ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date July 23, 2006 Issue GA-CW2906 Agricultural Summary July 23, 2006 DRY CONDITIONS PREVAIL The State experienced scattered rains this week, but dry conditions still prevail, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Most weather data collection sites reported rainfall near one inch, with some rainfall totals well over two inches. Highs throughout the week reached the mid 90's with nighttime lows near 70. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 44% very short, 35% short, 21% adequate, and 0% surplus. Crop, pasture, and hayfield conditions continued to decline due to the heat and drought. High heat indices, and evaporation prevented irrigation from keeping up with crop moisture needs. Some vegetable producers in Central Georgia were forced to plow up their crop. Dryland corn and cotton were mostly reported in fair to poor condition. Producers remain optimistic about the peanut crop. Livestock producers reported signs of stress among their cattle. Many were weaning calves early. Some have been forced to sell their livestock. Cattle and calves received supplemental feed to maintain body condition and weight gain. Hay shortage was critical in some areas. Hay producers reported lower than average yields on harvested fields. Pond and stream levels remained low and more wells were going dry. Tomato spotted wilt virus has taken its toll on tobacco in South Georgia and has caused concern for peanut growers. Field preparation began for fall crops. Other activities included mowing pastures, planting green beans, and routine care of livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Jul 23, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Silked 98 96 98 99 Corn, Dough 90 81 80 89 Corn, Dent 67 53 42 64 Corn, Mature 25 11 7 21 Soybeans, Blooming 49 33 50 53 Soybeans, Setting Pods 20 8 19 25 Cotton, Squaring 98 95 93 95 Cotton, Setting Bolls 82 68 58 70 Apples, Harvested 1 0 0 4 Peaches, Harvested 73 57 75 80 Peanuts, Blooming 98 95 97 97 Peanuts, Pegging 87 75 83 86 Tobacco, Harvested 33 21 24 31 Watermelons, Harvested 94 90 84 90 CROP CONDITION July 23, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 12 28 32 23 5 Soybeans 12 29 38 21 0 Sorghum 11 30 29 29 1 Cotton 15 23 38 22 2 Pasture 32 35 27 6 0 Apples 0 23 30 28 19 Hay 28 35 30 7 0 Peanuts 9 18 42 29 2 Pecans 14 38 33 15 0 Tobacco 5 24 41 28 2 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL July 23, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 22 44 33 1 0 Dist 2(NC) 6 43 35 15 1 Dist 3(NE) 25 43 32 0 0 Dist 4(WC) 29 41 29 1 0 Dist 5(C) 51 29 19 1 0 Dist 6(EC) 31 25 30 14 0 Dist 7(SW) 48 32 15 5 0 Dist 8(SC) 26 44 27 3 0 Dist 9(SE) 21 20 45 14 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. Soil Moisture Table Jul 23, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 44 0 7 Short 35 10 27 Adequate 21 62 55 Surplus 0 28 11 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL July 23, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 44 24 32 0 Dist 2(NC) 24 49 27 0 Dist 3(NE) 39 42 19 0 Dist 4(WC) 52 20 25 3 Dist 5(C) 46 33 20 1 Dist 6(EC) 52 39 9 0 Dist 7(SW) 55 33 12 0 Dist 8(SC) 50 27 23 0 Dist 9(SE) 27 49 24 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 JULY 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 98 70 83 2.03 3 7.68 9.24 26.20 92 ALMA 97 67 81 0.40 1 2.77 7.16 25.56 84 ARLINGTON 98 65 79 2.54 5 3.77 6.02 22.73 86 ATTAPULGUS 96 69 80 2.17 6 6.36 8.22 21.87 86 BLAIRSVILLE 91 58 74 1.82 4 8.56 9.93 28.61 80 BOWEN 95 69 81 1.12 3 3.10 6.73 20.37 88 BRUNSWICK 93 72 82 0.09 1 3.21 6.40 18.15 84 BYROMVILLE 101 71 83 1.22 2 2.27 3.12 20.56 89 BYRON 100 71 83 2.43 3 3.22 4.39 17.42 86 CAIRO 97 71 80 0.44 4 1.74 3.45 17.79 83 CALHOUN 99 64 80 0.00 0 3.44 5.35 22.10 86 CLARKS HILL 101 68 82 0.93 2 3.98 10.72 24.75 85 CORDELE 99 72 82 1.88 2 3.18 3.82 19.10 89 COVINGTON 98 68 81 2.66 4 3.51 5.16 15.58 88 DAHLONEGA 94 63 77 0.42 2 4.69 4.81 20.13 81 DALLAS 98 68 80 1.42 2 3.03 3.40 24.12 83 DAWSON 100 60 79 0.97 3 1.76 2.44 13.40 84 DEARING 100 71 83 0.97 3 3.87 8.61 19.90 84 DEMPSEY 98 69 81 0.49 3 2.67 3.75 16.13 89 DIXIE 96 68 80 2.67 2 4.89 7.74 22.12 89 DUBLIN 99 71 83 0.60 3 2.03 3.63 18.65 85 DULUTH 98 66 81 0.12 1 2.84 4.18 22.84 85 DUNWOODY 98 68 81 0.35 3 5.32 6.18 23.69 83 EATONTON 100 67 81 1.19 4 3.73 5.36 17.68 88 ELBERTON 100 69 82 1.16 2 2.74 4.60 18.24 85 ELLIJAY 94 61 76 0.29 3 3.39 4.63 26.75 83 FORT VALLEY 98 70 82 1.32 2 2.68 3.52 15.14 89 GEORGETOWN 99 67 81 0.45 5 0.71 2.87 18.16 89 GRIFFIN 98 69 81 0.51 2 3.13 4.27 17.05 85 HOMERVILLE 98 63 79 1.71 3 2.82 7.27 19.12 85 JACKSONVILLE 99 69 82 1.96 4 2.89 4.00 16.41 88 JONESBORO 99 69 81 0.10 2 4.21 5.54 21.76 84 LAFAYETTE 