fl-crop-weather State Florida Crop Weather Week Ending/Released Dates Week ending December 12, 2004 Released 4:00 P.M. December 13, 2004 Report Code FL-CW5004 Weather Summary Report Cool and mostly dry weather prevailed throughout the period of December 6 through 12 with light showers in some localities. Temperatures at the major stations averaged four to nine degrees above normal. Frost and light freezes occurred across many areas from the Panhandle to the southern Peninsula. Nighttime lows were in the 30s to 60s. Lows in the central and southern Peninsula localities were mostly in the 50s and 60s; however, near the end of the week light showers preceded a cold front which caused temperatures to dip into the 30s and 40s. In the Panhandle and northern Peninsula, some localities experienced temperatures below freezing. Daily highs were in the 70s and 80s. MacClenny recorded over one and half inches of rainfall while over three inches of rain fell at Pensacola. Many localities received less than an tenth of an inch of precipitation while a few got almost one inch of rainfall for the week. Field Crops Report Flower and foliage producers prepared heaters and overhead irrigation to provide protection to plants from cold temperatures at the end of the week. Nursery stock in Jefferson County was still holding leaves with dormancy delayed. Small grain growth is nearly ideal in Washington County. Clear weather kept sugarcane harvesting progress on schedule in the Everglades. Showers over some Panhandle, Big Bend and northern Peninsula localities replenished topsoil and subsoil moisture supplies with most supplies statewide rated short to adequate. Holmes, Brevard, Okeechobee and Union counties reported a few spots of surplus soil moisture while St. Lucie County reported a few areas of very short soil moisture. Soil Moisture Chart Topsoil Subsoil Moisture Rating This Last Last This Last Last week week year week week Year Percent Very short 7 15 10 7 13 6 Short 22 20 16 10 13 16 Adequate 68 52 73 75 60 77 Surplus 3 13 1 8 14 1 Vegetable Report Vegetables: Harvesting was very active to meet the holiday demand. Cool and mostly dry weather in the major vegetable producing areas allowed field work to progress normally. Cooler temperatures aided strawberry development. Producers marketed snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash and tomatoes. Light supplies of endive, escarole, lettuce, okra and radishes were also available. Livestock Report In the Panhandle, small grain forage has ideal growing conditions. Many small-grain pastures are now being grazed. In the north and central areas, cool season forages established six weeks ago are doing well. Small grains for forage are still being planted. Warm season pastures are still hanging on but grass growth isslight. Supplemental hay is being fed. Cattle condition in the north and Panhandle is good to excellent. In the central and southwest, pasture condition is poor to good due to drought and the seasonal decline in permanent pasture grass. Statewide, the condition of the cattle is poor to good 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 25 15 10 0 Fair 35 40 45 45 Good 40 45 40 40 Excellent 0 0 5 15 Fruit Report Citrus: Small traces of rainfall fell this week in all citrus producing areas in conjunction with a cold front that moved through the State on Saturday and Sunday. All reporting stations recorded less than one-half an inch, while the east coast, northern and southern stations reported less than one-tenth of an inch. With the exception of the cold front, temperatures were above normal levels for the week, with highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s on most mornings. Clean-up is still continuing in hurricane affected areas. Fall cultural practices include cover crop control, dead tree removal and replacement. Most growers continue to irrigate in areas where the rainfall has been sparse. Growers are continuing to mow, with herbiciding finishing up in many areas. Color break on late oranges is only sporadic at this time, with fruit maturities running slightly behind normal. The majority of the fresh fruit packing houses and processing plants are running. Varieties being packed include early oranges (Navels and Hamlins), white and colored grapefruit, Sunburst tangerines and increasing amounts of tangelos. Estimated boxes harvested week ended Crop Nov 28 Dec 05 Dec 12 In thousands of 1-3/5 bushel boxes Early & Mid oranges 1,784 3,785 N/A Navel oranges 103 246 N/A Grapefruit 246 339 N/A Tangerines 138 218 N/A Tangelos 39 112 N/A 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.