ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 2, 2006 Issue GA-CW1306 Agricultural Summary April 2, 2006 COOL START, WARM END FOR THE LAST WEEK OF MARCH The last week of March began cool and ended with unseasonably warm temperatures, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. The state experienced an average low in the upper 40's and an average high in the mid 70's. Many areas reported freezing overnight temperatures early in the week and this was a concern for vegetable growers. Most of the state received no rain during the week, with very few counties reporting measurable amounts. Soil moisture conditions were rated 10 percent very short, 37 percent short, 50 percent adequate, and 3 percent surplus. Growers reported minimal freeze damage to vegetables, tobacco, and watermelon after the week's cool start. Hay feeding for livestock and corn planting continued. Land for peanuts and cotton was being prepared and pre-plant chemicals were being applied. Many counties reported a need for rain, especially for newly planted and emerging crops. The dry weather slowed pasture growth. Other activities reported included fertilizing pastures and hayfields, pasture weed control, setting out peppers, planting tomatoes on plastic, crop irrigation, and routine care of poultry and livestock. Highbush blueberries were approximately three weeks from harvest. Onion digging has begun. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Apr 2, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Planted 53 51 36 43 Corn, Emerged 26 NA 28 29 Sorghum, Planted 0 NA 1 2 Wheat, Jointing 74 69 69 74 Wheat, Boot 34 23 23 40 Wheat, Headed 6 NA 5 12 Apples, Blooming 4 NA 4 5 Onions, Harvested 0 NA 0 0 Peaches, Blooming 85 83 65 74 Tobacco, Transplanted 10 NA 3 12 Watermelons, Planted 30 27 24 26 CROP CONDITION April 2, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 0 4 55 39 2 Wheat 0 6 37 52 5 Pasture 4 17 41 34 4 Apples 0 0 79 21 0 Hay 5 20 46 28 1 Onions 0 2 12 47 39 Peaches 0 4 23 73 0 Tobacco 0 8 45 47 0 Watermelons 2 5 40 53 0 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 2, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 1 74 25 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 2 25 65 8 Dist 3(NE) 0 4 42 52 2 Dist 4(WC) 1 1 35 60 3 Dist 5(C) 10 19 34 27 10 Dist 6(EC) 0 12 68 14 6 Dist 7(SW) 13 39 25 21 2 Dist 8(SC) 5 24 41 30 0 Dist 9(SE) 0 6 43 49 2 *A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga/ctyests/districts.pdf. Soil Moisture Table Apr 2, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 10 0 6 Short 37 0 16 Adequate 50 27 50 Surplus 3 73 28 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 2, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 31 69 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 9 83 8 Dist 3(NE) 1 13 86 0 Dist 4(WC) 0 22 66 12 Dist 5(C) 8 37 55 0 Dist 6(EC) 6 46 48 0 Dist 7(SW) 33 41 24 2 Dist 8(SC) 17 51 31 1 Dist 9(SE) 7 50 43 0 *A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga/ctyests/districts.pdf. Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY APRIL 2, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 87 32 65 0.00 0 0.70 6.11 12.47 69 ALMA 86 33 64 0.00 0 0.81 5.99 13.54 63 ALPHARETTA 84 26 59 1.11 5 4.25 8.77 13.88 55 ATTAPULGUS 86 31 64 0.00 0 0.55 4.71 7.62 66 BLAIRSVILLE 77 20 55 0.87 3 3.34 5.40 11.76 53 BOWEN 86 34 64 0.00 0 0.35 4.01 9.87 68 BRUNSWICK 87 37 64 0.00 0 0.40 5.95 9.02 64 BYROMVILLE 86 32 64 0.00 0 1.17 5.83 9.90 55 BYRON 87 32 63 0.00 0 1.70 6.25 8.78 60 CALHOUN 85 23 59 0.60 2 3.33 6.03 10.76 58 CAMILLA 87 30 65 0.00 0 0.41 4.02 11.41 69 CLARKS HILL 87 28 58 0.29 2 1.81 5.81 9.49 59 CORDELE 85 33 64 0.00 0 1.18 6.46 10.86 63 COVINGTON 84 33 61 0.05 2 2.01 5.02 7.38 57 DAHLONEGA 81 25 57 0.51 4 2.48 4.90 10.40 52 DALLAS 84 27 61 0.31 2 3.88 9.41 15.51 56 DEARING 87 32 62 0.03 2 0.40 3.03 6.89 58 DEMPSEY 85 28 62 0.01 1 2.26 6.00 8.98 58 DIXIE 87 31 64 0.00 0 0.92 5.99 9.36 64 DUBLIN 88 31 63 0.01 1 1.23 5.09 9.68 62 DULUTH 85 27 59 0.50 4 3.17 8.34 14.95 56 DUNWOODY 83 28 60 0.39 4 3.29 8.16 13.58 56 EATONTON 81 27 56 0.01 1 2.04 5.99 8.97 51 ELBERTON 87 29 59 