fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week ending January 26, 2003 Released 4:00 P.M. January 27, 2003 Report Code FL-CW0403 Weather Summary Report Hard freezes and frosts dipped down the Peninsula during the week of January 19 through 25. Temperatures for the week averaged six to twelve degrees below normal in the major cities and set new daily record lows in several cities. Snow flurries occurred in a few east coast localities, such as Daytona Beach, caused by the freezing temperatures interacting with the warmer ocean. During the coldest mornings, temperatures fell into the teens at Crestview, Jacksonville, Marianna, Pensacola, Perry, and Tallahassee; into the twenties at Apalachicola, Brooksville, Cross City, Daytona Beach, Destin, Gainesville, Leesburg, Melbourne, Orlando, Panama City, Sanford, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Winter Haven; and into the thirties at Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Ft. Pierce, Miami, Naples, Pembroke Pines, Pompano Beach, Punta Gorda, Sarasota, Bradenton, Vero Beach and West Palm Beach. Showers dropped mostly traces of rain over some Panhandle and Peninsula localities ahead of the cold. However, most localities recorded no measurable rain for the week. Field Crops Report Drying conditions lowered soil moisture supplies which are rated short to mostly adequate. Very short moisture supplies are reported for the southeastern coast and a few localities in the northern Peninsula. Surplus moisture supplies are reported for the extreme northeastern corner. The continued cold temperatures and disease have lowered the yield prospects of some small grain acreage in the Panhandle. Some young sugarcane was damaged by the cold with growers currently assessing actual damages. Sugarcane harvesting continued in the Everglades region. Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 1 1 0 2 1 0 Short 29 19 26 13 9 34 Adequate 69 75 74 84 85 66 Surplus 1 5 0 1 5 0 Vegetable Report Producers provided freeze covers and irrigated some acreage as protection from the cold. However, the freezing and near freezing temperatures over the southern Peninsula caused varying damage to some crops, especially those with no cold protection. Future yield prospects are lowered with some acreage abandoned. Vegetables available include snap beans, cabbage, carrots, celery, cilantro, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, miscellaneous herbs, parsley, peppers, radishes, squash, tomatoes, and lighter supplies of strawberries. Floriculture and Nursery: Growers again provided cold temperature protection to ferns, potted foliage and other floriculture and nursery products with blankets, sprinklers and heaters. Some loss occurred with most plants to recover. Several producers harvested the Valentine's Day crop prior to the cold temperatures. Livestock Report In the Panhandle, pasture condition is mostly poor. Small grain forage was hurt by freezing temperatures. In the north, pasture condition is very poor to fair due to extreme,persistent cold, frost, and drought. Hay feeding is active and hay supplies are dwindling. Range and pasture in the central and southern counties are mostly in poor condition with grass growth limited by low temperatures. Statewide, the condition of cattle decreased due to poor pasture and harsh weather. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition This Last This Last week week week week Percent Very poor 10 0 0 0 Poor 45 30 10 5 Fair 35 20 50 35 Good 10 50 40 60 Excellent 0 0 0 0 Fruit Report Citrus: The coldest Arctic weather of the fruit season invaded Florida's citrus belt Thursday and Friday nights. Temperatures below Interstate 4 generally were not low enough long enough to do much damage. There was a little icing of the fruit remaining to be harvested in the coldest spots. There was virtually no tree damage south of I-4. Generally, north of the Interstate temperatures varied considerably with some low readings in the mid to upper 20s. Most of the early and midseason fruit has been harvested in the coldest locations and there are very few Valencias located in the cold low lands. High winds prevented frost from forming on Thursday night which was the colder of the two nights. Harvesting crews rapidly moved into the cold locations over the weekend and sent most of that fruit to the processors. There was plenty of undamaged fruit being picked for the fresh fruit packers on Saturday and Sunday. Caretakers were very busy during the first part of the week dirt-banking young trees as far south as Hardee and Highlands counties. Irrigation systems were prepared to run around the clock in many groves. Growers mowed, disced and chopped cover crops for good air drainage in their groves. Dead trees were pushed out and stacked for burning and grove heat. Fertilizers are being applied in most central and southern groves. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Jan 12 Jan 20 Jan 26 Navel oranges 166,000 130,000 121,000 Early & Mid oranges 8,220,000 8,331,000 6,468,000 Valencia oranges 1,000 2,000 10,000 All grapefruit 981,000 1,473,000 1,293,000 Early tangerines 8,000 3,000 2,000 Honey tangerines 147,000 122,000 101,000 Tangelos 275,000 217,000 142,000 Temples 44,000 66,000 88,000 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.