fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week Ending December 29, 2002 Released 4:00 P.M. December 30, 2002 Report Code FL-CW5202 Weather Summary Storms across the Panhandle and the northern and central Peninsula dropped from one to three and a half inches of rain during the week of December 22 through 28. Most southern Peninsula areas recorded only traces of rain for the week except for a half inch reported by Miami. Temperatures averaged from one to four degrees below normal in the major cities. Daytime highs were in the 60s and 70s with Homestead, Immokalee, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Pierce, Miami and West Palm Beach recording at least one high in the 80s. Nighttime lows were in the 30s, 40s and 50s with Alachua, Jay, Live Oak, Marianna, MacClenny, Quincy and Tallahassee recording at least one low in the 20s. Frost and hard freezes occurred in many Panhandle and northern and central Peninsula localities during the week. Field Crops Report Rainfall eased dry soils in many localities during the week. Topsoil and subsoil moisture is mostly adequate with a few areas of surplus supplies scattered across the Panhandle and the Peninsula, and a few localities reporting short supplies, especially Suwannee County and the southeastern Peninsula. Sugarcane harvesting remained active as weather permitted in the Everglades. Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 0 1 17 0 1 18 Short 5 4 31 5 9 27 Adequate 60 55 52 70 55 55 Surplus 35 40 0 25 35 0 Vegetable Report Mostly clear conditions in the major areas of production, including Immokalee, Homestead, Jupiter and Stewart, allowed planting and harvesting to continue at a normal pace. Producers continued to harvest crops to meet the holiday demand. Some slowdown in field work is expected this week as growers observe the holiday. The cooler temperatures are aiding the development of strawberries. Vegetables available include snap beans, cabbage, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, okra, parsley, peppers, radishes, squash, tomatoes and strawberries. Livestock Report In the Panhandle, near freezing temperatures and frost are limiting grass growth. Stock ponds are filling from recent heavy rains. In the northern counties, cool season forages are doing well. In the central area, pastures are in poor to good condition. Some pastures have standing water from recent heavy rains. Statewide, the condition of the cattle ranges from poor to fair, with most in good condition. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition This Last This Last week week week week Percent Very poor 0 5 0 0 Poor 15 10 0 5 Fair 30 40 35 20 Good 55 45 65 75 Excellent 0 0 0 0 Fruit Report Citrus: Florida's citrus belt had lower than normal temperatures for the entire week. There was a fast-moving cold from that passed through the State Christmas eve. The lower west coast and a few interior counties however, got very little rain. Other areas got a good soaking. Generally, the upper interior and both upper coasts had between one and two inches added to the already wet soils. Groves continue to be in very good condition. There is very little if any new growth. The cold temperatures have helped place most trees in a quasi-dormant condition. Citrus trees never go completely dormant. Harvesting crews are rapidly moving as much of the early and midseason fruit as the processors can handle. Many of the juice plants are running around the clock to utilize the large quantities of delivered fruit. Most of the fresh fruit packing houses are also running wide open with large amounts of grapefruit, early and mid oranges, including navels, and a few sunburst and Honey tangerines and Temples. Caretakers are busy mowing, chopping and discing cover crops to dry out the wet grove lands. Dead trees are being pushed out and burned. Hedging and topping continues in harvested groves. A few sprays are being applied in the southern areas. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Dec 15 Dec 22 Dec 29 Navel oranges 495,000 300,000 88,000 Early & Mid oranges including Ambersweet 7,064,000 7,595,000 5,685,000 All grapefruit 845,000 704,000 623,000 Early tangerines 247,000 173,000 25,000 Honey tangerines 0 29,000 61,000 Tangelos 216,000 216,000 104,000 Temples 0 2,000 10,000 Comments/Contact Information To receive this report via e-mail, send message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov with the following message: subscribeusda-fl- crop-weather your.name An example: subscribe usda-fl-crop-weather John Smith. The report will be e-mailed automatically to your e-mail address each week.