0.26 3 2.69 6.94 10.86 57 ELLIJAY 81 23 57 1.41 2 5.02 8.42 14.62 54 FORT VALLEY 86 35 63 0.02 1 1.31 5.21 8.06 61 GAINESVILLE 82 29 58 0.37 3 3.46 6.64 11.66 59 GEORGETOWN 86 28 64 0.00 0 1.38 5.55 9.89 66 GRIFFIN 84 29 62 0.02 1 2.04 6.30 9.41 58 HOMERVILLE 88 30 63 0.00 0 0.45 5.10 9.05 65 JACKSONVILLE 86 36 62 0.09 1 1.33 4.56 7.13 60 JONESBORO 85 29 60 0.10 2 2.78 7.54 11.24 56 LAFAYETTE 82 24 59 0.46 2 3.04 5.27 9.98 56 MCRAE 86 29 63 0.00 0 0.71 6.40 12.45 64 MIDVILLE 88 31 62 0.03 1 0.81 4.14 7.66 62 NAHUNTA 88 29 62 0.00 0 0.37 3.94 6.76 65 NEWTON 87 30 64 0.01 1 0.12 4.30 11.45 67 PLAINS 85 36 64 0.00 0 1.93 7.76 11.57 62 ROME 84 26 60 0.89 3 3.86 6.73 12.03 58 ROOPVILLE 85 28 60 0.14 3 2.94 7.20 12.48 59 SAVANNAH 90 31 62 0.00 0 0.55 5.44 9.52 64 SHELLMAN 87 35 64 0.00 0 1.26 4.92 8.28 68 SKIDAWAY 86 36 61 0.02 2 0.48 4.79 7.78 59 SNEADS 83 39 64 0.00 0 0.51 5.09 9.17 65 STATESBORO 88 32 62 0.00 0 0.60 3.55 6.72 64 TIFTON 84 38 65 0.00 0 0.29 4.33 11.97 63 TIGER 78 22 53 0.67 3 3.23 6.16 12.92 54 VALDOSTA 87 35 65 0.00 0 0.72 6.13 9.23 62 VIDALIA 81 34 60 0.00 0 0.99 4.91 8.02 63 WATKINSVILLE 83 30 60 0.20 4 3.58 8.92 13.81 58 WILLIAMSON 84 30 61 0.00 0 2.37 6.04 8.30 57 WOODBINE 89 32 63 0.00 0 0.45 5.87 6.92 66 1/ Weather data supplied by Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN) and the office of the State Climatologist, University of Georgia. For detailed Georgia weather data visit the AEMN homepage, www.georgiaweather.net. NA - not available. District Highlights These comments are written by the Georgia County Extension Agents, and have been compiled and edited by the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. DISTRICT COMMENTS April 2, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Fertilizing pastures and hayfields. Still very dry plus cool nights with some heavier frost. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL A freeze during the weekend and first part of the week caused some damage to fruit crops, but the extent of damage is not yet known. Major activities include pasture weed control and the routine care of livestock and poultry. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Starting to need rain! Liming, fertilizing of hayfields and pastures; routine care of livestock and poultry, feeding quite a bit of hay still. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Cooler than normal temperatures early in the week. Frost a couple of mornings. Heavy hay feeding continues for livestock. Corn planting continues. We are doing quite well. Soil moisture is declining with not much promise for rain. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Freeze on 27th damaged some newly emerged, early planted corn. Land being prepared and pre-plant incorporated chemicals being put on peanut and cotton land. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Rainfall in March averaged 1' or less. Overall crops are good Hay shortages remain. Dry conditions sporadic. Need rain! DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Setting out pepper. Planted tomatoes on plastic. Sweet corn planted. Did get some frost but only slight damage. Preparing land for tobacco and other crops. Planting corn. Irrigation of wheat if possible and vegetables if already planted. We need some rain! Need rain. Little frost damage to crops. Tobacco transplanting will need supplemental watering to help transplants to live due to dry soils. Highbush blueberries are about three weeks away from harvest. Dry weather has held up pasture and hay growth. Cold nights with frost has stunted pastures and caused scattered frost damage to small fruit and vegetables. Need rain. Little damage from frost to vegetables and tobacco. Some watermelons were burned by frost last week but the plants should live. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Onion digging beginning on small acreage and harvest to begin next week. Top soil moisture becoming very dry. Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.usda.gov/nass/. Media Contact: David S. Abbe, Director USDA-NASS Georgia Field Office Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga