ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 29, 2006 Issue GA-CW4306 Agricultural Summary October 29, 2006 FALL WEATHER CONDITIONS MOVE IN Colder temperatures, rainfall, and frost had varying affects on Georgia's crop conditions this week, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Daytime highs averaged in the mid 50's during the beginning of the week, but reached the mid 60's by week's end. Nighttime lows dipped into the 20's in some areas. Average low for the week was near 40. Many stations reported light to moderate frost during the beginning of the week. Friday's rainfall totals ranged from 0.3 inches to 2.5 inches. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 8% very short, 28% short, 56% adequate, and 8% surplus. Overnight frosts put bermuda pastures and hayfields into dormancy. The frost, accompanied with previously dry conditions, created hardship for farmers struggling to get a final cutting of hay before winter. Winter hay supplies are short. Some cattlemen have been feeding hay due to poor pasture conditions. Friday's rain delayed small grain planting, but many producers believe it will be beneficial later. The weather has prompted some producers to harvest peanuts and cotton as soon as possible. Peanut grades continued to be low. Producers who left peanuts in the ground hoping to improve yield have experienced inconsistent maturities. Irrigated yields were reported as good, but dryland yields were weak. The pecan harvest has begun and the crop is reported in worse condition than expected. One County Extension Agent reported harvest expectations of less than 30% of normal pecan harvest yield. Next week's forecast calls for dry conditions which will be beneficial for peanuts, cotton, and pecan harvest. Fall squash and zucchini harvest was nearing completion, and onions were transplanted in some fields. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.2 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Oct 29, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Soybeans, Dropping Leaves 90 87 93 91 Soybeans, Harvested 30 22 18 26 Sorghum, Harvested 68 67 55 67 Cotton, Bolls Open 98 97 95 97 Cotton, Harvested 58 48 42 48 Wheat, Planted 16 11 14 17 Wheat, Emerged 6 4 4 8 Apples, Harvested 89 74 84 89 Peanuts, Dug 81 72 95 95 Peanuts, Combined 67 58 78 85 Pecans, Harvested 13 9 9 13 Rye, Planted 55 46 45 55 Other Small Grains, Planted 51 41 40 44 CROP CONDITION October 29, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Soybeans 12 27 41 19 1 Pasture 10 27 41 21 1 Hay 14 30 42 14 0 Pecans 14 38 35 13 0 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL October 29, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 29 8 34 25 4 Dist 1(NW) 28 7 34 29 2 Dist 2(NC) 0 15 49 34 2 Dist 3(NE) 0 12 52 29 7 Dist 4(WC) 5 30 45 20 0 Dist 5(C) 22 35 12 31 0 Dist 6(EC) 14 19 59 8 0 Dist 7(SW) 2 38 37 21 2 Dist 8(SC) 10 37 45 8 0 Dist 9(SE) 12 30 46 12 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 29, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 8 14 10 Short 28 49 31 Adequate* 56 36 52 Surplus 8 1 7 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL October 29, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 2 17 71 10 Dist 2(NC) 0 15 68 17 Dist 3(NE) 1 9 71 19 Dist 4(WC) 1 28 67 4 Dist 5(C) 4 33 56 7 Dist 6(EC) 16 26 58 0 Dist 7(SW) 2 12 68 18 Dist 8(SC) 13 39 46 2 Dist 9(SE) 28 53 19 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 29, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ALBANY 75 37 57 0.92 1 3.00 7.12 40.08 64 ALMA 77 34 58 0.40 1 0.56 5.10 35.27 66 ALPHARETTA 71 29 48 1.75 2 4.06 8.03 36.01 56 ARLINGTON 75 36 55 1.00 2 4.07 10.41 41.15 63 