Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 3, 2005 MORE SPRING RAINS Additional rainfall made routine land preparation and planting challenging for producers, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. There were reports of erosion in some areas of the State. Wet conditions delayed spraying applications on crops. Soil moisture levels were rated 24 percent adequate and 76 percent surplus. Corn planting was running behind normal and producers are anxious to get back into their fields. There were concern that the flooding conditions, in low land areas, could lead to future disease problems. Peaches and apples remained in good shape. Tobacco transplanting lagged behind normal for this time of year. County Extension Agents reported an average of 1.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Some producers were having problems feeding hay as muddy conditions made travel in pastures difficult. Other activities included aerial application of fungicides on small grain, applying burn-down chemicals, and the routine care of livestock and poultry. Crop Progress Table Corn, Planted Corn, Emerged Sorghum, Planted Tobacco, Transplanted Wheat, Jointing Wheat, Boot Wheat, Heading Onions, Harvested Watermelons, Planted Apples, Blooming Peaches, Blooming Apr 3, 2005 42 33 1 4 80 27 6 0 28 5 76 Prev Week NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA Prev Year 57 40 1 13 78 47 19 2 32 13 58 5 Year Avg 54 38 2 19 81 51 18 1 33 10 81 Crop Condition Table April 3, 2005 Crop Very Poor Corn 7 Hay 1 Tobacco 0 Wheat 0 Onions 8 Watermelons 11 Apples 0 Peaches 0 Pasture 2 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 11 36 44 12 40 46 13 69 18 4 27 60 8 20 42 20 41 28 0 0 100 0 21 79 8 39 49 Excellent 2 1 0 9 22 0 0 0 2 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level April 3, 2005 Very Poor Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 13 13 36 38 Dist 2(NC) 0 5 22 71 Dist 3(NE) 0 9 36 45 Dist 4(WC) 7 9 39 45 Dist 5(C) 1 4 41 54 Dist 6(EC) 0 19 36 44 Excellent 0 2 10 0 0 1 Dist 7(SW) 1 4 44 47 4 Dist 8(SC) 1 6 48 44 1 Dist 9(SE) 0 9 26 62 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 Apr 3, 2005 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 0 24 Short 0 46 Adequate 24 29 Surplus 76 1 5 Year Avg 7 19 58 16 Soil Moisture Table - District Level April 3, 2005 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 39 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 45 Dist 3(NE) 0 0 56 Dist 4(WC) 0 0 24 Dist 5(C) 0 0 15 Dist 6(EC) 0 0 29 Dist 7(SW) 0 0 15 Dist 8(SC) 0 0 14 Dist 9(SE) 0 0 21 Surplus 61 55 44 76 85 71 85 86 79 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY APRIL 3, 2005 1/ 2005 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 83 44 62 1.41 3 7.27 9.95 11.81 62 ALPHARETTA 81 39 56 2.59 5 7.87 14.13 17.62 56 ARLINGTON 80 42 60 3.61 2 10.39 12.39 15.42 65 ATTAPULGUS 81 40 61 3.77 3 14.14 16.74 19.22 64 BLAIRSVILLE 77 35 52 1.91 4 6.08 11.35 14.49 54 BOWEN 80 45 60 2.49 4 12.50 15.66 17.46 64 BRUNSWICK 80 46 64 2.57 4 7.97 12.98 15.06 66 BYRON 80 42 59 2.01 4 7.67 11.60 13.88 60 CAIRO 81 41 61 3.78 3 13.28 15.79 17.87 65 CALHOUN 81 38 56 2.32 4 7.39 12.37 14.60 58 CAMILLA 81 43 61 3.93 2 12.41 14.81 16.67 64 CLARKS HILL 81 43 58 1.35 3 5.92 11.63 14.14 60 CORDELE 80 50 63 8.02 5 10.61 13.27 15.77 63 COVINGTON 81 42 57 1.16 4 5.43 9.21 11.44 58 DAHLONEGA 77 39 54 2.41 4 7.41 13.32 16.44 54 DALLAS 79 41 56 2.71 3 8.97 13.23 16.00 57 DAWSON 80 40 60 1.97 2 8.46 10.45 12.96 62 DEARING 83 43 59 1.13 3 7.06 10.90 13.69 60 DEMPSEY 80 41 57 2.11 4 7.58 11.68 14.40 58 DIXIE 82 42 62 2.94 3 11.84 14.67 16.88 64 DUBLIN 82 45 60 1.69 3 10.33 12.79 14.76 62 DULUTH 81 41 56 2.58 4 7.50 12.96 15.82 57 DUNWOODY 80 42 56 2.70 4 7.47 13.88 16.93 57 EATONTON 81 41 57 1.74 4 6.36 10.49 13.42 58 ELLIJAY 78 36 53 2.67 4 7.63 12.57 15.13 54 GAINESVILLE 79 41 57 1.59 4 6.73 12.43 15.18 58 GEORGETOWN 81 42 60 3.16 3 15.28 17.97 22.24 63 GRIFFIN 79 41 57 2.24 4 7.76 12.15 15.34 59 HOMERVILLE 84 45 63 2.46 4 8.91 11.48 13.17 66 JACKSONVILLE 80 44 58 1.55 4 8.28 11.43 14.38 61 JONESBORO 81 43 57 2.16 4 7.36 13.14 16.63 58 LAFAYETTE 78 37 56 1.23 3 3.62 7.57 9.91 56 MCRAE 82 44 59 1.95 4 9.22 11.70 13.13 62 MIDVILLE 82 45 60 1.25 4 7.08 12.41 14.43 64 NAHUNTA 84 43 62 1.72 4 7.01 11.05 13.01 66 NEWTON 81 41 61 4.10 2 12.13 14.29 17.02 65 PINE MOUNTAIN 79 36 56 4.23 4 10.23 15.31 17.74 58 PLAINS 78 41 59 2.31 2 10.80 13.12 16.97 61 ROME 81 37 57 1.46 4 4.08 7.06 9.18 58 SASSER 79 42 60 2.86 2 10.46 13.38 16.79 62 SAVANNAH 80 43 58 1.15 4 7.81 10.38 12.09 65 SHELLMAN 79 40 60 2.28 2 9.59 11.91 14.81 64 SKIDAWAY 81 48 63 1.76 4 9.11 11.95 13.28 61 STATESBORO 82 47 58 0.98 4 10.39 13.31 15.30 62 TIGER 77 36 52 2.51 4 6.87 11.78 14.53 53 VALDOSTA 83 45 63 2.57 3 12.25 14.94 17.00 64 VIDALIA 82 46 61 0.98 4 5.75 7.14 8.91 62 WATKINSVILLE 79 41 57 2.55 4 7.69 13.22 17.21 57 WILLIAMSON 80 42 57 2.27 4 8.69 12.80 16.16 58 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 April 3, 2005 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Saturated soils and wet conditions later in the week slowed almost all field work. Peaches and apples doing fine. Vegetable planting had just begun before the rain set in. Heavy rain and thunderstorms prevented field work this week - standing water in lowland areas - routine care of livestock is major activity. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST "Too wet to plow" in most parts of the county. We received 3.5 inches of rain Sunday and another 3 to 4 inches of rain on Thursday. More rain predicted for the weekend. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL It is too wet to do anything. Slowly drying out. Still need some corn to be planted. We received 2-3 inches more rain. Wet! Over 5 inches rain most parts of county has most fields sloppy. Fescue hayfields trying to come on, grazing is picking up and hay feeding slowing some. Most of the peaches are already past the bloom stage in our area. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Rain, rain, and more rain! Six to eight inches in most areas of the county already this week and more to come! Some flooding of low lying areas. Land preparation for spring planting halted until soil conditions dry out considerably. Wish we could save some of this rain for June, July, and August. Extremely muddy conditions around livestock operations. Wet! The rainfall has created some flooding issues that may be of major concern. Wet! More rain occurred late in the week. Rainfall excess has brought preparations to a halt. Wet soils from heavy rains are preventing planting and land preparation. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Corn planting progressing slowly due to rains. Very wet. Lots of rain, also strong wind, some erosion. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Rain! Excess moisture delaying field work. Rains hindering work. We received 2.38" of rainfall. No farm activities. Erosion due to excess rainfall. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Excessive rains have halted field work and cause considerable erosion. Farmers with wheat are going to spray a fungicide due to wet weather. Normally would be planting corn and getting land ready to plant tobacco. Wet soil conditions are delaying planting. Continued wet weather restricting watermelon planting. Seven to nine inches of rain has halted all but aerial application of small grain fungicides and cover crop burndown sprays. Most fields wet. Some farmers are preparing land that on the high sandy ridges. Tobacco transplants about ready to be planted as soon as land is prepared. Wet conditions delays transplanting and seeding of spring vegetable crops and also hampered other field work. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Wet! Lots of rain. 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