summary RAINS CONTINUED Heavy rains fell last week, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Wet weather and wet field conditions kept farmers out of the fields. Top dressing small grains and soil sampling was delayed. Pasture conditions continued to decline due to cold temperatures and rain. County Extension Agents reported and average of 2.6 days suitable for fieldwork. Sunshine was needed for forages and vegetables. Growers applied dormant sprays to fruit trees. Preparation for spring planting continued, weather permitting. Other activities included pulling cotton stalks, harrowing fields, applying lime, and the routine care of livestock and poultry. Producers applied fertilizer to pecans, winter small grains, and cover crops. Crop Progress Table February 15, 2004 Data for this table will resume in April 2004. Crop Condition Table February 15, 2004 Crop Very Poor Vegetables 0 Wheat 0 Pasture 4 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 4 39 54 5 40 50 20 41 32 Excellent 3 5 3 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level February 15, 2004 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 6 24 44 25 1 Dist 2(NC) 0 8 42 49 1 Dist 3(NE) 0 37 39 15 9 Dist 4(WC) 0 20 54 26 0 Dist 5(C) 10 26 35 24 5 Dist 6(EC) 6 25 37 32 0 Dist 7(SW) 0 13 34 48 5 Dist 8(SC) 5 16 41 36 2 Dist 9(SE) 0 8 55 37 0 *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 Feb 15, 2004 Prev Year 5 Year Avg Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- 0 NA NA 1 NA NA 43 NA NA 56 NA NA Soil Moisture Table - District Level February 15, 2004 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 52 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 54 Dist 3(NE) 0 6 44 Dist 4(WC) 0 0 34 Dist 5(C) 0 0 34 Dist 6(EC) 0 0 62 Dist 7(SW) 0 3 31 Dist 8(SC) 0 0 32 Dist 9(SE) 0 2 55 Surplus 48 46 50 66 66 38 66 68 43 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2004 1/ 2004 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 62 39 50 2.51 5 6.00 6.45 6.45 52 ALPHARETTA 57 28 41 1.80 5 6.38 7.12 7.12 41 ARLINGTON 60 35 49 2.73 5 5.66 6.30 6.30 52 ATTAPULGUS 69 34 51 2.07 6 6.36 6.63 6.63 53 BLAIRSVILLE 52 27 39 0.87 6 5.10 5.75 5.75 42 BRUNSWICK 68 44 52 1.41 6 3.90 4.25 4.25 56 BYRON 59 36 47 2.15 5 6.73 7.23 7.23 50 CAIRO 66 36 51 2.67 6 6.56 6.94 6.94 55 CALHOUN 55 27 41 1.44 5 5.55 6.50 6.50 46 CAMILLA 61 35 50 2.49 6 6.77 7.27 7.27 52 CORDELE 59 36 48 1.27 6 3.37 3.53 3.53 51 COVINGTON 58 30 44 2.03 4 7.02 7.49 7.49 45 DAHLONEGA 61 27 41 1.66 4 6.72 7.39 7.39 41 DALLAS 53 32 42 1.96 5 7.17 7.88 7.88 44 DAWSON 58 36 48 2.01 6 5.55 5.73 5.73 50 DEARING 60 35 46 2.68 5 4.97 5.28 5.28 47 DEMPSEY 57 35 44 2.18 4 6.18 6.90 6.90 45 DIXIE 70 37 52 2.69 6 6.57 6.81 6.81 54 DUBLIN 62 35 48 2.21 4 5.45 5.87 5.87 51 DULUTH 57 28 42 1.88 5 6.34 7.10 7.10 44 DUNWOODY 54 29 42 1.83 5 6.72 7.51 7.51 43 EATONTON 59 29 44 2.07 4 5.94 6.40 6.40 46 ELLIJAY 56 27 40 1.46 5 6.49 7.31 7.31 42 FORT VALLEY 58 36 47 1.69 6 5.18 5.47 5.47 49 GAINESVILLE 57 29 42 1.35 4 5.99 6.81 6.81 44 GEORGETOWN 60 35 47 2.12 6 5.49 5.73 5.73 51 GRIFFIN 56 34 44 2.11 4 5.97 6.58 6.58 46 HOMERVILLE 68 37 51 2.06 6 5.74 5.98 5.98 55 JACKSONVILLE 59 34 46 2.58 5 7.32 7.75 7.75 49 JONESBORO 57 32 44 2.15 4 6.34 7.28 7.28 44 LAFAYETTE 54 27 41 1.09 3 6.36 7.55 7.55 42 MIDVILLE 60 34 48 3.19 4 7.99 8.47 8.47 50 NAHUNTA 66 44 51 1.74 6 4.90 5.10 5.10 55 NEWTON 62 35 50 2.72 5 8.24 8.76 8.76 54 PINE MOUNTAIN 59 36 45 2.10 5 5.74 6.53 6.53 47 PLAINS 58 35 47 2.06 6 5.71 5.97 5.97 49 ROME 56 28 42 1.77 5 7.45 8.36 8.36 45 ROOPVILLE 58 29 42 2.65 5 7.13 8.08 8.08 46 SAVANNAH 65 38 49 2.32 5 4.51 5.16 5.16 53 SNEADS 67 42 52 2.22 6 7.32 7.43 7.43 51 STATESBORO 62 36 48 2.33 4 5.41 5.80 5.80 51 TIFTON 61 38 50 3.03 6 9.36 9.84 9.84 52 VALDOSTA 70 38 52 2.28 6 5.72 5.86 5.86 54 VIDALIA 62 38 49 2.85 4 6.57 7.02 7.02 52 WATKINSVILLE 55 28 43 2.45 4 6.52 7.21 7.21 45 WILLIAMSON 56 32 43 1.44 4 4.99 5.57 5.57 45 1/ Weather data supplied by Georgia Automated Environmential 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 February 15, 2004 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Cool temperatures and several days of slow drizzly rain have made the soils very wet. Plenty of rain this past week. Wet conditions have made it difficult to get into pastures to feed, work beef, and dairy cattle. Dormant sprays being applied to fruit trees. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Cloudy, cool, wet, and rainy. Winter grazing growth is very slow. Soils are saturated. We could use some sunshine. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Lots of rain and cool temperatures. Two+ inches in most parts of county. Rains welcome for small grains and winter grazing, but made for very muddy condition around livestock operations. Farmers are waiting until things dry up so they can topdress small grains and start preparing land for spring planting. Mud is a growing problem for local dairies. Pasture conditions are not imporving with the continued rain and cold. Our crop conditions are very good. Livestock are in good shape and there are not any unusual situations. Fields are very wet due to rains that occurred last week. Fertilization of small grains has halted due to wet field conditions. Wet weather and wet field conditions kept farmers out of fields a lot this week. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Some heavy rains Saturday. Fields are wet, which will slow field preparation and soil sampling. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST No field activity this week. we received 1.31" of rainfall. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Applying fertilizer to pecans, and winter small grains and cover crops. Harrowing fields. Pulling cotton stalks. Applying lime to fields. Wet soil conditions are delaying field preparation for spring planted crops. Cloudy, rainy, and damp weather has hampered field work. Producers are working on equipment and preparing for spring field work and planting season. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST More rainfall last week. Sunshine needed for forages and vegetables. Contact Information David S. Abbe, State Statistician Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga