ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 8, 2006 Issue GA-CW4006 Agricultural Summary October 8, 2006 DRY CONDITIONS, BUT COOLER TEMPERATURES Georgia continued to experience dry weather, but the cooler temperatures were a slight relief, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia field office. The week began with highs in the upper eighties. Following a mid week cold front, highs peaked only in the mid 70's by week's end. Nighttime lows were in the mid to upper 50's all week. No significant rainfall totals were recorded. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 22% very short, 45% short, 33% adequate, and 0% surplus. Dry soils have delayed fall planting. Some farmers were irrigating where possible, but many were waiting for more rain before continuing. Some dryland fields are expected to be abandoned as potential yields were low. Pond and stream levels remain low. Lack of rain and cooler temperatures have stalled forage growth. Hay supplies remain short. Cattle producers were baling peanut hay, cornstalks, and weeds to make up for the short hay supply. Some cattle have already been culled. Peanut producers have reported a variety of problems with this year's crop. The harvest is behind due to delayed maturity. Those who began harvesting have experienced difficulties digging in dry soils. Signs of disease and heat damage were reported in some irrigated fields. Peanut grade and peg strength were low. There were still reports of armyworms in pastures and hayfields. Irrigated cotton yields have been better than expected. Other activities included planting small grains and harvesting corn and sorghum. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Oct 8, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Harvested 97 95 95 95 Soybeans, Dropping Leaves 62 49 61 61 Soybeans, Harvested 6 3 2 7 Sorghum, Harvested 57 48 44 50 Cotton, Bolls Open 94 91 85 89 Cotton, Harvested 27 17 13 19 Wheat, Planted 5 3 2 5 Apples, Harvested 36 35 45 63 Peanuts, Dug 38 22 52 63 Peanuts, Combined 26 12 40 46 Pecans, Harvested 1 0 1 2 Rye, Planted 25 18 12 22 Other Small Grains, Planted 17 11 9 15 CROP CONDITION October 8, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Soybeans 12 30 34 23 1 Sorghum 6 20 43 27 4 Cotton 14 23 31 27 5 Pasture 13 31 36 19 1 Apples 4 4 15 64 13 Hay 12 29 41 17 1 Peanuts 8 21 37 29 5 Pecans 15 37 35 13 0 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL October 8, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 34 24 26 16 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 22 39 36 3 Dist 3(NE) 0 4 60 36 0 Dist 4(WC) 0 49 29 19 3 Dist 5(C) 26 22 34 18 0 Dist 6(EC) 6 47 37 10 0 Dist 7(SW) 3 36 34 25 2 Dist 8(SC) 26 32 34 8 0 Dist 9(SE) 5 25 49 21 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 Oct 8, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 22 10 6 Short 45 21 27 Adequate 33 55 56 Surplus 0 14 11 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL October 8, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 6 54 40 0 Dist 2(NC) 1 36 62 1 Dist 3(NE) 0 16 84 0 Dist 4(WC) 22 47 31 0 Dist 5(C) 32 41 27 0 Dist 6(EC) 35 52 13 0 Dist 7(SW) 17 52 30 1 Dist 8(SC) 35 42 23 0 Dist 9(SE) 25 60 15 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 OCTOBER 8, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 91 52 72 0.00 0 3.82 8.80 37.08 80 ALMA 89 50 70 0.00 0 0.99 8.35 34.71 75 ALPHARETTA 86 45 65 0.06 3 2.77 7.17 32.02 69 ARLINGTON 90 48 69 0.00 0 6.00 9.38 37.08 75 ATTAPULGUS 90 50 71 0.00 0 5.68 8.72 34.97 79 BLAIRSVILLE 82 41 60 0.01 1 2.82 6.66 36.49 69 WILLIAMSON 87 50 67 0.00 0 2.65 4.36 22.74 73 BOWEN 91 48 71 0.00 0 0.90 5.39 28.70 81 BRUNSWICK 91 53 72 0.00 0 2.53 11.09 29.75 77 BYROMVILLE 90 51 70 0.00 0 0.79 11.90 33.84 76 BYRON 89 53 70 0.00 0 1.02 4.75 25.02 74 CAIRO 90 52 72 0.00 0 2.65 5.79 26.88 78 CALHOUN 88 41 65 0.00 0 3.71 6.20 29.25 70 PINE MOUNTAIN 86 50 67 0.00 0 3.46 5.63 28.84 71 CAMILLA 90 48 71 0.00 0 3.10 5.22 36.30 80 CLARKS HILL 88 48 66 0.15 2 1.92 6.65 34.60 71 CORDELE 90 48 70 0.00 0 0.65 6.31 27.29 77 COVINGTON 86 49 68 0.00 0 2.69 6.61 22.87 72 DAHLONEGA 84 38 63 0.00 0 4.33 9.35 30.70 68 DALLAS 87 44 66 0.00 0 2.90 4.61 30.39 71 DAWSON 89 50 70 0.00 0 2.21 7.49 23.79 75 DEARING 90 50 69 0.04 1 1.89 6.29 29.63 75 DEMPSEY 87 50 68 0.00 0 