Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date March 20, 2005 RAIN DELAYS FIELDWORK ACTIVITIES The State received cold scattered rainfall early in the week, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. There were scattered reports of temperatures being lower than normal. However, warmer temperatures and drier fields later in the week allowed planting to begin in some areas. Soil moisture levels were rated 1 percent short, 63 percent adequate, and 36 percent surplus. Pasture, vegetable, and wheat conditions were all rated fair to mostly good. Lime and fertilizer continued to be applied to fields and pastures. Blueberries are blooming but pollination is reported to be low due to the cool weather. Peaches are starting to bloom in central Georgia. Vidalia onions remained in good condition. County Extension Agents reported an average of 3.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Other activities included early row stripping for conservation tillage planting, burndown of cover crops and the routine care of livestock and poultry. Crop Progress Table March 20, 2005 Data for the table will resume in April 2005. Crop Condition Table March 20, 2005 Crop Very Poor Vegetables 0 Wheat 0 Pasture 4 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 4 38 53 1 31 63 9 39 47 Excellent 5 5 1 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level March 20, 2005 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 14 15 41 30 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 2 31 66 1 Dist 3(NE) 0 1 3 85 11 Dist 4(WC) 10 12 40 38 0 Dist 5(C) 6 5 30 58 1 Dist 6(EC) 0 9 41 50 0 Dist 7(SW) 1 14 47 36 2 Dist 8(SC) 3 9 50 38 0 Dist 9(SE) 0 0 36 61 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 Mar 20, 2005 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 0 NA Short 1 NA Adequate 63 NA Surplus 36 NA 5 Year Avg NA NA NA NA Soil Moisture Table - District Level March 20, 2005 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 71 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 64 Dist 3(NE) 0 0 75 Dist 4(WC) 0 1 87 Dist 5(C) 0 1 48 Dist 6(EC) 0 1 81 Dist 7(SW) 0 3 59 Dist 8(SC) 0 0 56 Dist 9(SE) 2 6 54 Surplus 29 36 25 12 51 18 38 44 38 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2005 1/ 2005 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 78 36 53 2.02 4 4.55 6.26 7.04 56 ALPHARETTA 66 28 45 0.73 3 7.09 10.41 11.99 49 ARLINGTON 79 34 53 1.20 3 2.89 4.84 6.76 58 ATTAPULGUS 81 33 55 2.42 3 5.42 7.27 8.46 60 BLAIRSVILLE 63 26 42 0.84 4 6.11 7.99 10.26 48 BOWEN 79 34 52 1.60 3 4.26 6.45 7.10 58 BRUNSWICK 81 40 54 1.66 5 7.13 8.80 9.66 58 BYRON 71 33 50 1.42 4 4.37 7.23 8.24 55 CAIRO 80 34 55 2.63 3 5.52 7.12 7.96 60 CALHOUN 66 30 46 0.92 4 5.70 8.12 9.34 50 CAMILLA 80 34 54 1.06 3 3.46 5.15 6.06 59 CLARKS HILL 70 31 48 0.64 3 5.01 8.30 9.61 52 CORDELE 76 34 52 1.39 3 2.73 5.27 6.87 57 COVINGTON 68 31 48 0.56 3 3.07 5.88 7.12 52 DAHLONEGA 65 27 44 0.99 3 6.44 9.44 10.94 47 DALLAS 65 33 46 0.85 4 5.70 8.11 9.70 50 DAWSON 79 32 52 1.35 3 2.29 4.60 6.00 57 DEARING 72 34 49 1.18 2 4.24 7.19 8.52 53 DEMPSEY 68 33 48 0.63 4 3.46 6.59 8.11 52 DIXIE 81 34 55 2.68 3 6.80 8.24 9.39 59 DUBLIN 77 33 51 1.41 3 2.93 5.05 6.03 56 DULUTH 65 29 46 0.71 3 6.11 8.83 10.03 50 DUNWOODY 64 30 46 0.77 4 7.18 9.91 11.39 50 EATONTON 70 28 48 0.90 4 3.59 7.00 8.66 52 ELLIJAY 63 28 44 0.75 5 5.59 7.98 9.51 48 GAINESVILLE 65 30 46 1.06 4 6.24 9.02 10.25 51 GEORGETOWN 74 31 52 1.19 5 2.28 5.62 8.26 58 GRIFFIN 67 33 48 0.80 4 3.68 7.33 8.99 53 HOMERVILLE 81 34 54 1.99 3 5.59 6.72 7.67 59 JACKSONVILLE 73 32 50 1.44 3 3.47 6.43 7.98 55 JONESBORO 67 33 48 0.96 4 5.47 9.36 11.20 52 LAFAYETTE 66 30 44 0.66 4 4.24 6.04 7.42 48 MCRAE 78 30 51 1.19 3 3.09 4.82 5.51 57 MIDVILLE 73 39 51 0.86 3 4.32 7.23 8.49 56 NAHUNTA 82 33 52 1.57 4 6.19 7.93 8.75 59 NEWTON 80 33 54 1.12 3 3.36 5.00 6.75 59 PINE MOUNTAIN 68 30 48 1.29 4 5.38 7.79 9.49 52 PLAINS 74 31 51 0.99 3 2.31 5.37 7.28 54 ROME 69 31 47 0.45 4 3.38 5.26 6.37 51 SASSER 77 34 52 1.44 2 3.01 6.14 7.97 56 SAVANNAH 80 32 49 1.65 2 4.02 5.37 6.28 58 SHELLMAN 76 32 52 1.05 4 2.31 4.70 6.49 58 SKIDAWAY 81 38 52 1.86 2 4.54 5.72 6.34 55 STATESBORO 77 38 51 1.32 2 3.28 5.67 6.54 56 TIFTON 79 34 53 1.06 3 3.10 5.16 6.23 55 TIGER 64 25 42 0.73 4 5.07 7.59 8.98 46 VALDOSTA 81 37 56 3.25 4 7.63 8.83 9.97 58 VIDALIA 79 38 52 0.81 2 1.86 3.25 4.19 57 WATKINSVILLE 67 31 47 0.87 3 4.82 9.05 11.29 50 WILLIAMSON 68 32 48 1.03 4 4.05 7.25 9.20 52 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 March 20, 2005 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Routine care of livestock and poultry - wet field conditions prevent field work. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Producers are waiting for the ground to dry out in order to finish planting corn. Corn planting and cropland preparation in full swing. Cool and wet this week. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL A rainy, windy, and cold week! Much lower than average temperatures. Rain kept farmers from being able to topdress small grains and winter grazing. Neither could they do any land preparation for spring planting. Heavy hay feeding to livestock continues. Things have remained fairly consistent in terms of weather patterns. There has not been any significant crop changes. Corn planting has begun. Field preparation continues. Routine tasks continue. Peaches are doing ok. Wet soils are delaying corn planting and land preparation for other crops. The cooler weather has been good for the Vidalia onions this week. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Very near corn planting, wheat growing well after topdress nitrogen went out. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Sweet corn and field corn plantings. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Beginning to plant corn and preparing land for spring planting. Applying fertilizer and poultry litter. With 2.5" of rainfall the field work is over for the next few days. Many growers are planting corn. Field work has been progressing at an exceptional pace, until rains this week. Conservation tillage practices now account for approx. 65 % of county crop acres. Most field work has included early row stripping for CT planting, burndown of cover crops and application of fertilizer. Rain, Tuesday night and Wednesday, totaled from 2-4 inches across the county. Field work has stopped for a few days due to wet fields. Cloudy, rainy cool days has slowed down bee activity. Blueberries are blooming but pollination is low due to the weather conditions. 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