fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week ending January 25, 2004 Released 4:00 P.M. January 26, 2004 Report Code FL-CW0404 Weather Summary Report Rainfall at the beginning of the week of January 18 through 24 amounted to nearly two inches in some central and southern Peninsula localities. Only traces fell in most western Panhandle areas. Mostly dry conditions during the rest of the week allowed field work to progress normally. Temperatures during the week averaged two to four degrees below normal in the major cities. Daytime highs were in the 60s and 70s with Homestead, Miami and West Palm Beach recording at least one high in the 80s. Nighttime lows were in the 30s, 40s and 50s with several Panhandle and northern Peninsula areas reporting at least one low in the 20s. Field Crops Report Tobacco transplant beds are progressing well in Columbia County with growers starting field preparations for other row crop planting. Sugarcane harvesting continues in the Everglades area. Significant rains early in the week replenished some soil moisture supplies. Soil moisture is rated short to mostly adequate with very short supplies reported for some areas of Columbia, Baker and Broward counties. Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 5 10 1 5 8 2 Short 30 25 28 30 22 12 Adequate 65 65 69 65 70 84 Surplus 0 0 2 0 0 2 Vegetable Report Tomato growers are starting to prepare land for spring crop planting around Quincy. Sweet corn producers in Washington County are also preparing spring crop land. Columbia County growers replanted greens for spring crop harvesting. Cabbage harvesting is finished in Columbia County. The rain at the beginning of the week slowed strawberry harvesting around Plant City and Dover with the drier conditions during the rest of the week speeding picking activities. Recent cold weather slowed some cabbage cutting in the northern Peninsula. Vegetables being harvested include snap beans, cabbage, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, escarole, lettuce, peppers, radishes, squash and tomatoes. Livestock Report In the Panhandle and north, the pasture is poor to fair due to cool temperatures and dry soil conditions. The small grain winter forage is slow to grow. Cattle are being fed hay and supplements. In the central and southern Peninsula, recent rain improved the growing conditions. Statewide, cattle condition is mostly good. Livestock Condition Chart Range Cattle Condition This Last This Last week week week week Percent Very poor 5 10 0 1 Poor 15 20 10 9 Fair 40 50 35 45 Good 40 20 55 45 Excellent 0 0 0 0 Fruit Report Citrus: Nearly ideal winter weather prevailed during the week with cool nights and moderately cool days. Early in the week, a cold front passed slowly through the State bringing varying amounts of rainfall to almost all citrus areas. Temperatures were in the mid to low 30s in some locations with daytime highs in the 60s and 70s. Rainfall amounted to three quarters of an inch in some locations with most receiving over one-half inch. Some growers returned to irrigation to maintain tree condition and encourage continued fruit growth. With the colder weather, trees are hardy and should withstand any later cold weather. Some growers are starting to fertilize groves in anticipation of new growth emerging in the spring. Most fresh fruit packinghouses are packing all available varieties with emphasis on the export of grapefruit increasing. Varieties being packed include oranges (Navels, Hamlins, Pineapple, and Valencia), white and colored grapefruit, Sunburst and Honey tangerines, tangelos, and Temples. Processing plants are open to receive and process fruit on a continuous basis with volumes at peak levels. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Jan 11 Jan 18 Jan 25 Navel oranges 47,000 43,000 39,000 Early and Mid oranges 9,533,000 7,651,000 8,465,000 Valencia oranges 3,000 15,000 19,000 Grapefruit 996,000 1,360,000 1,357,000 Early tangerines 59,000 27,000 7,000 Honey tangerines 149,000 152,000 109,000 Tangelos 46,000 46,000 33,000 Temples 51,000 54,000 69,000 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.