Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date June 19, 2005 WARMER & DRIER WEATHER INCREASES FIELD WORK Most of Georgia dried out last week, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. The dry conditions brought a flurry of field activity. Farmers were trying to catch up on all of the projects that had been delayed by heavy rains the previous week. Soil moisture levels were rated 8 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 22 percent surplus. Heavy rains and wet soil drowned some cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. Wet conditions delayed wheat harvest by at least two weeks. Some reports of wheat sprouting in the head has caused quality to go down. There were reports of fruit and vegetables diseases starting to escalate due to wet weather. Weed control, fertilizer application, and insect treatment have been minimal due to muddy soils. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork. The pecan and corn appear to be in good condition. Soybeans and sorghum were being planted behind small grains. Onion harvest near completion. Growers started harvesting watermelons. Producers continued to harvest peaches as the harvest moved north. Other activities included applying herbicides and fungicides to crops, the routine care of live stock and poultry, and harvesting hay. Crop Progress Table Corn, Silked Corn, Dough Soybeans, Planted Soybeans, Emerged Soybeans, Blooming Sorghum, Planted Cotton, Squaring Cotton, Setting Bolls Wheat, Harvested for Grain Onion, Harvested Peaches, Harvested Peanuts, Blooming Peanuts, Pegging Tobacco, Harvested Watermelons, Harvested Jun 19, 2005 46 6 80 71 2 70 32 2 61 100 35 38 11 0 3 Prev Week 28 1 68 59 0 64 15 0 35 96 20 19 4 0 1 Prev Year 75 31 92 84 6 76 48 4 92 100 38 51 15 2 21 5 Year Avg 70 33 84 72 5 81 45 7 88 100 36 48 16 3 24 Crop Condition Table June 19, 2005 Crop Very Poor Corn 0 Soybeans 0 Sorghum 1 Cotton 1 Wheat 3 Pasture 0 Apples 0 Hay 0 Peaches 0 Peanuts 0 Pecans 0 Tobacco 4 Watermelons 3 Poor Fair --Percentage-- 3 17 2 15 1 27 4 24 14 33 1 15 4 12 3 21 2 35 2 16 2 30 21 41 10 42 Good 66 75 66 59 46 67 69 62 63 67 55 33 42 Excellent 14 8 5 12 4 17 15 14 0 15 13 1 3 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level June 19, 2005 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 16 76 8 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 6 85 9 Dist 3(NE) 0 5 23 65 7 Dist 4(WC) 0 4 17 59 20 Dist 5(C) 0 2 16 57 25 Dist 6(EC) 0 0 25 62 13 Dist 7(SW) 0 1 14 69 16 Dist 8(SC) 0 0 14 64 22 Dist 9(SE) 0 0 8 79 13 *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 19, 2005 Prev Year --Percentages-- Very Short 0 5 Short 8 22 Adequate 70 65 Surplus 22 8 5 Year Avg 15 22 49 14 Soil Moisture Table - District Level June 19, 2005 Very Short Short Adequate --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 25 75 Dist 2(NC) 0 8 84 Dist 3(NE) 0 0 65 Dist 4(WC) 0 18 70 Dist 5(C) 1 6 66 Dist 6(EC) 0 5 81 Dist 7(SW) 0 5 69 Dist 8(SC) 0 5 51 Dist 9(SE) 0 12 71 Surplus 0 8 35 12 27 14 26 44 17 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY JUNE 19, 2005 1/ 2005 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 94 65 79 0.01 1 7.77 10.81 24.03 82 ALPHARETTA 91 57 75 0.07 2 5.66 8.97 27.80 80 ARLINGTON 95 63 79 0.16 3 7.14 12.57 30.07 83 ATTAPULGUS 94 62 78 0.00 0 8.05 12.34 34.36 84 BLAIRSVILLE 87 49 69 0.32 3 7.18 10.82 26.57 73 BOWEN 93 66 79 0.21 2 4.37 10.49 29.84 85 BRUNSWICK 96 69 80 0.34 5 1.69 7.48 24.54 82 BYRON 94 63 79 0.00 0 5.49 10.00 24.99 81 CAIRO 94 64 79 0.06 2 7.43 11.89 31.71 82 CALHOUN 92 51 75 0.00 0 1.94 7.42 23.70 82 CAMILLA 94 62 80 0.16 3 5.68 9.53 27.89 86 CLARKS HILL 94 63 77 1.03 5 5.20 8.55 23.97 82 CORDELE 95 64 80 0.03 1 6.59 10.70 29.52 83 COVINGTON 92 61 77 0.02 1 2.91 6.16 18.61 82 DAHLONEGA 88 53 72 0.09 2 6.88 10.30 28.56 75 DALLAS 90 57 74 0.00 0 3.30 5.93 23.20 78 DAWSON 94 63 79 0.02 1 6.56 11.29 25.18 83 DEMPSEY 91 60 75 0.00 0 4.89 8.78 24.48 80 DIXIE 94 66 79 0.87 1 6.64 10.51 29.60 84 DUBLIN 95 66 79 0.16 1 3.78 7.71 24.02 85 DULUTH 91 57 75 0.00 0 5.29 8.29 24.98 80 DUNWOODY 90 56 75 0.00 0 5.34 8.84 26.66 79 NAHUNTA 96 58 76 0.08 2 1.66 7.35 22.15 84 NEWTON 95 62 79 0.26 2 6.29 10.76 31.46 85 PINE MOUNTAIN 92 60 75 0.01 1 5.65 10.16 29.49 79 PLAINS 92 63 78 0.00 0 6.35 9.70 27.85 84 SASSER 93 63 79 0.03 2 8.37 13.70 31.82 82 SAVANNAH 97 63 79 1.38 2 5.26 10.18 23.80 82 SHELLMAN 94 63 80 0.03 1 5.81 10.95 27.34 87 SKIDAWAY 96 67 79 1.86 3 6.03 11.34 26.03 78 STATESBORO 94 63 78 0.00 0 4.80 7.59 24.12 85 TIFTON 92 66 79 0.10 1 4.87 9.74 23.58 81 TIGER 89 53 70 0.29 2 11.87 16.33 33.17 78 VALDOSTA 95 69 81 0.17 2 10.90 14.66 33.39 84 VIDALIA 94 66 79 0.88 1 3.35 6.06 16.12 84 WILLIAMSON 90 59 75 0.00 0 3.31 6.85 24.40 81 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 Dry conditions this week have brought about a lot of needed activity. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL The blackberries sure are good. Just this week, growers started with the peach harvest. Peaches look good, despite the fact of freezing temperatures earlier this spring. Sunny weather produced a flurry of field work - most hay fields have been harvested, remaining corn planted, pumpkins 50% planted, fungicide applications made to commercial vineyards, strawberry harvest nearing completion. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Rain hampering some hay harvest & quality. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Pecans look really good. Peanuts and cotton need weed control badly. Corn looks fair to good. Field conditions are much better. Small grain being harvested at a rapid rate, but much of it had already sprouted; quality is not good. Herbicide and fungicides being sprayed. Soybeans and sorghum being planted behind small grains. Haying operations are in full swing. Wet conditions earlier in the month have caused significant sprouting in wheat, most growers are experiencing 30-40% sprouts. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Thankfully things are drying out some. Wheat harvest is resuming and crop conditions continue to improve. Many hay producers harvesting hay. We have experienced very hot and humid days over the past week. There have been several disease outbreaks. Harvesting of small grains began again. Planting of soybeans continues. Haying continues. Drying out continues. A break in the rainy weather has allowed farmers to catch up on hay harvest. Grass pastures are in great shape at present. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Some cotton drown from 13 days of rain. Rain and wet ground delayed wheat harvest by at least 2 weeks. Some yield and quality loss. Having trouble keeping up with herbicide sprays on cotton and peanuts due to wet fields and wheat harvest. Also trying to get 1st fungicide spray on peanuts. Hay and pasture remain in excellent shape. Some cotton has been hurt by the excessive rain. Wet fields have slowed weed and fungicide control. Also slowed small grain harvest. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Weed control a problem in fields not treated earlier due to rainfall. Soil moisture is very good considering several days of high 90's. All crops rated good to excellent, no insect nor disease pressure. Wheat harvest wide open. Wet weather really took its toll on quality of crop. Herbicide and fungicides being sprayed, trying to make for lost time due to rain. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Wet weather hampering cotton herbicide sprays. Watermelon harvest anticipated to begin next week. Heavy rain in the east and north sides of the county have drowned cotton, tobacco, and peanuts. Some cotton planted for the second time rotted in the ground before emergence. Wet fields have slowed weed control, fertilizer application, and insect treatments due to equipment not being able run in muddy soil. Cloudy, wet, humid conditions have caused a heavy crop shed in pecans. This is a natural drop caused by adverse weather. More rainfall is going to ruin the poor tobacco crop we are now left with. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Fruit and vegetable diseases have escalated, some tobacco and some vegetables drowning. Onion harvest is essentially over. We have just began to harvest watermelons. Pecans still look great and our cotton and peanuts are coming along well. Some heavy rain in the county. Wet in places and dry in other places. 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