ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 23, 2006 Issue GA-CW1606 Agricultural Summary April 24, 2006 WEEKEND RAIN WELCOME, STILL NEED MORE During the past week, dry conditions were eased with weekend rain, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. The weekend front brought thunder, lightening, and heavy rain to many areas of the state, with some stations receiving as much as 1.5 inches on Saturday. Temperatures were well above normal during the beginning of the week, but returned to near normal with rain. The state experienced highs in the low 80's and lows near 60. Soil moisture conditions were rated 15 percent very short, 38 percent short, 43 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. While the weekend rain alleviated drought stress in some fields, lack of rain continued to be a concern for growers. Some cotton growers were waiting for more rain to begin planting, while others began the process despite dry soil. Still, the percentage of cotton planted is ahead of the five year average for this week. Corn growers have begun early irrigation and reported skips in emerging plants. The unseasonably warm temperatures have become a problem for peach growers. The warm weather has caused extended bloom, creating many sizes on trees and a problem for harvest activities. Many hay fields were fertilized as they continue to green-up. Hay feeding continued for livestock and corn planting will wrap up soon. Hail damage was reported for cucumbers, watermelons, and cabbage after last week's storms. The bell pepper crop was reported to look good while the recently transplanted tobacco needs rain. Other activities included spraying pecans with fungicide, pasture weed control, and routine care of poultry and livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Apr 23, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Planted 90 82 75 85 Corn, Emerged 80 65 61 73 Soybeans, Planted 2 0 1 3 Sorghum, Planted 10 3 13 9 Cotton, Planted 10 3 4 8 Wheat, Boot 88 77 89 90 Wheat, Headed 72 50 70 77 Apples, Blooming 57 47 67 76 Onions, Harvested 17 10 2 9 Peanuts, Planted 1 0 1 2 Tobacco, Transplanted 79 53 54 75 Watermelons, Planted 79 67 75 80 CROP CONDITION April 23, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 0 1 39 55 5 Sorghum 0 0 67 32 1 Wheat 0 10 34 50 6 Pasture 7 17 41 32 3 Apples 0 4 28 48 20 Hay 6 19 43 33 2 Onions 0 4 13 55 28 Peaches 0 3 25 72 0 Tobacco 0 2 35 63 0 Watermelons 0 3 41 52 4 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 23, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 19 43 38 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 17 16 58 9 Dist 3(NE) 0 2 56 42 0 Dist 4(WC) 1 8 31 56 4 Dist 5(C) 6 9 49 34 2 Dist 6(EC) 0 3 73 15 9 Dist 7(SW) 25 37 29 8 1 Dist 8(SC) 11 29 37 23 0 Dist 9(SE) 0 18 42 39 1 *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 23, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 15 1 8 Short 38 11 24 Adequate 43 74 59 Surplus 4 14 9 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 23, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 0 66 34 Dist 2(NC) 1 29 57 13 Dist 3(NE) 1 31 68 0 Dist 4(WC) 11 47 41 1 Dist 5(C) 21 43 35 1 Dist 6(EC) 5 33 60 2 Dist 7(SW) 35 33 31 1 Dist 8(SC) 21 45 34 0 Dist 9(SE) 16 48 36 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 23, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 90 59 74 1.08 3 1.57 4.65 14.04 80 ALMA 90 59 71 1.04 3 2.11 4.54 15.65 71 ALPHARETTA 86 51 67 1.82 4 3.50 7.88 16.27 67 ARLINGTON 93 57 75 1.18 2 1.40 3.53 11.68 78 ATTAPULGUS 92 59 75 0.67 2 0.75 2.55 8.37 82 BLAIRSVILLE 84 48 65 1.90 4 3.78 6.87 14.66 64 WILLIAMSON 86 51 69 0.40 4 0.84 4.78 9.14 70 BRUNSWICK 88 61 71 0.10 2 1.20 2.64 10.22 72 BYROMVILLE 89 57 73 0.13 1 1.45 5.40 11.35 74 BYRON 87 57 71 0.70 1 1.83 6.10 10.61 71 CAIRO 92 59 74 0.83 2 0.91 2.79 8.73 72 CALHOUN 89 49 67 2.12 4 3.84 6.87 14.00 70 PINE MOUNTAIN 85 50 69 0.83 2 2.08 7.02 12.49 70 CAMILLA 92 57 75 0.40 3 1.29 2.87 12.70 81 CLARKS HILL 89 54 68 1.19 4 2.29 5.35 11.49 70 CORDELE 91 57 74 0.13 1 1.57 6.17 12.43 74 COVINGTON 86 52 69 0.67 3 1.20 4.50 8.53 70 DAHLONEGA 85 47 65 1.44 4 2.94 5.12 12.83 64 DALLAS 86 52 68 2.40 4 3.53 8.61 18.73 67 DAWSON 90 56 74 0.48 2 1.03 3.66 8.22 73 DEARING 87 55 69 0.71 3 1.52 4.59 9.74 69 DEMPSEY 87 50 69 0.94 4 1.38 5.06 10.35 71 DIXIE 91 57 74 1.10 2 2.63 4.50 11.99 76 DUBLIN 88 56 71 0.50 3 1.27 4.68 10.94 73 DULUTH 87 50 68 1.72 4 2.60 6.68 17.05 68 DUNWOODY 85 51 68 1.71 4 2.68 7.00 15.87 68 EATONTON 87 52 69 0.68 5 1.35 5.30 10.31 60 ELBERTON 90 52 68 0.99 4 1.53 5.02 12.13 68 ELLIJAY 85 45 65 1.64 4 4.82 8.74 18.03 67 ROME 88 51 67 1.76 4 3.57 7.11 14.71 69 FORT VALLEY 88 57 72 0.48 1 1.72 5.27 9.76 75 GAINESVILLE 85 53 67 1.62 4 2.75 6.56 14.04 70 GEORGETOWN 93 54 74 0.68 2 1.32 4.88 11.21 79 GRIFFIN 87 53 69 1.01 3 1.44 5.18 10.83 69 HOMERVILLE 92 58 72 0.14 2 0.91 2.40 9.96 75 JONESBORO 87 53 69 2.50 4 2.86 7.24 14.00 70 JACKSONVILLE 87 55 70 0.66 2 1.42 4.46 8.46 73 LAFAYETTE 87 51 68 2.05 4 3.59 6.24 13.11 68 MCRAE 89 54 70 0.23 1 0.90 4.91 13.35 75 MIDVILLE 87 55 70 0.59 3 1.36 3.94 8.99 75 NAHUNTA 90 56 71 0.06 1 0.74 1.70 7.50 74 NEWTON 92 61 75 0.65 1 1.73 3.13 13.17 78 PLAINS 89 58 73 0.18 1 2.12 7.05 13.69 75 SAVANNAH 88 50 69 0.64 2 2.06 4.42 11.58 73 SHELLMAN 93 57 74 0.50 2 0.77 3.97 9.05 81 SKIDAWAY 89 56 69 0.28 3 1.30 3.33 9.05 69 SNEADS 87 64 75 2.88 2 2.88 4.65 12.05 76 STATESBORO 87 51 68 0.66 3 1.44 3.43 8.16 75 TIFTON 90 59 73 0.10 2 0.80 2.62 12.77 72 TIGER 82 45 63 2.51 4 3.81 6.42 16.06 65 VALDOSTA 92 62 75 0.40 1 1.56 3.08 10.79 71 VIDALIA 89 58 71 0.33 3 0.93 4.03 8.95 73 ROOPVILLE 86 52 69 1.72 4 2.38 6.68 14.72 70 WATKINSVILLE 88 53 68 1.91 4 2.50 7.13 16.11 70 WOODBINE 90 57 71 0.08 2 0.78 2.69 7.70 75 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 - Week 16 April 23, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST 4+ inches of rain in 36 hours changed soil moisture quickly. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL No Comments Available DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No Comments Available DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL .5 - .8 of an inch of rain early Saturday morning. Still short on soil moisture. Much needed rainfall received. Routine care of livestock and poultry. Some light showers late in the week. Pastures and hayfields continue to greenup but need more rain badly. Corn planting should be finished soon. Hay feeding continues for livestock. Many hayfields being fertilized. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL We've been in a semi-drought over the past few weeks. Seeing some problems in peaches. Extended bloom with warm weather has created many sizes on tree. Many will not make it to harvest. Rain was welcome sight. Still need more. Cotton planting has begun. Big front came through with strong winds and lightening; some areas received 1.5" of rain but others only received a trace. We are still basically behind in rain fall for this year to date. We need rain! DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Land was prepared, turned dry, farmers worried about planting dry land cotton. Some being "dusted in". Some stripped cotton up in lighter soil. Late stripped corn coming up with sporadic skips. Need Rain! Corn being irrigated already. The recent rains have alleviated drought stress in our fields. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Wheat and corn rated as good. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Need rain. DRY - Cotton growers waiting on rainfall to begin planting. Tobacco transplanted needs a shower. Dryland corn needs rainfall. Spraying pecans with fungicides. Bell Pepper looks good. Hay fields slow growing. Applying poultry litter. Hail damage on some cucumbers, watermelons, and cabbage. Dry weather conditions dominate field crop conditions. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST No Comments Available 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