ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 9, 2006 Issue GA-CW1406 Agricultural Summary April 9, 2006 RAIN WELCOMED, BUT MORE NEEDED The second weekend of April brought much needed rain, but more would be welcomed 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. Moderate to heavy amounts of rain were recorded across the central and northern parts of the state. Some areas reported as much as 1.5 inches of rainfall with sporadic wind damage and hail in Southeast Georgia. Soil moisture conditions were rated 10 percent very short, 37 percent short, 50 percent adequate, and 3 percent surplus. Lack of rain continued to be a concern for growers. The state has received below normal rainfall over the past several weeks. While most crops are reported to look good, there is concern that the state is entering a mini drought phase. The lack of soil moisture has postponed planting in some areas. Planting should increase this week as farmers take advantage of the weekend rain. Freeze damage was reported for peaches following last week's cooler temperatures. Other activities included primary tillage of fields, pasture weed control, field preparation for peanuts and cotton, and routine care of poultry and livestock. Tobacco transplanting and onion harvesting began. Corn and watermelon planting is nearly complete. Corn that was previously planted was reported to look good. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Apr 9, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Planted 65 53 45 61 Corn, Emerged 45 26 36 45 Sorghum, Planted 0 0 3 3 Cotton, Planted 1 0 1 2 Wheat, Jointing 85 74 86 89 Wheat, Boot 53 34 44 62 Wheat, Headed 21 6 20 29 Apples, Blooming 18 4 20 26 Onions, Harvested 2 0 0 2 Peaches, Blooming 88 85 86 91 Tobacco, Transplanted 30 10 7 31 Watermelons, Planted 34 30 36 49 CROP CONDITION April 9, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 0 4 48 46 2 Wheat 0 6 38 51 5 Pasture 8 19 36 34 3 Apples 0 12 44 44 0 Hay 3 23 44 29 1 Onions 0 3 12 49 36 Peaches 0 4 22 74 0 Tobacco 0 0 42 58 0 Watermelons 1 3 49 45 2 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 9, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 11 11 56 22 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 3 19 67 11 Dist 3(NE) 0 5 44 49 2 Dist 4(WC) 1 2 31 60 6 Dist 5(C) 10 13 40 32 5 Dist 6(EC) 19 17 32 24 8 Dist 7(SW) 13 40 30 15 2 Dist 8(SC) 5 28 33 34 0 Dist 9(SE) 0 14 47 37 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 9, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 15 0 5 Short 31 0 17 Adequate 49 32 50 Surplus 5 68 28 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 9, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 13 82 5 Dist 2(NC) 0 7 83 10 Dist 3(NE) 1 34 65 0 Dist 4(WC) 1 24 51 24 Dist 5(C) 13 43 39 5 Dist 6(EC) 30 13 57 0 Dist 7(SW) 39 47 11 3 Dist 8(SC) 15 38 44 3 Dist 9(SE) 10 34 56 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 9, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 86 42 66 0.49 1 1.14 4.88 12.96 75 ALMA 86 42 65 1.07 1 1.87 4.40 14.61 66 ALPHARETTA 84 36 60 0.57 2 4.08 7.87 14.45 60 ARLINGTON 87 43 66 0.22 2 0.60 3.59 10.50 71 ATTAPULGUS 87 44 66 0.08 2 0.63 3.07 7.70 73 BLAIRSVILLE 80 29 56 1.00 2 3.52 5.81 12.76 57 BOWEN 86 45 65 1.23 1 1.55 3.82 11.10 72 BRUNSWICK 87 49 67 1.10 1 1.50 2.99 10.12 69 BYROMVILLLE 86 40 64 1.32 1 2.19 5.94 11.22 59 BYRON 87 43 66 1.13 1 2.79 6.47 9.91 65 CAIRO 86 44 66 0.08 3 0.72 3.10 7.90 67 CALHOUN 84 31 59 1.12 2 3.68 6.50 11.88 61 CAMILLA 87 41 66 0.89 1 1.30 3.34 12.30 73 CLARKS HILL 85 37 62 0.81 1 2.50 5.44 10.30 63 CORDELE 85 41 65 1.44 1 2.43 6.69 12.30 67 COVINGTON 81 40 62 0.48 2 2.18 4.81 7.86 62 DAHLONEGA 79 33 59 0.99 2 2.94 4.75 11.39 