2.12 4.31 22.91 74 DIXIE 92 52 72 0.00 0 1.05 5.37 29.96 81 DUBLIN 89 52 69 0.00 0 1.44 5.90 26.06 75 DULUTH 87 45 66 0.00 0 2.95 5.79 31.79 71 DUNWOODY 85 45 66 0.01 1 2.81 7.41 32.27 70 EATONTON 89 49 68 0.00 0 1.59 4.20 24.45 75 ELBERTON 88 50 67 0.77 1 3.11 6.58 28.21 70 ELLIJAY 84 38 62 0.01 1 3.79 7.17 34.80 68 ROME 89 44 66 0.00 0 3.77 6.39 29.95 71 FORT VALLEY 90 53 71 0.00 0 0.41 3.98 20.38 78 GAINESVILLE 87 46 67 0.01 1 2.32 6.32 26.54 74 GEORGETOWN 88 48 70 0.00 0 2.53 4.20 25.27 78 GRIFFIN 86 50 68 0.00 0 2.17 4.97 24.48 72 HOMERVILLE 92 45 70 0.00 0 1.62 4.01 24.72 78 JONESBORO 87 51 68 0.00 0 2.58 8.45 33.57 71 JACKSONVILLE 89 51 69 0.01 1 1.34 5.02 24.63 76 LAFAYETTE 87 43 64 0.03 1 5.35 7.78 31.81 69 MCRAE 90 44 68 0.00 0 0.04 3.76 26.73 80 MIDVILLE 90 49 69 0.03 1 1.10 3.61 21.79 79 NAHUNTA 91 46 69 0.00 0 1.85 5.57 25.48 77 NEWTON 90 49 70 0.00 0 3.12 6.99 37.82 79 PLAINS 90 54 72 0.00 0 1.99 9.50 36.68 76 SASSER 89 52 70 0.00 0 1.34 6.33 27.22 75 SAVANNAH 92 50 69 0.22 2 1.41 6.04 30.18 76 SHELLMAN 91 51 71 0.00 0 2.71 6.73 24.64 79 SKIDAWAY 88 57 71 0.04 3 3.41 10.98 33.79 73 SNEADS 95 60 74 0.00 0 1.58 4.44 34.04 79 STATESBORO 90 51 69 0.02 1 1.09 6.28 26.38 78 TIFTON 91 48 72 0.00 0 1.31 3.97 28.26 75 TIGER 85 39 61 0.00 0 5.34 10.33 41.70 68 VALDOSTA 92 53 74 0.00 0 1.21 2.94 30.57 76 VIDALIA 90 51 70 0.00 0 0.00 3.04 21.22 79 ROOPVILLE 89 48 67 0.00 0 4.32 11.68 39.66 72 WATKINSVILLE 87 47 67 0.00 0 1.74 6.30 31.07 72 WOODBINE 93 50 71 0.00 0 1.13 8.32 26.26 79 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 National Agricultural Statistics Service. DISTRICT COMMENTS October 8, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Corn silage cutting began this week. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Extremely dry! Peanut harvest is way behind due to delayed maturity. Forage growth has basically stopped due to drought and cool weather. Cattle producers are cutting and baling everything from cornstalks to weeds to peanut hay to make up shortfall in hay production. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Dry and warmer than average temperatures. Needing rain really bad. Small grain planting progressing slowly. Farmers waiting for rain before planting. Still some army worm problems in some pastures and hayfields. Corn and grain sorghum harvest continues. Pond and stream levels remain very low. We have gotten a reprieve of sorts with the weather. the weather has gotten much cooler. Hopefully, this means that we are going to have a sustained period of cooler temperatures. Need rain! Severe drought conditions continue to grip the county. Many dryland fields will definitely be abandoned as potential crop yields have plummeted in the last several weeks. Some farmers are irrigating where they can. Cattle farmers are feeding hay now just like it was the middle of the winter. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Becoming very, very dry. Only 4.7 inches since July 4 and only 1.6 in last 38 days. Continuing high temperatures and dry ground helping cotton but making peanut digging difficult due to hard ground. Peanut grades lower than usual (splits and pops) but yields of cotton and peanuts are not quite as bad as anticipated. Hay will be short, some cattle already culled. No moisture for early planting/grazing of winter annuals. Favorable wheat market has planting intentions going up but we need rain soon. Have not had any rain since September 13. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Dryland peanuts burning up in the field. Yields declining. Most so close to optimum maturity but yet so far. Most shutting down in hull and about 20-14 days early. Irrigated cotton yields better than expected but dryland poor. Some irrigated peanuts varieties showing signs of disease and extreme heat from summer. Not looking as good as we would like. Peg strength weak to poor, a lot of TSWV on supposedly resistant varieties. Very dry for all crops, pastures and hayfields. Nothing being planted due to dry soils. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Dry conditions continue. Peanut crop difficult to dig in hard dry soils. Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.usda.gov/nass/. Media Contact: Douglas G. Kleweno, Director USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga