State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 4, 2004 Issue GA-CW1404 Agricultural Summary April 4, 2004 RAIN, PLEASE! Dry conditions continued throughout the State last week, according the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Little rain fell mid-week in some areas. More rain was needed for pasture, winter grazing, and hayfield conditions to improve. Dry, cool weather slowed soil preparation and planting. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Cattleman continued to feed hay. Producers continued to irrigate corn to insure adequate moisture for germination. Tobacco transplanting is underway in fields in south Georgia. Sweet corn and snapbean planting continued. Farmers applied poultry litter on pastures. Other activities included the routine care of livestock and poultry, harrowing land, and applying fungicides. Crop Progress Table Corn, Planted Corn, Emerged Cotton, Planted Sorghum, Planted Tobacco, Transplanted Wheat, Jointing Wheat, Boot Wheat, Heading Onions, Harvested Watermelons, Planted Apples, Blooming Peaches, Blooming Apr 4, 2003 67 47 0 1 15 91 55 22 2 37 15 68 Prev Week NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Prev Year 35 14 1 1 7 87 53 12 1 29 7 83 5 Year Avg 59 42 1 2 28 85 56 20 0 42 11 87 Crop Condition Table April 4, 2004 Crop Very Poor Corn 0 Hay 5 Tobacco 0 Tobacco Beds 0 Wheat 1 Onions 6 Watermelons 0 Apples 0 Peaches 0 Pasture 6 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 6 50 40 14 56 22 1 53 45 0 28 59 11 41 43 15 45 26 4 59 34 0 1 99 17 17 66 17 52 24 Excellent 4 3 1 13 4 8 3 0 0 1 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level April 4, 2004 Very Poor Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 1 12 42 44 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 60 39 Dist 3(NE) 0 7 58 34 Dist 4(WC) 14 20 40 26 Dist 5(C) 16 7 53 23 Excellent 1 1 1 0 1 Dist 6(EC) 8 12 61 19 0 Dist 7(SW) 6 30 47 15 2 Dist 8(SC) 3 33 47 16 1 Dist 9(SE) 0 14 65 21 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 Apr 4, 2004 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 25 1 Short 45 5 Adequate 29 73 Surplus 1 21 5 Year Avg 2 10 73 15 Soil Moisture Table - District Level April 4, 2004 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 3 24 62 Dist 2(NC) 3 37 60 Dist 3(NE) 12 33 55 Dist 4(WC) 26 34 37 Dist 5(C) 38 40 22 Dist 6(EC) 8 71 21 Dist 7(SW) 40 46 14 Dist 8(SC) 46 41 13 Dist 9(SE) 14 65 21 Surplus 11 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY APRIL 4, 2004 1/ 2004 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 76 40 58 0.07 1 0.08 5.16 7.58 62 ALPHARETTA 74 35 53 0.65 4 1.27 5.69 9.35 57 ARLINGTON 79 36 58 0.11 2 0.25 5.80 7.76 66 BLAIRSVILLE 70 35 49 0.72 3 2.43 5.89 8.86 53 BRUNSWICK 77 43 60 0.00 0 1.57 7.00 8.58 66 BYRON 76 36 57 0.12 2 0.20 4.23 8.68 61 CAIRO 78 37 59 0.30 2 0.57 6.13 9.17 63 CALHOUN 74 32 53 1.12 3 2.43 6.64 9.95 56 CAMILLA 79 37 59 0.36 2 0.63 5.49 8.86 66 CORDELE 78 41 59 0.22 2 0.35 3.55 5.08 64 COVINGTON 74 35 54 0.48 2 0.87 5.84 9.39 60 DAHLONEGA 69 38 51 0.58 1 1.56 6.60 10.61 54 DALLAS 70 35 52 0.80 2 1.62 6.60 10.76 57 DAWSON 78 36 58 0.18 2 0.31 5.70 7.58 67 DEARING 75 37 55 0.55 3 1.07 6.26 8.37 58 DEMPSEY 73 33 53 0.55 2 0.85 5.24 8.66 60 DIXIE 80 36 59 0.04 1 0.15 5.80 8.77 70 DUBLIN 76 37 57 0.16 2 0.25 5.03 7.50 62 DULUTH 74 35 53 0.82 2 1.42 5.35 9.48 57 DUNWOODY 71 36 53 0.83 2 1.48 5.79 9.83 57 EATONTON 75 36 55 0.40 2 0.67 4.96 8.31 60 ELLIJAY 71 32 50 0.72 2 1.88 6.39 9.93 54 FORT VALLEY 76 35 56 0.10 2 0.16 3.60 6.64 62 GAINESVILLE 71 39 54 0.69 1 1.28 4.90 8.71 60 GEORGETOWN 77 35 58 0.03 2 0.15 4.88 7.61 66 GRIFFIN 73 34 54 0.53 2 0.83 5.14 8.33 59 HOMERVILLE 78 36 58 0.00 0 0.12 5.20 8.11 64 JACKSONVILLE 77 35 56 0.52 2 0.70 5.76 9.96 61 JONESBORO 75 35 54 0.39 3 0.77 4.95 8.82 58 LAFAYETTE 72 38 53 0.95 3 3.09 7.68 11.65 55 MIDVILLE 75 37 56 0.19 2 0.37 7.71 11.53 64 NAHUNTA 77 36 58 0.04 1 0.76 6.26 8.46 66 NEWTON 79 36 58 0.54 1 0.93 6.91 10.91 65 PINE MOUNTAIN 74 31 53 0.55 2 1.09 5.51 9.02 59 PLAINS 75 36 56 0.04 2 0.21 5.80 8.86 64 ROME 71 34 53 1.55 3 3.04 8.47 13.09 56 ROOPVILLE 74 31 51 1.05 2 1.66 6.88 10.60 60 SAVANNAH 78 40 58 0.01 1 0.10 4.66 6.52 63 SNEADS 76 43 62 0.38 2 0.58 5.90 10.09 67 STATESBORO 75 39 57 0.04 2 0.25 4.90 7.69 65 TIFTON 75 39 58 0.24 1 0.42 7.50 11.70 62 VALDOSTA 80 41 61 0.04 1 0.16 4.70 7.44 70 VIDALIA 75 38 57 0.07 1 0.18 5.20 8.19 63 WATKINSVILLE 73 37 54 0.65 3 0.99 5.55 9.15 59 WILLIAMSON 74 34 53 0.33 2 0.61 3.99 6.96 60 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 April 4, 2004 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Good rains helped soil moisture. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL With no appreciable rain and strong wind several days this week, soils are extremely dry. Cold weather has also slowed things down quite a bit. Routine care of livestock and poultry. Spreading poultry litter on pastures. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Still in need of rainfall in our area. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Dry weather has halted almost all planting. Corn and watermelons failing to emerge because of a lack of moisture. Supplemental feeding of cattle continues. Dry conditions continue to delay planting. Need rain. All of our peach acres are already past bloom. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Some very light showers in the middle of the week. Around 1/4 inch in most locations of county. Still need lot's more rain. Corn planting underway. Cattlemen still having to feed hay. Need more rain for pasture, winter grazing and hayfield conditions to improve. Peaches are past the bloom stage. Mother nature has really thrown us for a small loop. The rainfall was welcomed, but the cooler temperatures were not. March was the driest month that we have had to date. Dry! Producers are having to use irrigation on corn to improve germination. Dry soils and dry weather have farmers scrambling to irrigate where they can. Several fields have not been planted due to dry weather. Some have been irrigated just so they can be planted on time. Cattle farmers are feeding more hay than normal due to the dry weather. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Lack of rain, hard ground making for tough field conditions when preparing land for planting. Preventative fungicide sprays being put on wheat. Still extremely dry. Wind blowing. Cool temperatures. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Sweet corn and snapbean fast past planting. We have received 0.07" of rainfall. Dry! Dry! DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Preparing land for tobacco. Harrowing land. Irrigating corn. Putting out herbicides. Got 1-2 tenths of rain . We need rain badly. Fields are being irrigated to continue planting and transplanting. Please send rain. Days suitable for field work is reduced from 7 last week. This is due to hard-packed soil. Dry, dry, dry. Received a slight rain on March 30. Seeing some problems on young corn which emerged but is now mostly in dry soil - plants and limited root system is subject to soil insects. Tobacco transplanting is underway in many fields although farmers are encouraged to wait. Windy and dry feels like our typical dry May conditions. Windy conditions are blasting some young seedlings and transplants. Dry, cool weather is hampering planting and soil preparation. Frost last week and cool temperatures have halted hay and pasture growth. Dry weather is slowing soil preparation and bedding land for row crops. Dry weather has most watermelon growers irrigating already. Few serious disease problems in the melons so far. Corn is being irrigated to insure adequate moisture for germination. Wheat is being watered. Rain needed very quickly. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Dry conditions continue. Some rain on Tuesday, 0.2 inches. 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