Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 22, 2005 SPOTTY SHOWERS Scattered showers provided minimal relief throughout the State, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Rainfall varied from light to moderate depending on the location. Dry conditions continued to persist in localized areas. Overall, most areas of the State are in need of a good soaking. Soil moisture levels were rated 3 very short, 31 short, 61 percent adequate, and 5 percent surplus. Planting progress continued to be slow. Early wet conditions have been replaced by dry soils. However, cotton and peanut planting continued at a steady peace. Producers were treating fields for weeds, insects, and diseases. Thrips were becoming a problem. Some producers are "dusting in" cotton and peanuts. In northwest Georgia, there were reports of armyworms in rye fields. Pasture and hayfield conditions declined. Hay yields were limited due to dry conditions. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Peaches and apples appeared in good condition. Other activities producers were servicing equipment for wheat harvest, cutting hay, and the routine care of livestock and poultry. Crop Progress Table Corn, Emerged Corn, Silked Soybeans, Planted Soybeans, Emerged Sorghum, Planted Cotton, Planted Wheat, Harvested for Grain Onions, Harvested Peaches, Harvested Peanuts, Planted May 22, 2005 97 0 27 17 37 61 4 52 12 56 Prev Week 93 0 13 6 29 38 1 35 10 25 Prev Year 100 5 48 28 35 72 10 81 13 69 5 Year Avg 99 6 35 21 47 71 14 78 8 69 Crop Condition Table May 22, 2005 Crop Very Poor Corn 2 Soybeans 0 Sorghum 0 Cotton 1 Wheat 1 Pasture 0 Apples 0 Hay 0 Onions 6 Peaches 0 Peanuts 0 Pecans 0 Tobacco 1 Watermelons 2 Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- 6 30 57 1 26 67 0 53 46 9 36 49 3 25 60 5 29 58 4 23 69 5 26 64 6 15 31 1 28 67 9 28 59 2 27 57 3 31 61 12 47 36 Excellent 5 6 1 5 11 8 4 5 42 4 4 14 4 3 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level May 22, 2005 Very Poor Poor Fair Good --Percentage-- Excellent Dist 1(NW) 0 16 37 41 6 Dist 2(NC) 0 1 26 66 7 Dist 3(NE) 0 1 23 57 19 Dist 4(WC) 0 17 21 47 15 Dist 5(C) 0 4 26 64 6 Dist 6(EC) 3 11 38 48 0 Dist 7(SW) 0 2 31 57 10 Dist 8(SC) 0 1 35 59 5 Dist 9(SE) 0 0 10 84 6 *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 22, 2005 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 3 13 Short 31 42 Adequate 61 44 Surplus 5 1 5 Year Avg 23 33 36 8 Soil Moisture Table - District Level May 22, 2005 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 2 39 59 Dist 2(NC) 3 22 71 Dist 3(NE) 0 3 85 Dist 4(WC) 11 17 58 Dist 5(C) 4 30 63 Dist 6(EC) 8 39 48 Dist 7(SW) 3 54 41 Dist 8(SC) 0 37 59 Dist 9(SE) 0 9 84 Surplus 0 4 12 14 3 5 2 4 7 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY MAY 22, 2005 1/ 2005 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 88 58 73 0.17 3 3.06 8.38 16.28 77 ALPHARETTA 86 46 66 0.96 3 3.35 9.36 22.18 70 ARLINGTON 90 59 73 1.27 3 5.44 13.87 22.95 79 ATTAPULGUS 88 57 72 0.47 5 4.60 15.60 26.62 79 BLAIRSVILLE 81 40 62 1.10 4 3.65 8.37 19.40 67 BOWEN 88 60 73 1.89 3 6.13 14.40 25.48 81 BRUNSWICK 86 60 73 2.51 3 6.07 12.95 23.13 76 BYRON 86 56 70 1.82 2 4.51 10.74 19.50 74 CAIRO 88 60 73 0.71 4 4.53 13.40 24.35 74 CALHOUN 87 44 66 1.11 2 5.48 11.46 21.76 72 CAMILLA 89 59 74 0.71 4 4.15 12.79 22.51 83 CLARKS HILL 85 56 69 2.03 2 3.36 8.84 18.78 78 CORDELE 88 60 72 0.66 2 4.11 15.43 22.93 77 COVINGTON 86 50 67 1.11 2 3.25 7.43 15.70 73 DAHLONEGA 79 42 63 0.72 2 3.42 9.80 21.68 67 DALLAS 86 47 66 0.30 2 2.62 9.24 19.90 70 DAWSON 87 59 72 0.93 4 4.74 12.45 18.63 76 DEARING 85 56 70 1.43 5 2.19 8.38 17.01 72 DEMPSEY 86 49 67 0.47 2 3.89 10.59 19.59 74 DIXIE 88 60 74 0.25 3 3.88 12.08 22.97 81 DUBLIN 88 57 71 0.87 