ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date June 18, 2006 Issue GA-CW2406 Agricultural Summary June 18, 2006 CORRECTED COPY - WEATHER INFORMATION TABLE GEORGIA WELCOMES ALBERTO, STILL HOT AND DRY Tropical Storm Alberto brought showers to south Georgia, leaving producers in the north high and dry, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Alberto brought more than two inches of rain to some areas of southern Georgia, but left only light, scattered showers in the northern part of the state. Weeklong highs were in the upper 80's, with the exception of Tuesday, when temperatures only reached the upper 70's. Lows were in the mid to upper 60's. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 28% very short, 29% short, 40% adequate, and 3% surplus. In the northern part of the state, conditions remained hot and critically dry. The heat and lack of rainfall has pastures and hayfields in very poor condition. Some growers in north Georgia missed the first cutting of hay. For those who were able to harvest, production was well below normal. There was little grass for cattle and producers must supplemental feed. Some have been forced to reduce herds because of lack of food. Dryland row crops continued to decline rapidly. Stream and pond levels continued to fall and wells were going dry. In the southern part of the state, growers are thankful for rain from Alberto. Soil moisture and sunshine have crops showing signs of improvement. Fungicides were applied to peanuts, and herbicides were applied to cotton and peanuts. Producers addressed weed problems after dry planting conditions caused poor pre-emergence control. Few producers reported damage to some vegetables, tomatoes, and peppers as a result of excess rain. Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus began showing up in early planted peanuts and continued to plague tobacco. Corn yield has suffered due to spring drought conditions. More rain will be needed as high temperatures continue. Blueberries were looking good and harvest has begun. Growers expect a small pecan crop. Wheat harvest nearing completion. The watermelon harvest was reported to look good. Other activities included harvesting sweet corn, squash, and peppers, spraying fields for tarnished plant bug, and topping and suckering tobacco. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Jun 18, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Silked 73 51 43 61 Corn, Dough 26 11 5 23 Corn, Dent 1 0 0 4 Soybeans, Planted 87 80 78 84 Soybeans, Emerged 76 67 69 74 Soybeans, Blooming 2 0 2 4 Sorghum, Planted 85 75 69 78 Cotton, Squaring 40 23 30 40 Cotton, Setting Bolls 2 1 1 5 Wheat, Harvested 91 87 57 79 Peaches, Harvested 25 18 33 35 Peanuts, Blooming 33 17 35 42 Peanuts, Pegging 10 6 10 14 Tobacco, Harvested 0 0 0 2 Watermelons, Harvested 17 5 3 17 CROP CONDITION June 18, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 4 16 37 37 6 Soybeans 2 8 46 42 2 Sorghum 6 18 40 35 1 Cotton 2 10 39 45 4 Pasture 18 28 27 24 3 Apples 0 17 26 43 14 Hay 17 26 37 19 1 Peaches 0 15 61 24 0 Peanuts 1 4 37 52 6 Pecans 7 30 31 27 5 Tobacco 4 24 42 29 1 Watermelons 1 6 43 45 5 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL June 18, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 35 45 20 0 Dist 2(NC) 23 22 23 26 6 Dist 3(NE) 53 29 17 1 0 Dist 4(WC) 10 23 7 40 20 Dist 5(C) 20 40 35 5 0 Dist 6(EC) 20 3 33 44 0 Dist 7(SW) 8 47 30 13 2 Dist 8(SC) 6 34 23 32 5 Dist 9(SE) 0 10 39 47 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. Soil Moisture Table Jun 18, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 28 0 6 Short 29 7 17 Adequate 40 67 58 Surplus 3 26 19 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL June 18, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 67 33 0 0 Dist 2(NC) 38 42 20 0 Dist 3(NE) 56 28 16 0 Dist 4(WC) 56 43 1 0 Dist 5(C) 42 28 29 1 Dist 6(EC) 23 7 67 3 Dist 7(SW) 34 41 24 1 Dist 8(SC) 4 31 58 7 Dist 9(SE) 2 10 82 6 *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 JUNE 18, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 96 67 79 0.69 1 1.40 4.52 18.36 88 ALMA 93 62 76 2.23 1 3.81 7.59 22.20 78 ALPHARETTA 90 58 75 0.03 2 0.39 3.59 18.14 78 ARLINGTON 97 62 79 0.21 1 1.02 6.81 17.73 86 ATTAPULGUS 93 63 77 0.97 2 1.79 7.68 15.44 84 BLAIRSVILLE 84 50 70 0.00 0 3.03 6.91 19.89 74 BOWEN 93 63 76 2.71 2 3.55 6.09 17.19 84 BRUNSWICK 93 66 78 2.32 3 3.18 4.73 14.93 80 BYROMVILLE 95 64 79 0.17 1 0.49 6.71 17.93 84 BYRON 97 62 78 0.80 2 1.14 4.26 14.17 80 CAIRO 94 64 77 1.28 3 1.71 8.02 16.05 79 CALHOUN 90 54 75 0.00 0 2.71 6.20 18.66 80 CAMILLA 94 65 78 0.93 1 1.15 7.01 19.35 87 CLARKS HILL 93 59 75 3.80 3 6.75 10.03 20.75 79 CORDELE 95 63 78 0.17 1 0.62 3.60 15.90 85 COVINGTON 92 59 76 0.02 1 0.75 3.31 11.17 83 DAHLONEGA 86 53 71 0.10 1 0.91 3.95 15.43 75 DALLAS 91 60 75 0.04 1 0.37 4.70 21.09 78 DAWSON 97 60 78 0.21 1 0.65 3.77 11.61 81 DEMPSEY 92 60 76 0.00 0 0.59 3.51 12.97 85 DIXIE 92 63 76 2.61 2 2.85 5.86 17.23 82 DUBLIN 91 61 77 0.76 1 1.60 6.17 16.62 80 DULUTH 90 57 75 0.00 0 0.61 3.89 19.27 80 DUNWOODY 89 58 75 0.00 0 0.63 3.90 18.14 77 EATONTON 94 58 76 0.03 1 0.76 3.46 13.05 60 ELBERTON 93 61 75 0.25 2 1.97 3.75 15.29 79 ELLIJAY 87 51 71 0.00 0 1.33 6.01 22.61 79 FORT VALLEY 93 63 78 0.08 2 0.56 2.90 12.18 86 GAINESVILLE 88 61 74 0.61 2 1.25 3.81 16.41 82 GEORGETOWN 95 65 79 0.02 1 1.78 6.54 17.07 84 GRIFFIN 91 62 76 0.01 1 0.56 3.47 13.34 80 HOMERVILLE 92 59 76 2.99 3 4.38 6.41 16.23 81 JACKSONVILLE 97 62 78 0.39 2 0.51 5.12 12.92 83 JONESBORO 92 61 76 0.18 1 1.33 5.98 17.55 80 LAFAYETTE 92 54 75 0.21 1 1.51 5.73 17.63 78 MCRAE 92 58 76 1.78 2 1.84 5.94 19.05 84 MIDVILLE 90 61 76 2.28 2 4.48 7.25 15.69 83 NAHUNTA 93 59 76 1.92 2 4.67 7.30 14.74 82 NEWTON 94 63 77 0.91 1 1.44 8.36 20.88 84 PINE MOUNTAIN 91 59 76 0.03 1 0.53 4.09 16.04 80 PLAINS 96 63 78 0.01 1 0.95 4.23 17.74 87 ROME 92 57 75 0.00 0 1.49 5.05 18.67 81 ROOPVILLE 92 59 76 0.32 1 1.55 5.95 19.36 81 SASSER 96 63 78 0.10 1 0.26 5.23 14.70 85 SAVANNAH 93 59 76 3.11 2 4.05 6.31 17.88 81 SHELLMAN 97 65 79 0.04 1 0.69 3.71 12.30 89 SKIDAWAY 91 67 76 3.76 3 4.63 7.00 16.04 77 SNEADS 90 70 79 0.00 0 0.00 1.66 12.99 82 STATESBORO 90 57 74 3.08 2 3.68 5.88 13.48 83 TIFTON 92 65 77 2.25 1 2.80 6.46 19.15 78 TIGER 85 52 69 0.15 1 4.08 7.54 21.40 76 VALDOSTA 92 66 78 3.32 2 3.49 5.95 16.34 76 VIDALIA 91 63 77 2.19 2 2.62 4.76 13.47 82 WATKINSVILLE 91 60 75 0.72 3 1.33 5.21 19.46 80 WILLIAMSON 92 58 76 0.03 1 0.48 2.93 11.71 83 WOODBINE 94 61 76 2.75 3 3.89 5.80 13.42 81 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 June 18, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Very hot, dry weather has pastures and hay fields looking horrible. Blueberries are looking good. Harvest has begun. Need rain! Dry, dry, dry! DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Still no rain! We missed the 1st cutting of hay; what little has been cut and baled has produced about 1/4 or less of what it normally produces. Cattle are out of grass, producers have no hay and are having to feed whatever they have available; some are being forced to sell because of nothing to feed. Producers are faced with winter feeding conditions in June. Dryland row crops continue to decline rapidly. Continued drought conditions are quickly causing substantial crop losses. Dryland corn is very stressed, peanuts that have been planted, some haven't even germinated. Weed control has been delayed due to the extremely dry conditions. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Some areas of the county got a light sprinkling of rain from the effects of the tropical storm. Other areas didn't get any rain. Critically dry! Heavy hay feeding for most livestock due to very poor pasture conditions. Crop and hayfield conditions continue to decline and more wells are going dry. Stream and pond levels continue to get lower. Wheat harvest nearing completion. We are still in critical mode in terms of rainfall deficits. We need rain. Livestock producers feeding hay - grass in pastures and hay fields in a serious state of decline - did not receive any measurable rain from Alberto - weather conditions remain hot and dry. Received about 0.5 inches of rain from Alberto storm. We are in a desperate situation. Pasture, hay, and forage crops are all but burned up. Even crops under irrigation are under severe stress. Producers are feeding hay at an alarming rate due to the lack of forage grasses. No hay is being made. Corn silage yields are expected to be lowered greatly. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Rains have things looking much better. Putting B on peanuts and cotton, fungicide on peanuts, pix on older cotton. Some fields sprayed for tarnished plant bug. Crops catching up with soil moisture and sunshine. Finally received some scattered showers! DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Growers expect a small pecan crop. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Thank God for the rain. Applying herbicides to cotton and peanuts. Applying fungicides to peanuts. Topping and suckering tobacco. Addressing weed problems due to poor pre emergence control due to dry weather. Picking sweet corn. Harvesting squash and pepper. Excess rain has damaged some vegetables. Tomatoes and peppers split due to excess moisture. We received 1.6 to 2 inches of rain from Alberto. Thankful for the crop saving rain. Ready for another shower already. TSWV showing up already in early planted peanuts, and continues in tobacco. Corn yield cut due to spring drought conditions. Very little damage from the rain and wind. Rainfall benefits area crops. More rain will be needed as high temperatures continues. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Watermelon harvest looks good. Cotton sidedressing in full swing. Much needed rains fell in the area last week. Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.usda.gov/nass/. Media Contact: S. Radley Edwards, Acting Director USDA-NASS Georgia Field Office Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga