Georgia weather and crops, 2004 May 30

State Georgia Crop Weather
Week Ending Date May 30, 2004
HOT AND DRY! Dry conditions persisted throughout the State according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Hot temperatures and dry conditions depleted soil moisture. Widely scattered showers fell across the state late in the week, but provided minimal relief. Pasture and crop conditions continued to decline. Planting slowed due to lack of moisture. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork.
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus remained a major problem for tobacco growers. Cotton and peanut producers continued spraying pesticides to control thrips. Hay was being baled and was already at a premium due to drought conditions. Cattlemen fed supplements and extra hay.
Wheat and other small grain harvest progressed with near ideal harvest conditions. Good test weights were reported for wheat. Blackberry and blueberry harvest continued, producing a good, high-quality crop. Irrigated cotton and peanut fields looked good. Other activities included applying fungicides to vineyards, planting cotton and peanuts and the routine care of livestock and poultry.

Crop Progress Table
Corn, Silked Corn, Dough Cotton, Planted Cotton, Squaring Peanuts, Planted Peanuts, Blooming Peanuts, Pegging Sorghum, Planted Soybeans, Planted Soybeans, Emerged Wheat, Harvested for Grain Onions, Harvested Peaches, Harvested * Revised

May 30, 2004 17 0 87 6 90 5 0 46 68 50 43 91 15

Prev Week
5 0 75 1 73 1 0 36 51 30 11 82 13*

Prev Year
10 1
83 5
82 4 0
64 53 32 21 85 16

Crop Condition Table

May 30, 2004

Crop

Very Poor

Corn

5

Cotton

3

Hay

7

Peanuts

2

Sorghum

1

Soybeans

5

Tobacco

7

Wheat

2

Watermelons

2

Apples

0

Peaches

9

Pecans

5

Pasture

7

Poor Fair Good

--Percentage--

17

38

35

9

43

41

26

43

23

6

40

49

11

53

35

11

56

27

23

43

25

16

45

33

9

53

33

13

21

53

5

40

46

13

46

35

29

44

18

Excellent
5 4 1 3 0 1 2 4 3 13 0 1 2

5 Year Avg 18 2 85 7 90 7 1 62 46 32 41 91 14

Pasture Condition Table - District* Level

May 30, 2004

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

--Percentage--

Dist 1(NW)

4

10

44

42

0

Dist 2(NC)

3

16

33

45

3

Dist 3(NE)

4

13

53

30

0

Dist 4(WC)

7

45

25

16

7

Dist 5(C)

16

35

40

7

2

Dist 6(EC)

4

43

40

13

0

Dist 7(SW)

3

26

53

17

1

Dist 8(SC)

4

29

51

15

1

Dist 9(SE)

7

21

60

12

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

May 30, 2004 Prev Year

--Percentages--

Very Short

27

1

Short

49

10

Adequate

24

65

Surplus

0

24

5 Year Avg
24 34 36
6

Soil Moisture Table - District Level

May 30, 2004

Very Short Short Adequate

--Percentages--

Dist 1(NW)

10

52

34

Dist 2(NC)

4

34

62

Dist 3(NE)

7

54

39

Dist 4(WC)

16

57

27

Dist 5(C)

53

40

7

Dist 6(EC)

44

41

15

Dist 7(SW)

27

54

19

Dist 8(SC)

23

54

23

Dist 9(SE)

26

57

17

Surplus
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Weather Information Table

GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY

MAY 30, 2004 1/

2004

Air Temperature

Precipitation Totals

Extreme Weekly Rain

30

60

Soil

Location

Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day

Day Season Temp

NO DATA AVAILABLE

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 May 30, 2004
DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available.
DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Wind and warm weather rapidly depleting soil moisture. Some hay cut this week. Vineyards sprayed with fungicide this week.
DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available.
DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Producers started to cut wheat. Since it has been so dry cotton producers are asking "Lowest rate of sidedress fertilizer to put on the cotton?"
Dry! Thrips damage bad in cotton, have seen some cutworm damage.
Scattered showers late week help, but barely 10+ inch deficit. Prepping equipment for wheat harvest. What little hay has made is being baled...and fed in many cases, some hay fields are now pastures.
DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Dry and hot! No rain at all this week. Water levels in ponds and streams continue to get lower. Crops, pasture, and hayfield conditions continue to decline. Hay feeding to livestock continues. Wheat harvest is in full swing.
Crop conditions are very bad at this time. None of the scattered showers have occurred around the county in about a month. Hay and pasture conditions are bad and hay is being fed to cattle.
Conditions are very dry. We need rain and plenty of it.
Hot and dry weather continues. Soil moisture is very short. Pasture grasses wilted from drought stress. Hay yields were drastically reduced on spring cutting. Weed control reduced due to drought stress. Blossom end rot problems on tomatoes. Need rainfall relief soon.
Still need rain. Haying has begun. Small grain harvest continues.
We need rain desperately! No hay crop at all. Pasture conditions are late August like! Little to no grazing available. Hay is already at a premium.
DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Dry!
Drought hasn't hurt corn much, nearly all irrigated cotton and peanut stands good but slightly thin and emergence is prolonged due to dry weather. Pastures going backward rapidly Wheat harvest well underway with good test wt. Very little hay cut so far.
Very dry. We need rain badly. Crop conditions are starting to decline.
Recent rain helped crop conditions and should enable planting to continue.
Hot and dry conditions have halted field work except small grain harvest. Too dry to plant. Need rain!
DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Hot and dry conditions continue.

No rainfall. Corn stress symptoms. Wheat harvesting, test weight reports good.
Dry, dry, dry!
Dry!
DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Dry, dry & dry. Irrigating and applying roundup to cotton to drought stressed weeds. Planting into dry soil. Spraying insecticides on cotton and peanuts. Controlling weeds in ponds. Feeding cattle supplemental feed/hay but farmers are running short on excess hay. High thrips population and a lot of TSWV showing up in tobacco.
Blackberries and blueberries are good.
Please send rain.
Typical dry May. Extremely dry and windy. Need calm days for weed control applications and a good rain. Spotted wilt continues to hammer tobacco. Corn in dire need of rain. Young cotton, peanuts and soybeans are doing fine but will need rain soon. Wheat and rye harvest underway - good weather for harvest.
Hot, dry weather has stopped planting of cotton and peanuts. Hay fields and pastures are in very poor condition. No hay has been harvested yet this year. Pecan nut set is very low. It looks like a short crop for 2004. Blueberry and blackberry harvest is progressing very well. We have a very good crop both yield wise and quality wise. Spotted wilt virus in tobacco is bad an average of 20% damage.
DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Dry. TSW is working on tobacco.
Dry!
Dry conditions continue. Some corn in severe drought stress. Soil for planting is very dry.
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