fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week ending August 22, 2004 Released 4:00 P.M. August 23, 2004 Report Code FL-CW3404 Weather Summary Report Floridians were happy to see lighter rainfall during the week of August 16 through 22, since tropical systems swept across the Sunshine State a week prior. Rainfall ranged from less than a tenth of an inch in Dover to over five inches in Perry. Temperatures in major cities hovered near normal, while Tallahassee was one degree below normal, and Pensacola was three degrees below normal. Daytime temperatures were mostly in the 90s with a few reports of highs in the upper 80s. Nighttime lows were in the 60s and 70s. Field Crops Report Scattered storms blew over some container nursery stock and toppled some trees in Jefferson County. The frequent rains prevented some hay baling in wetter areas. Drier conditions over most of the Panhandle allowed field work to advance. Most peanut acreage escaped damage from the recent tropical systems passing over the State with a few fields reportedly plowed up in Jackson County. Peanut digging and corn harvesting are underway in Jackson County with growers getting above average corn yields and very good peanut yields. Peanut condition is rated 15% fair, 60% good and 25% excellent. Some producers are spraying peanuts for the control of worms. Cotton bolls are beginning to open in the oldest northern Peninsula and Panhandle fields. Pests are pressuring some cotton fields in Jackson County and some soybean acreage in Washington County. Tobacco pulling is finished in Taylor County. Soil moisture supplies are mostly adequate to surplus except for short supplies reported for drier areas, such as Miami-Dade, Jackson and Santa Rosa counties, and parts of Marion County. Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 1 1 1 0 1 0 Short 9 13 3 5 4 1 Adequate 50 44 47 60 48 50 Surplus 40 42 49 35 47 49 Vegetable Report Fall field preparations are resuming in southern Peninsula areas. Dade County producers continue to harvest okra. Livestock Report Statewide, range and pasture are in good condition. In the Panhandle, pressure from armyworms has some pasture and hay fields in fair condition. Some pastures in the southwest have surplus moisture. Statewide, the cattle are 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 0 0 0 0 Fair 10 15 5 10 Good 85 75 85 75 Excellent 5 10 10 15 Fruit Report Citrus: The citrus industry continues to cope with and assess damage caused by Hurricane Charley which sliced through three of the major citrus producing counties of the State on August 13. Reports indicate damage to trees to varying degrees on either side of the path of the eye. Some trees were blown out of the ground, others have major limbs split off, and others have major defoliation. Fruit litters the ground in many areas to varying degrees with oranges and specialty fruit suffering major loss close to the eye path. Grapefruit suffered even more loss because of the larger size and heavier weight. Fruit will continue to fall due to stem ends being damaged and fruit may be bruised. Southwest and east coast growing counties experienced no damage. Rainfall during the storm was minimal (one to three inches). Thunderstorms and the unsettled conditions after the storm brought heavy rains statewide. Growers in areas unaffected by the hurricane continue normal summertime cultural practices including insect and weed control and dead tree removal. Growers report good fruit sizes on grapefruit as a result of better rainfall in July and August. 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.