fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week Ending July 8, 2001 Released 4:00 P.M. July 9, 2001 Report Code FL-WE8200 Weather Summary Overcast skies continued to keep most temperatures below normal during the week of July 1 through 7. Temperatures at the major stations averaged normal to four degrees below. Daytime highs were mostly in the 80s with nearly all stations recording at least one high in the 90s. Nighttime lows were in the 60s and 70s. Scattered showers dropped from about one-third to over four inches of rain with several localities recording no measurable rain for the week. Wild fires continue to be a danger with several recent fires caused by lightning from storms. Field Crops Report Topsoil and subsoil moisture continues to improve with supplies rated mostly adequate to short. Some drier areas are reporting very short supplies of soil moisture and a few wetter localities are reporting surplus supplies. Tobacco harvesting and hay making are active. Irrigated cotton, corn, tobacco and sugarcane remain in good condition. Peanut condition is reported at eight percent fair and ninety-two percent good with 70 percent of the acreage pegged. Soil Moisture Chart Moisture Topsoil Subsoil Rating Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very short 3 13 10 1 Short 25 18 45 53 Adequate 59 68 32 46 Surplus 13 1 13 0 Livestock Report The condition of pasture and range improved notably Statewide. In the Panhandle, pasture condition is good. In the northern counties, pasture is doing well. Haying is active when the weather permits. In the central area, pasture condition is improving following normal rainfall. Cattle are looking better. In the southwest, range condition is good. Statewide, cattle condition is mostly fair to good. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition Last week This week Last week This week Percent Very poor 0 0 0 0 Poor 5 5 5 5 Fair 65 45 65 40 Good 30 50 30 55 Excellent 0 0 0 0 Fruit Report CITRUS: Most areas of Florida's citrus belt received a lot of rain this week in the form of normal summer thunderstorms. Very few groves were passed over by the abundant rains. Only those growers planning to make the early fresh markets are continuing to irrigate. New crop fruit looks good with better sizes than the past few years due to the more normal bloom this spring. Also, there was widespread and continuous use of irrigation all winter and spring in virtually all well- cared-for groves. Harvest of Valencia oranges is just about complete for this season. Only one or two processors are still open on a limited basis. Most fresh fruit packers have closed for the season. Very few grapefruit were picked this week. Caretakers are mowing, chopping and discing cover crops that are making rapid growth with the help of the recent rains. Summer sprays and fertilizations continue in all areas. Hedging and topping have been reported in most areas along with bush hogging and burning of dead trees. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Jun 24 Jul 1 Jul 8 Valencia oranges 2,812,000 959,000 NA All grapefruit 90,000 13,000 NA Vegetable Report Tomato picking is nearing the end in the Quincy area with light supplies available. Okra harvesting remains mostly steady in Dade County. Watermelon harvesting is almost finished with mostly good quality available. RANGE AND CATTLE CONDITIONS, JUNE 2000 - MAY 2001 Summer started with pasture condition very poor to poor in June. Hay supplies were short and some cattle producers bought hay to feed. Brush fires were active in the central and southwestern areas and most stock ponds were dry. At mid-month some rain fell and grass started growing but stock ponds stayed very low or dry. Cattle were in poor to fair condition. In July, pasture and hayfields slowly improved as rain fell. But water holes were still dry and cattle were in fair to good condition. Marginal rain and extreme heat held down the condition of pasture and cattle at month's end. In August, pasture condition improved to mostly fair to good. Stock ponds were still very low. Armyworms and loopers were active and the hay season started. Pasture condition in September in the northern counties was poor to fair while in the southwest pasture was in good condition. Stock ponds were still low. At mid-month north and southwest areas were in good condition while central counties suffered from drought. Hurricane Gordon and Tropical Storm Helene brought moisture to the southwest and Panhandle in late September. In October, armyworms and moths were a problem in the northern counties. Some pastures had standing water from September storms. Land preparation for winter forage began in the northern counties. By month's end, drought had returned. Ranchers delayed the seeding of winter forage until it would rain. In November, it was too cool and dry to plant winter forage grains. In the central counties, some forage was damaged by armyworms. Pastures in the west central areas declined seasonally and growth slacked due to drought. Pastures in the southwest had standing water from heavy rains. Cattlemen fed supplemental hay. At month's end, a hard freeze lowered pasture quality in the north. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In December, pastures were mostly in poor to fair condition due to drought and freezing temperatures. Low temperatures also stressed livestock. Supplemental hay was fed. Armyworms damaged pasture grass in the west central counties. Cattle were mostly in poor to fair condition. In January 2001, cold temperatures severely hindered grass growth and hay supplies were short in some locations. Stock ponds were low. Cattle condition was poor to good. Drought and cool temperatures kept pasture condition low through early February. Warmer temperatures at mid-month boosted small grass forage growth in the north. Ranchers were feeding hay and the overall condition of cattle was poor to fair. In early March, light showers helped forage growth in the northern counties while drought plagued the rest of the State. At mid-month light showers helped grass growth in much of the State. Cattle looked better but range condition stayed very poor to fair. At month's end, the northern counties received rain and warm temperatures. Stock ponds again had standing water after two years of being dry. Supplemental hay feeding continued; however, mole cricket damage showed in the central counties. In April, cool temperatures and light frost held back northern grass growth. Stock ponds filled from rain runoff. Pasture grass began to grow in the southwest. Statewide, cattle condition was poor to good. In May, pastures were stressed by drought and the condition of cattle was poor to fair. Supplemental hay feeding was active in the northern counties and hay supplies were running out. By month's end, cattlemen were moving cattle due to the lack of grass. Fire danger was high and wildfires burned over 45,000 acres. Comments/Contact Information To receive this report via e-mail, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov with the following message: add usda-fl-crop- weather your-email-address your.name (optional) An example: add usda-fl-crop-weather jsmith@qtm.com john smith. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to the Table of Contents for Publications