57 DALLAS 83 37 60 0.82 2 3.80 8.28 16.33 61 DAWSON 86 41 65 0.55 1 1.19 3.78 7.74 66 DEARING 85 43 64 0.80 1 2.44 4.73 9.03 63 DEMPSEY 81 40 61 0.43 1 2.15 5.55 9.41 63 DIXIE 88 43 66 1.53 1 2.45 4.69 10.89 71 DUBLIN 88 40 67 0.01 1 1.23 4.35 9.68 67 DULUTH 84 36 60 0.38 2 2.97 6.94 15.33 61 DUNWOODY 83 37 61 0.58 2 3.18 7.25 14.16 61 ELBERTON 83 38 61 0.28 1 2.67 5.88 11.14 61 ELLIJAY 79 34 57 1.77 2 5.84 9.03 16.39 59 FORT VALLEY 84 43 63 1.22 1 1.85 5.44 9.28 67 GAINESVILLE 81 39 61 0.76 2 3.42 6.12 12.42 64 GEORGETOWN 86 39 66 0.64 1 1.95 4.93 10.53 72 GRIFFIN 81 40 62 0.41 1 2.37 5.71 9.82 62 HOMERVILLE 88 39 65 0.77 1 1.22 2.76 9.82 69 JACKSONVILLE 85 41 63 0.67 1 1.81 4.52 7.80 65 LAFAYETTE 79 35 59 1.08 2 3.35 5.46 11.06 60 MCRAE 85 37 63 0.66 1 1.33 5.79 13.11 69 MIDVILLE 85 39 64 0.74 1 1.54 4.19 8.40 68 NAHUNTA 88 39 65 0.68 1 1.01 2.07 7.44 69 NEWTON 86 40 65 1.07 1 1.19 3.67 12.52 71 PINE MOUNTAIN 82 35 61 1.22 2 4.19 7.47 11.66 62 PLAINS 85 43 64 1.94 1 3.22 7.68 13.51 66 ROME 83 36 60 0.92 1 4.03 6.94 12.95 62 ROOPVILLE 83 38 61 0.52 2 2.84 6.46 13.00 64 SAVANNAH 87 40 64 1.42 1 1.97 4.46 10.94 70 SHELLMAN 86 42 65 0.27 1 1.09 4.08 8.55 73 SKIDAWAY 85 45 64 0.96 6 1.43 3.58 8.74 64 SNEADS 84 51 67 0.00 0 0.51 3.14 9.17 69 STATESBORO 86 43 65 0.78 1 1.38 3.33 7.50 70 TIFTON 84 45 65 0.70 1 0.96 3.25 12.67 66 VALDOSTA 88 46 68 1.16 1 1.88 3.72 10.39 66 VIDALIA 86 41 65 0.60 1 1.58 4.42 8.62 70 WATKINSVILLE 79 42 61 0.39 2 3.52 7.44 14.20 62 WILLIAMSON 81 38 61 0.44 1 2.33 5.76 8.74 62 WOODBINE 89 42 66 0.70 1 1.14 3.09 7.62 71 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 9, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Primary tillage of some fields - routine care of livestock and poultry - weed control in pastures. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL No comments available. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Needing rain badly! Dry and windy conditions We haven't received much rain within the past week. While things are greening up rather well, I'm concerned that we are entering a mini drought phase. Big front moved through on Saturday and left some wind damage--plus at least an inch of rain It is beginning to get dry. We have missed the hit and miss showers the last 3 to 4 weeks and the ground is starting to get hard as it dries. That has put off any further planting until the moisture is adequate to get the plants up. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Got some rain, need more. Cotton planting will begin soon. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Moisture short. Field preparation for peanut planting. Corn overall good. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Treating tobacco transplants in the greenhouse with Actigard and Admire. Beginning transplanting tobacco. Tillage work in the fields. Need rainfall. Corn mostly planted. Finally rained! Planting should continue. We have been extremely dry during the this reporting period, and also for the several weeks leading up to this week. We did receive 1.6 inches of rain across the county from Saturday rain. Farmers are eager to take advantage of moisture and start planting cotton, however, our soil temperatures need to rebound above the 65 degree mark. Corn farmers welcomed the rain. Thank goodness for the rain! DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST One inch rain, little hail. Onions harvest is underway on several farms now, with a very good crop being harvested. Watermelon transplanting nearing completion. Much needed rains received Saturday in amounts as much as 1.5 inches, but mixed hail left some vegetable crops slightly damaged. 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