fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week ending October 26, 2003 Released 4:00 P.M. October 27, 2003 Report Code FL-CW3903 Weather Summary Report Dry conditions continued in most areas during the week of October 19 through 25. Most localities recorded no measurable rain for the week except for the southeastern Peninsula. Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Ft. Pierce and Homestead recorded from about a quarter inch to nearly one and two-thirds inches for the week. Most temperatures in the major cities averaged one degree above normal with Pensacola temperatures averaging four degrees above. A cold front sweeping across the southeastern United States on Sunday, October 26, brought from traces to over an inch and a half of rain to many Panhandle and a few central and northern Peninsula localities. Field Crops Report Dry soils are hindering the digging of some peanuts, especially in Washington County. Peanut digging is nearly finished in Jackson County. Corn harvesting is finished in Jefferson County where producers continue to plant small grains. Cotton picking is about half done in Santa Rosa County with yields varying widely due mostly to nematode damage. Cotton yield is currently averaging about two bales per acre in Santa Rosa County with the better fields averaging nearly three bales per acre. Hay baling is active. Sugarcane harvesting is active in the Everglades area. Soils continued to dry with most supplies rated short to adequate. Several localities from the Panhandle to the central and southern Peninsula reported very short to short supplies. A very small area of the inland southern Peninsula reported surplus soil moisture. Peanut Progress Chart Percentage of Peanuts Harvested To Date This year 95% Last year 94% 5 - year average 93% Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 5 1 4 5 0 4 Short 35 14 21 30 20 21 Adequate 59 80 70 60 70 70 Surplus 1 5 5 5 10 5 Vegetable Report Sweet corn picking is slowly gaining momentum in the Everglades area. Tomato harvesting remains active in the Quincy area. A very light supply of tomatoes were picked in the Palmetto- Ruskin area with most harvesting to begin in early-to-mid November. Tomato producers in the Immokalee area are expected to begin picking within the next two to three weeks. Dade County tomato growers are staking the oldest fields while beans are starting to set fruit. Strawberry planting in the Plant City region remains active while harvesting is slowly gaining momentum with most growers hoping to begin picking in early-to-mid November. Producers in the Hastings area continue to plant cabbage and broccoli. Other vege-tables available include very light amounts of cucumbers, eggplant, okra, peppers, squash and watermelons. Livestock Report In the Panhandle areas, some armyworm and spittle bug damage reported in pastures. There is enough soil moisture in most fields to drill small grains. Some hay baling continues. In the north counties, mole cricket damage is showing up on pastures. Land preparation for winter forage crops is delayed in many locations by dry soil condition. In the central area, the pasture is mostly in good condition. In the southwest, the pasture is in fair to good condition, reflecting cooler weather and dryer soil conditions. Statewide, the condition of range is from poor to excellent, with most in good condition. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition This Last This Last week week week week Percent Very poor 0 0 0 0 Poor 5 0 5 0 Fair 35 20 20 0 Good 50 75 65 95 Excellent 10 5 10 5 Fruit Report Citrus: Virtually no rainfall occurred this week in citrus producing areas of the state. Even with three weeks of dryer weather, no tree stress has been reported or observed. Some growers have returned to infrequent irrigation in the sand hill locations to maintain surface moisture levels. Warmer temperatures prevailed early in the week with cooler temperatures moving into the state later. Fall cultural practices include limited spray applications in some groves with fresh fruit crops receiving more sprays than normal to keep insect populations from building up. Cover crop control and dead tree removal and replacement are also occurring in some groves. Fruit growth is reported good and the majority of trees in sand hill locations are in excellent condition. Natural color break is showing on all crops of early tangerines, early oranges, and grapefruit. Most fresh fruit packing houses are open. Varieties being packed include early oranges (Navels, Ambersweet, and Hamlins), white and colored grapefruit, and Fallglo and Sunburst tangerines. Several processing plants are receiving eliminations and others are field testing fruit to schedule harvest beginning times. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Oct 12 Oct 19 Oct 26 Navel oranges 74,000 127,000 162,000 Early and Mid oranges 69,000 111,000 421,000 Grapefruit 334,000 559,000 688,000 Tangerines 89,000 110,000 182,000 Comments/Contact Information To receive this report via e-mail, log onto http://www.usda.gov/nass/sso-rpts.htm Then click on “Subscribe” (upper right part of screen), then select “Florida Crop-Weather”, enter your name and your e-mail address, then click on “Subscribe”. The report will be sent automatically to your e-mail address each week.