Georgia weather and crops, 2004 June 6

State Georgia Crop Weather
Week Ending Date June 6, 2004
DRY! Drought conditions persisted around the State, according the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Widely scattered showers provided limited relief but damaged ripe watermelon and tomato crops. Southwest Georgia crop conditions improved while pasture and crop conditions eslewhere continued to decline. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork.
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus remained a major problem for tobacco growers, and has appeared in peanut fields. Hay was in short supply forcing cattle producers to increase supplemental feed. Rain is needed to replenish soil moisture and enable row crops to germinate and grow. Lack of moisture caused pecans to drop.
Wheat harvest progressed well. Squash, blackberries and blueberries continued to be harvested. Producers irrigated crops and applied herbicides and fungicides to fields. Thrips remained a problem in cotton fields. Other activities included reevaluating planting intentions, cutting hay, small grain harvest 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 Watermelons, Harvested Peaches, Harvested

Jun 6, 2004 34 3 93 16 97 13 2 59 79 60 68 99 1 21

Prev Week
17 0
87 6
90 5 0
46 68 50 43 91
0 15

Prev Year
21 3
92 15 94 14
3 71 65 45 49 95
1 24

5 Year Avg 36 9 93 16 96 17 4 70 61 47 65 99 2 23

Crop Condition Table

June 6, 2004

Crop

Very Poor

Corn

2

Cotton

1

Hay

11

Peanuts

0

Sorghum

1

Soybeans

2

Tobacco

5

Wheat

1

Watermelons 1

Apples

0

Peaches

18

Pecans

6

Pasture

11

Poor Fair Good

--Percentage--

16

35

40

7

40

46

29

39

20

2

37

55

13

46

40

14

48

36

21

49

23

13

44

37

6

53

35

11

25

55

3

24

50

10

48

35

27

41

19

Excellent
7 6 1 6 0 0 2 5 5 9 5 1 2

Pasture Condition Table - District* Level

June 6, 2004

Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent

--Percentage--

Dist 1(NW)

6

9

53

32

0

Dist 2(NC)

4

17

43

34

2

Dist 3(NE)

26

38

33

3

0

Dist 4(WC)

7

32

28

23

10

Dist 5(C)

17

33

41

8

1

Dist 6(EC)

20

48

25

7

0

Dist 7(SW)

1

16

48

33

2

Dist 8(SC)

3

16

51

26

4

Dist 9(SE)

18

29

47

6

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

Jun 6, 2004 Prev Year

--Percentages--

Very Short

24

1

Short

37

8

Adequate

36

70

Surplus

3

21

5 Year Avg
24 30 39
7

Soil Moisture Table - District Level

June 6, 2004

Very Short Short Adequate

--Percentages--

Dist 1(NW)

6

55

39

Dist 2(NC)

0

52

44

Dist 3(NE)

44

34

22

Dist 4(WC)

18

38

44

Dist 5(C)

46

45

9

Dist 6(EC)

52

45

3

Dist 7(SW)

3

11

72

Dist 8(SC)

4

37

58

Dist 9(SE)

