fl-crop-weather Week ending July 11, 1999 Released 4:00 P.M. July 12, 1999 WEATHER SUMMARY: Scattered rains and hot temperatures continued during the week of July 4 through 10. Rainfall varied from less than a tenth inch at West Palm Beach and Jacksonville, to over four inches at Pensacola. Temperatures ranged from lows in the 60s and 70s to highs in the 80s and 90s. For June, rain totaled from an inch and a half at St. Petersburg, to a total of almost twenty four inches at Coral Springs with several stations recording ten inches or more. Most temperatures during June averaged normal to two degrees below normal with most daily highs averaging in the 80s, and lows, in the 70s. FIELD CROPS: Topsoil moisture throughout the State is adequate to surplus with scattered areas of short moisture in central Peninsula. Cotton is in good condition. Cotton is starting to bloom. Weeds are becoming a problem in some cotton and peanut fields. Daily rains have hampered application of post emergence herbicides. Green peanut harvest is active. Tobacco harvest is active. Hay harvesting is being done between showers. Sugarcane growth is normal. Peanut condition: fair 1%, good 74%, excellent 25%. Peanuts pegged is reported at 73 %. Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 0 1 6 0 Short 2 3 12 7 Adequate 65 67 57 56 Surplus 33 29 25 37 LIVESTOCK AND PASTURES: Pastures and cattle were in mostly good condition throughout the State. Recent rains have permitted good grass growth. Haying has begun in the north and central areas, with yields and quality reportedly good. Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 0 0 0 Poor 0 5 0 5 Fair 25 20 10 20 Good 60 60 80 70 Excellent 15 15 10 5 CITRUS: Daily rains in virtually all areas of Florida's citrus belt have produced surplus moisture conditions in some groves. The rains have not been excessively heavy at all times. The hours of daily sunlight have been restricted by overcast skies and general cloudy conditions that have prevented moisture evaporation. Trees of all ages are producing a lot of new foliage. New crop fruit continues to make good progress. Valencia and grapefruit harvest are over for this season. However there are a few fresh juice plants that plan to operate as long as there is late bloom fruit available. Caretakers are mowing, chopping and discing cover crops that are making excellent growth with the help of abundant moisture. A few growers are applying their third sprays on crops being grown for the fresh fruit trade. Herbiciding and fertilizing continue in all areas. Dead tree removal and burning have been reported in most citrus counties. Replanting is active in most larger groves. VEGETABLES: Growers in the Quincy area have laid most of the plastic for fall crop tomatoes with transplanting to start within the next seven to ten days. A few northern producers continue to pick watermelons. Southern growers are preparing land for fall crop planting. Dade County producers continue to harvest okra. RANGE, PASTURE AND CATTLE CONDITIONS, 1998 - 1999 SEASON Overall, pasture conditions were lower than normal during the year due to a dryer than normal year. Considerable hay feeding was done throughout most of the year. Pasture in Florida was in poor to fair condition in June 1998. Pastures were stressed by drought and there were brush fires in the southwest. Statewide, the cattle condition was fair to poor. Ranchers still had to feed hay even in the west-central area during mid- June due to poor pastures. By mid- July, pastures improved slightly following rains, however hay feeding was active, ponds were very low, and some producers sold livestock for lack of feed. Ranchers began to spray to control armyworms and loopers. Statewide, cattle were in fair condition. Normal rainfall improved the pasture condition through mid- August. Cattle and calves were in fair to good condition. Grass growth slowed at the end of August due to drought and armyworms caused considerable loss to pastures in the Panhandle and northern counties. Grass growth was good in September. Pastures in the Panhandle and west central areas were quite wet in early October from rains of Hurricane George. Seasonal planting of forages began in mid- October. By November, small grains for pasture emerged but quality of permanent pasture in the north declined seasonally. However, much small grain pasture was not planted due to dry soil conditions. Ranchers in the north and Panhandle fed supplemental hay. At mid-month, pastures received rain from tropical storm Mitch. Pastures in the south had standing water and cattle were in poor to good condition. In early December, planting of small grains for forage finally was completed in the north. Central area pastures declined seasonally and southwest pastures had standing water. Throughout December, pastures needed moisture, hay stocks were low and winter forages did not do well due to dry conditions. In January, 1999, pasture in most of the Panhandle and north was in poor condition due to prolonged drought. In the central area, grass growth was held back by seasonally cool temperatures. Cattle and calves were in fair to good condition. A frost in mid-January worsened pasture conditions. Cool temperatures also slowed small grain growth. Pastures in the southwest still had standing water from earlier rains. In February, supplemental feeding was active in the north. Small grain pasture improved following ample rains. Ranchers cleared pasture in the southwest by burning and bush hogging. Cattle and calves were in mostly fair condition. At month's end, cool season forage was doing well in the Panhandle and north. Permanent pasture grass in the southwest emerged on land burned and mowed. The State's pastures through mid- March were in poor to fair condition due to drought and seasonally cool nights. A frost in early March damaged emerging perennial grass in the north. Hay feeding was active. There were brush fires in the southwest due to drought. Cattle and calves were mostly in fair condition. By April, the Statewide condition of range was so poor that hay feeding was active. Hay supplies were low at mid-month. Drought continued through April and pastures were in poor to fair condition. Some cattle lost weight from the poor feed. In May, rains improved the pasture in the Panhandle and southwest. Fires on dry pasture increased in northern counties. Water holes dried up in the west-central area. Overall, pastures were still stressed by drought in early June, 1999. Most areas of the State received rain by mid-month. Hay was made, and some sold as soon as baled. Ponds and the water table in the west central area were down, however there was standing water in the southwest. The State's pastures showed marked improvement by month's end. To receive this report via e-mail, send an e-mail message to nass-state-releases@news.usda.gov with the following message: subscribe fl-crop-weather. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week.