1 3.93 13.63 20.24 80 DULUTH 85 48 66 1.03 2 3.00 9.02 19.69 71 DUNWOODY 85 48 66 1.41 3 3.51 9.22 21.33 71 EATONTON 87 49 68 0.66 2 3.14 8.43 17.62 77 ELLIJAY 83 41 63 1.52 2 5.37 11.41 21.58 68 GAINESVILLE 83 50 66 1.00 3 2.75 8.07 19.44 73 GEORGETOWN 89 53 72 0.88 4 4.17 20.67 29.73 80 GRIFFIN 86 51 67 0.61 3 3.75 10.39 20.29 71 HOMERVILLE 88 59 73 2.32 4 4.73 10.19 19.67 78 JACKSONVILLE 85 58 70 0.82 3 4.01 11.33 19.75 75 JONESBORO 87 49 67 0.58 3 3.64 9.68 21.62 72 LAFAYETTE 85 42 64 2.42 2 5.02 7.76 15.67 69 MCRAE 87 55 71 0.31 1 3.48 11.37 18.36 79 MIDVILLE 87 58 71 0.53 2 2.10 8.78 17.91 78 NAHUNTA 88 53 70 1.61 4 5.69 10.51 20.49 78 NEWTON 89 59 73 0.96 4 5.16 15.72 25.86 79 PINE MOUNTAIN 87 52 68 2.24 4 4.51 13.98 23.84 72 PLAINS 86 58 71 0.72 2 3.35 14.09 21.50 80 ROME 87 46 66 0.80 2 2.91 6.49 13.23 71 SAVANNAH 88 52 70 2.67 5 5.04 11.57 18.66 75 SHELLMAN 88 61 72 0.92 3 5.14 14.84 21.53 81 SKIDAWAY 88 56 71 1.01 5 5.36 12.57 20.05 72 STATESBORO 86 51 68 1.08 4 2.80 10.27 19.33 78 TIFTON 86 62 73 1.16 4 4.88 9.98 18.72 76 TIGER 81 42 62 1.44 2 4.46 11.29 21.30 68 VALDOSTA 88 63 75 0.50 3 4.12 11.08 22.85 76 VIDALIA 87 58 72 0.49 2 2.71 7.84 12.77 77 WATKINSVILLE 84 52 67 0.35 3 2.50 10.86 22.99 72 WILLIAMSON 86 48 67 0.66 2 3.54 10.98 21.09 72 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 1 - NORTHWEST Hay harvest underway - yields tend to be off - possibly due to extremely cool spring and somewhat dry conditions Army worms found in rye. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Received 1/4-1 inch of rain early in the week which helped; conditions still somewhat dry; peach and apple trees are hanging full, thinning is underway now; hay harvest was slowed for some due to spotty showers. Spotty thunderstorms this week - some fescue hay and wheat straw harvested this week. Still early for planting season here. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Rainfall amounts ranged from 0.8 to 1.75 inches, Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. Crop conditions improved! Need rain; scattered rain last week kept soil moisture levels mostly stable but dry in parts. Hay being put up. Spreading lime and fertilizer on pastures and hayfields, weed control same. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Needing rain badly! Farmers servicing equipment for wheat harvest to begin soon. Pastures and hayfields along with corn, grain sorghum, etc. need rain badly. First cutting of hay being harvested by some producers. We are even in terms of rainfall. Received rain late in week. Could use more! Planting continues. Weed control has begun in cotton and peanuts. Haying continues although short. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Conditions remain dry. Some farmers are "dusting in" peanuts and cotton. Good stands. Some scattered showers throughout the county. Some scattered showers have helped. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Soil dry, lacking rainfall. Peanut/cotton planting at rapid pace. Rainfall amounts ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 of an inch. Definitely a help but still dry. Planting progressing well. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Planting as we speak. Need some rainfall 1/2 to 1 inch would be nice. Planting cotton and peanuts. Side-dressing tobacco and spraying for thrips. Cutting hay. Scattered showers across portions of the county. Losing planting moisture in many fields. Timely rains this week have helped keep planting peanuts and cotton on track. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Beginning of week was extremely dry soil conditions, until adequate rains arrived later Friday evening. 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