ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 14, 2006 Issue GA-CW1906 Agricultural Summary May 14, 2006 RAIN IMPROVES DRY CONDITIONS Rain over the past week eased drought conditions across the state, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Most of the rainfall fell on Monday and over the weekend, with some stations reporting as much as 3.0 inches for the week. The state experienced highs in the mid 70's and lows in the mid 50's. Soil moisture conditions were rated 2 percent very short, 12 percent short, 68 percent adequate, and 18 percent surplus. Rainfall was a welcome sight for producers, especially those who have vegetables, pecans, hay, and recently planted crops. Although the week's rain soaked fields and eased drought conditions, pastures, hayfields, and crops still need more rain. The wet weather slowed field work and prevented hay harvest in the northwest part of the state. Cases of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus continued to increase on tobacco despite producers' best efforts. This has raised concern for peanut producers who are afraid their crop will be hit hard as well. Thrip damage on snap beans was also reported. Livestock and crop conditions were rated as good. Other activities included planting peanuts and cotton, harvesting onions, squash, and cabbage, and routine care of poultry and livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 4.4 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS May 14, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Planted 97 96 97 98 Corn, Emerged 90 88 92 95 Soybeans, Planted 19 11 12 21 Soybeans, Emerged 10 4 5 11 Sorghum, Planted 26 20 28 32 Cotton, Planted 56 41 35 50 Wheat, Harvested 1 0 1 4 Onions, Harvested 66 45 34 53 Peaches, Harvested 4 0 9 5 Peanuts, Planted 24 13 23 36 Watermelons, Planted 95 94 96 97 CROP CONDITION May 14, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 0 1 23 66 10 Sorghum 0 0 41 57 2 Cotton 0 4 33 55 8 Wheat 2 9 31 51 7 Pasture 1 11 34 48 6 Apples 0 4 15 54 27 Hay 1 9 44 41 5 Onions 6 6 28 37 23 Peaches 0 0 42 58 0 Pecans 1 6 45 43 5 Tobacco 0 6 39 53 2 Watermelons 0 2 31 57 10 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL May 14, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 16 46 32 6 Dist 2(NC) 0 0 17 73 10 Dist 3(NE) 0 8 40 52 0 Dist 4(WC) 0 10 34 44 12 Dist 5(C) 1 6 24 64 5 Dist 6(EC) 10 12 33 35 10 Dist 7(SW) 0 15 43 37 5 Dist 8(SC) 2 22 40 35 1 Dist 9(SE) 0 9 25 61 5 *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 May 14, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 2 2 13 Short 12 23 32 Adequate 68 70 47 Surplus 18 5 8 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL May 14, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 8 54 38 Dist 2(NC) 0 8 78 14 Dist 3(NE) 0 38 62 0 Dist 4(WC) 0 4 78 18 Dist 5(C) 2 11 79 8 Dist 6(EC) 11 13 74 2 Dist 7(SW) 0 3 37 60 Dist 8(SC) 0 12 77 11 Dist 9(SE) 10 21 65 4 *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 MAY 14, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 82 50 68 2.17 5 3.99 4.76 16.95 76 ALMA 83 49 68 1.67 2 2.95 4.48 17.56 70 ALPHARETTA 74 45 61 0.37 5 3.26 7.06 17.71 67 ARLINGTON 85 50 69 2.58 4 6.21 6.68 16.71 75 ATTAPULGUS 85 52 70 2.11 4 5.36 5.97 13.06 75 BLAIRSVILLE 71 35 57 0.27 5 3.93 7.00 16.69 65 BOWEN 83 51 68 0.98 3 2.37 3.74 13.47 73 BRUNSWICK 87 55 70 1.02 3 1.60 3.08 11.72 73 BYROMVILLE 77 50 66 3.49 6 6.22 8.23 17.44 71 BYRON 76 47 64 0.88 4 3.12 4.68 13.03 69 CAIRO 85 51 70 2.48 3 5.14 5.86 13.04 73 CALHOUN 75 41 62 0.59 4 3.95 7.46 15.83 67 CAMILLA 84 52 68 3.37 4 5.81 6.72 18.11 75 CLARKS HILL 77 44 63 0.61 2 3.70 6.16 14.00 69 CORDELE 77 51 66 1.09 5 2.98 5.12 15.28 72 COVINGTON 83 47 63 1.43 2 2.51 4.69 10.37 69 DAHLONEGA 71 39 58 0.75 5 3.08 5.89 14.47 64 DALLAS 73 47 63 0.80 4 4.38 7.33 20.71 67 DAWSON 83 48 67 1.88 6 3.17 4.10 10.91 71 DEARING 76 49 63 0.23 2 2.19 4.36 11.22 69 DEMPSEY 73 46 62 1.25 6 2.69 4.59 12.10 68 DIXIE 86 49 69 1.23 4 3.39 5.68 14.28 74 DUBLIN 80 51 66 1.79 3 4.25 5.93 14.69 71 DULUTH 74 45 61 0.50 4 3.31 5.94 18.64 67 DUNWOODY 71 46 61 0.52 4 3.35 6.01 17.51 67 EATONTON 77 43 62 0.54 3 2.72 4.72 12.29 57 ELBERTON 78 43 62 0.15 2 2.15 4.28 13.29 68 ELLIJAY 71 39 58 0.48 5 4.84 9.79 21.23 65 FORT VALLEY 76 47 64 1.26 4 2.34 4.10 11.62 69 GAINESVILLE 71 47 61 0.25 5 2.73 5.96 15.15 67 GEORGETOWN 83 46 67 2.49 5 4.76 5.58 15.29 73 GRIFFIN 75 47 62 1.02 5 2.96 5.01 12.78 67 HOMERVILLE 88 46 68 0.77 4 1.78 2.90 11.60 74 JACKSONVILLE 75 47 63 1.28 3 4.61 5.76 12.41 71 JONESBORO 77 48 63 0.82 4 4.71 6.82 16.21 68 LAFAYETTE 75 43 61 0.96 5 4.38 7.54 15.44 67 MCRAE 80 45 65 2.50 4 4.09 5.20 17.20 72 MIDVILLE 77 50 65 0.86 2 2.78 3.93 11.18 71 NAHUNTA 88 47 68 1.61 4 2.15 3.10 9.59 74 NEWTON 84 51 69 5.01 5 6.68 7.78 19.20 75 PINE MOUNTAIN 75 42 62 1.67 5 3.85 7.94 15.51 68 PLAINS 79 50 65 2.04 5 3.28 5.92 16.79 70 ROME 74 43 63 0.58 5 4.22 8.19 17.17 67 ROOPVILLE 77 44 63 1.53 4 4.81 7.32 17.81 69 SASSER 80 50 67 2.88 5 4.97 5.66 14.44 71 SAVANNAH 83 46 67 0.62 3 2.21 3.99 13.15 73 SHELLMAN 84 50 67 1.58 5 3.06 3.84 11.61 74 SKIDAWAY 81 51 67 0.44 5 1.47 2.78 10.24 69 SNEADS 83 57 71 0.27 4 3.81 4.19 12.98 76 STATESBORO 80 50 65 0.49 2 2.29 3.54 9.79 73 TIFTON 80 53 68 1.65 3 3.59 4.34 16.26 71 TIGER 70 35 55 0.15 6 3.77 6.78 17.32 63 VALDOSTA 86 53 71 0.53 4 2.10 3.88 12.49 71 VIDALIA 80 49 67 0.55 2 2.23 3.63 10.85 72 WATKINSVILLE 74 47 61 0.47 3 3.93 6.28 18.13 67 WILLIAMSON 74 47 62 1.06 3 2.49 4.69 11.23 68 WOODBINE 88 50 69 1.71 3 1.86 2.87 9.48 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 May 14, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Continued wet weather slows all field work. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Rain showers prevent hay harvest resulting in a decline in quality. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL We received 1.8 - 3 inches of rain; some wind damage to corn and small grain. Some scattered showers. Crops, pastures, and hayfields still need more rain badly! DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL We have gotten quite a bit of rainfall over the past few days which has led to quite a few wet fields. This has really aided many of the crops that have been planted. Rains continue. Slows planting and harvesting. Received very good rains last night - 2 inches in most areas. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Just a little cotton replanting, peanut planting started early. All planting ahead of average. Good rains bringing up good stands. Wheat/oats/barley harvest still 2 weeks away. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST We received 2.5 to 5+ inches of rain the past week. Rain was needed to overcome drought conditions. We received1.51" rainfall. Some cotton acreage replanted. Livestock and crop conditions listed as good. For the first time this year we have good moisture in every field. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Got 1 inch of rain Monday and 7/10 on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning. Growers are planting hastily. But subsoil moisture is still low. Will need more rainfall by next week. Rainfall has been a blessing to all producers, small fruits, pecans, and hay, etc. TSWV in tobacco increasing despite best efforts. Afraid peanuts will be hit hard. Field and snap beans getting hit hard by Thrips damage. Had some dryland corn fields showing nutrient deficiency due to drought and weak root systems. Uneven stands etc. Planting peanuts and cotton. Have received rains. Rain brings relief to drought conditions; however, some fields are too wet to plant. Rainfall benefits crop conditions and helps with planting conditions. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Started get rain this week. Crops look better. Onion harvest nearing completion. Cotton planting in full swing. Squash and cabbage harvest in full swing. 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