97 65 79 0.16 1 5.03 5.81 22.66 81 MCRAE 99 68 82 0.85 3 1.92 3.77 20.98 92 MIDVILLE 99 70 82 0.45 2 1.48 6.50 17.71 91 NAHUNTA 95 64 80 0.01 1 3.43 8.10 18.17 86 NEWTON 96 70 80 1.48 3 5.39 6.83 26.27 87 PINE MOUNTAIN 96 68 79 1.19 4 2.98 3.52 19.03 84 PLAINS 98 69 80 3.76 5 3.79 5.98 22.77 87 ROME 100 67 80 1.74 3 4.74 6.26 23.53 85 ROOPVILLE 99 68 80 0.21 2 5.59 7.33 25.14 85 SASSER 98 69 81 2.34 4 2.66 3.06 17.50 88 SAVANNAH 95 70 81 0.13 1 3.25 7.07 21.13 87 SHELLMAN 99 71 81 1.69 5 2.45 4.27 15.88 90 SKIDAWAY 91 72 81 0.02 2 4.99 9.63 21.07 82 SNEADS 100 73 81 0.02 2 0.16 1.93 15.51 87 STATESBORO 97 16 79 3.90 4 6.56 10.24 20.04 89 TIGER 93 58 74 0.28 3 7.57 10.85 29.87 82 VALDOSTA 97 72 82 1.25 4 7.27 10.76 23.61 82 VIDALIA 97 70 82 2.73 3 3.32 6.20 17.05 88 WILLIAMSON 97 68 80 1.51 2 4.14 4.98 16.21 87 WOODBINE 95 68 80 0.01 1 3.17 7.06 16.59 85 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 July 23, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Mowing pastures and routine care of livestock are major activities - rain is needed badly. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Scattered showers held moisture at current levels. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Rain, finally! Amounts varied widely from 0.8 of an inch to 4 inches. Any amount was greatly appreciated. Time will tell if crops will turn around. Bad and dry. Scattered storms Sat and Sun may help a little. Cattle producers looking for hay. Pastures are gone. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL No rain! Crop, pasture and hayfield conditions continue to decline due to the heat and drought conditions. Pond and stream levels continue to drop. More wells are going dry. Supplemental feeding of livestock increasing. Crop conditions are rapidly declining in most of the county. A few areas have received 1/2 inch or so scattered showers that have helped. Much of our dryland corn has gone to the worse. Several of our commercial vegetable producers have plowed up their spring crops due to the drought. We're hoping to get things turned around for our fall crops. Hot & dry weather is putting tremendous burden on farmers in our middle Georgia area. Hay harvesting has all but stopped. Farmers are feeding what hay they have and trying to locate hay to feed. Livestock are stressed from the conditions. Many are early weaning calves and feeding both calves and cows to maintain body condition and weight gain. Hot and dry! Poor forage harvest, 1/2 to 1/3 normal production. Dry land cotton is pretty much over with in the county, even if it began to rain now, will not have time to produce crop. Still some hope for peanut crop. Worst drought in years. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Got little showers Saturday and Sunday. Expecting more the first of the week. Some scattered rain. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Dry, hot weather. We received 0.05" of rainfall. Hay shortage is critical. Dryland corn field not maturing are being nitrate tested and baled for feed supplement. Beef cattle sales at livestock barn has increased because of feed shortages. Field preparation for fall greenbean plantings started for August. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Critical. We are at a point if we don't get rainfall we will not have much to harvest if any. Even irrigation is not able to keep up with plant demand due to time, heat index and evaporation. Corn yields will be down, cotton will be less than a bale, peanuts still unsure but will be less, blueberry yields less due to heat but were drip irrigated. Did not hold as long on the bush. Hay yields reduced. Pecan crop short. Tobacco is burning up in the field and drooping. TSWV has taken its toll in tobacco and concerns me in peanuts. Some rain, approximately 1 inch. We need extended rainfall to catch up. Scattered showers have helped all crops and pastures, however we will still need rain every week until harvest. Surface water, rivers, and streams are way below normal. Hot and dry conditions prevail even though we have had some scattered rainfall throughout the county. Much irrigation has been utilized. Some farm ponds utilized for irrigation are running low. Increasing energy costs are adding to costs in production. Rainfall is needed over the next several weeks in order for our farmers to have a chance at reasonable yields. Rain needed very badly! DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Need rain! Some parts of county received rain this weekend, but large portions are still extremely dry. Rainfall is critical for cotton right now and may be too late. Land preparation for Salad Vidalia Onions has begun. 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