54

34

12

Surplus
0 4 0 0 0 0 14 1 0

Weather Information Table

GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY

JUNE 6, 2004 1/

2004

Air Temperature

Precipitation Totals

Extreme Weekly Rain

30

60

Soil

Location

Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day

Day Season Temp

ALMA

94 66 78 0.12 1 1.25

2.69 10.27 80

ALPHARETTA

89 55 71 0.58 1 2.86

5.85 15.20 76

ARLINGTON

95 64 75 2.36 4 3.05

8.95 16.71 81

ATTAPULGUS

96 65 76 3.65 6 3.84

6.93 16.71 81

BLAIRSVILLE

84 46 66 1.81 4 3.51 10.48 19.34 71

BRUNSWICK

95 70 79 0.27 2 1.75

5.67 14.25 81

BYRON

96 61 76 0.18 2 0.94

3.48 12.16 77

CAIRO

95 65 76 1.75 6 2.53

4.79 13.96 77

CALHOUN

91 54 71 1.19 2 2.19

6.79 16.74 74

CAMILLA

95 64 76 1.06 5 1.45

6.38 15.24 82

CORDELE

95 65 76 1.83 5 3.09

7.34 12.42 81

COVINGTON

92 58 73 0.23 1 1.90

3.94 13.33 78

DAHLONEGA

86 51 69 1.00 3 2.66

5.79 16.40 73

DALLAS

87 56 70 0.70 2 3.55

9.08 19.84 75

DAWSON

95 65 75 2.21 4 3.16

5.82 13.40 82

DEARING

94 63 78 0.23 2 0.29

5.00 13.37 77

DEMPSEY

91 56 72 0.48 3 1.85

5.15 13.81 77

DIXIE

94 66 77 1.91 6 3.94

7.32 16.09 82

DUBLIN

98 64 77 0.45 3 1.23

4.68 12.18 83

DULUTH

90 55 71 0.75 2 2.15

4.60 14.08 74

DUNWOODY

87 57 71 0.75 2 2.75

5.61 15.44 75

EATONTON

92 56 73 0.16 1 1.10

3.53 11.84 80

ELLIJAY

85 50 68 0.91 2 3.14

7.50 17.43 74

FORT VALLEY

94 61 75 0.19 3 1.07

4.06 10.70 83

GAINESVILLE

87 59 73 0.43 4 3.92

6.81 15.52 76

GEORGETOWN

95 62 75 1.19 4 2.14

5.72 13.33 80

GRIFFIN

90 58 72 0.51 3 2.68

5.88 14.21 75

HOMERVILLE

93 65 77 0.85 4 1.61

5.07 13.18 80

JACKSONVILLE 95 62 75 0.14 1 0.55

4.03 13.99 80

JONESBORO

90 57 72 0.35 1 1.44

3.86 12.68 75

LAFAYETTE

88 53 70 0.85 2 2.65

5.36 17.01 72

MIDVILLE

93 64 78 0.06 2 1.24

4.60 16.13 87

NAHUNTA

97 63 78 0.13 2 0.42

5.21 13.67 84

NEWTON

95 64 76 1.84 4 2.01

6.12 17.03 83

PINE MOUNTAIN 91 56 71 0.92 2 2.22

6.91 15.93 75

PLAINS

97 62 74 1.21 4 1.67

5.37 14.23 80

ROME

90 56 71 1.40 2 3.80

8.88 21.97 75

ROOPVILLE

90 54 69 0.43 3 1.85

4.70 15.30 75

SAVANNAH

97 67 80 0.17 3 2.02

6.14 12.66 80

SNEADS

90 68 77 1.26 6 3.01

7.61 17.70 81

STATESBORO

96 66 80 0.21 3 0.38

3.35 11.04 86

TIFTON

92 64 75 1.83 6 3.06

8.07 19.77 78

VALDOSTA

94 67 77 1.79 6 3.39

6.72 14.16 85

VIDALIA

96 65 78 0.36 2 1.18

3.84 12.03 83

WATKINSVILLE 92 57 73 0.54 1 2.76

4.54 13.69 77

WILLIAMSON

89 56 71 0.35 3 2.57

5.96 12.92 76

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 compiled and edited by the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service.
DISTRICT COMMENTS June 6, 2004
DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available.
DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL No comments available.
DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Situation worsening by the day.
DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Dry continued with only spotty t-storms. Wheat crop's in the barn with a fair yield & decent test wt. Pastures & hayfields hurting and I don't feel so good myself.
DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL No rain! Hot and dry! Wheat harvest is in full swing. Good test weights and straw production. Many cattlemen running out of hay supplies and having

to purchase some type of supplement for cattle. Pasture and hayfield conditions continue to decline. Most hay producers have not been able to get any cuttings of hay yet this year. Many have turned cattle on to hayfields to graze what little forage is there. Corn and grain sorghum conditions continue to decline due to the severe drought conditions.
Crop conditions for hay, pasture, and summer annuals are not good. The only rainfall in the county in about a month has been a couple of scattered showers that only brought about 3 tenths of an inch. Producers are feeding last year's left over hay to beef and dairy herds. In a few cases they have had to feed the limited amount of winter annual hay that they cut this spring. Situation is bad.
We are very dry. We are reaching a critical stage in terms of rainfall.
Received only 0.2 to 0.3 of an inch of rain this week - conditions very dry poor weed control results from herbicides applied due to weeds being under drought stress - some limited hay cutting going on this week - poor hay yields being reported - need rainfall.
Some areas of the county received rainfall this week, 1/2 inch was about the highest amount received. Planting has stopped. Irrigation continues as well as small grain harvesting.
Need rain!
Dry weather continues to worsen. Scattered showers last week averaged nearly 1/2 inch, not enough to slow evaporative soil losses.
Please send rain!
DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Very dry!
Wheat averaging low 50's yield, 62-63 test weight. Some double cropped acres (behind wheat) may not get planted or more acres will shift to soybeans. Some weakened cotton and peanut stands due to dry ground. Corn is pollinating which requires majority of irrigation.
Still dry.
DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST It rained!
Adequate rain the past week. Too much for tomato and watermelon crops nearing harvest. Lesser cornstalk borer and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus in peanut fields. Rain prevented disaster with dryland corn.
Much needed rain was received.
We received 1.24" of rainfall. Overall, crops are in good condition. Rainfall prevented wheat harvesting.
DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Getting rain. Poor stands of cotton and soybeans due to lack of adequate soil moisture. Applying herbicides and insecticides. Irrigating crops. Picking squash. Supplemental feeding beef cattle.
Blueberries and blackberries are good.
Light showers across the county in 2/10 of an inch increments. Averaged 1/2 of an inch since last week's report. Still looking for that good rain event. Water requirements increasing for corn, but most other crops in fair to good shape water wise, but not for long. Peanut cracking sprays going out, and

some fungicides on early planted peanuts. Spotted wilt virus continues to increase in tobacco. Cotton seeing some heavier than usual thrips pressure, but cotton is growing fair. Many weed control options underway in most crops.
Scattered showers every day this week have only totaled only a little over one half inch of rain in the county. This will help, but it will be very temporary. Pastures and hay are very short. Hay is being fed due to shortage of pastures. Pecans are dropping due to moisture shortage. Row crops planted in anticipation of rain may only get enough moisture to germinate but die.
DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST No comments available.
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