ATTAPULGUS 73 37 57 1.16 2 2.32 9.06 37.29 66 BLAIRSVILLE 69 24 46 1.02 2 3.45 7.76 39.85 59 WILLIAMSON 72 29 50 0.51 5 1.56 5.38 24.30 58 BOWEN 74 35 56 0.47 2 1.24 4.11 29.94 65 BRUNSWICK 77 40 60 1.60 2 2.12 6.59 31.87 71 BYROMVILLE 73 35 54 0.69 2 3.27 6.56 37.11 62 BYRON 74 33 53 1.04 1 2.43 4.57 27.45 61 CAIRO 74 37 57 0.87 2 2.26 5.57 29.14 70 CALHOUN 72 26 48 1.74 1 4.63 8.49 33.68 56 PINE MOUNTAIN 72 30 50 0.83 7 1.25 5.31 30.06 58 CAMILLA 75 35 57 0.54 2 2.34 5.50 38.64 64 CLARKS HILL 74 30 53 1.00 2 1.71 4.64 36.16 59 CORDELE 73 33 54 0.71 2 2.83 5.30 30.12 63 COVINGTON 70 30 51 2.18 2 3.21 6.21 25.52 60 DAHLONEGA 69 27 47 2.43 1 7.73 15.62 38.39 54 DALLAS 87 44 65 0.20 1 3.10 4.36 30.59 71 DAWSON 74 35 55 0.61 1 2.14 6.47 25.93 64 DEARING 73 33 53 0.91 2 1.70 4.28 31.29 63 DEMPSEY 70 30 51 2.50 3 3.10 6.17 26.01 57 DIXIE 76 37 58 1.45 2 3.04 5.02 32.38 66 DUBLIN 74 33 54 0.63 2 3.19 7.47 29.25 63 DULUTH 72 29 49 1.87 1 3.68 7.33 35.46 59 DUNWOODY 70 30 49 1.83 1 3.73 7.69 35.99 57 EATONTON 73 27 51 1.65 1 2.04 3.91 26.49 59 ELBERTON 73 29 51 2.39 1 4.15 8.26 31.59 58 ELLIJAY 67 25 45 1.19 2 4.21 9.52 38.92 55 ROME 70 30 49 1.97 1 5.04 9.08 34.99 58 FORT VALLEY 73 34 53 0.72 1 1.72 2.42 22.10 59 GAINESVILLE 69 33 50 1.37 1 4.45 8.84 30.92 58 GEORGETOWN 73 32 55 1.70 2 3.95 6.93 29.22 62 GRIFFIN 71 33 50 2.17 2 3.10 6.00 27.58 59 HOMERVILLE 78 31 58 0.94 3 2.03 5.33 26.75 67 JONESBORO 73 32 50 1.64 2 2.53 7.75 36.10 59 JACKSONVILLE 73 32 53 0.79 1 1.72 3.98 26.34 62 LAFAYETTE 72 28 49 1.72 2 5.75 11.22 37.42 57 MCRAE 74 30 53 0.54 1 3.66 6.41 30.39 63 MIDVILLE 73 34 55 0.68 1 2.19 4.30 23.95 61 NAHUNTA 79 30 58 0.77 3 1.19 3.64 26.67 68 NEWTON 75 37 56 0.92 2 3.59 8.36 41.41 67 PLAINS 73 36 54 0.65 2 4.85 7.33 41.53 59 SASSER 72 36 55 0.85 1 2.82 5.30 30.04 61 SAVANNAH 78 35 57 0.62 2 1.04 4.03 31.00 67 SHELLMAN 74 38 55 0.00 0 0.00 4.08 24.64 62 SKIDAWAY 73 36 57 0.86 3 1.06 6.84 34.81 64 SNEADS 75 42 60 0.04 4 0.83 3.29 34.87 67 STATESBORO 74 35 55 0.30 1 1.84 5.34 28.20 62 TIFTON 74 36 57 0.34 1 1.14 3.46 29.40 65 TIGER 68 26 46 2.22 1 7.14 14.78 48.80 54 VALDOSTA 77 40 60 1.41 2 3.38 5.16 33.95 69 VIDALIA 74 34 56 0.24 1 2.08 2.91 23.30 64 ROOPVILLE 73 32 50 1.44 2 3.74 10.65 43.08 59 WATKINSVILLE 71 30 51 1.56 1 2.78 6.56 33.85 58 WOODBINE 83 37 59 1.44 2 2.56 7.01 28.82 71 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 29, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Good frosts this week put bermuda pastures and hayfields into dormancy. We have been getting good rain. Around 2.5"-4" last week depending on your location in the county. Heavy rain this week - some small grain planting delayed. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Weather continues to delay peanut harvest. 2+ inches rain received for most of county; some late hay rolled; overseeding pastures. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Heavy frost a couple of mornings this week. Needing rain really bad. Small grain and winter grazing planting continues. Some cattlemen beginning to have to start feeding hay due to very poor pasture conditions. Pond and stream levels continue to get lower. We have enjoyed the cooler temperatures. We have been sparce in terms of rainfall. We had about 2" rain this past Friday. Dry weather continues its hardship on livestock and hay producers. We had 3 days with frost this week, which is two weeks earlier than average. The frost is yet another hardship on many farmers struggling to get a final cutting of hay before winter. Conditions are very bad for livestock and forage producers. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Finally got some rain. Cotton and peanuts being harvested ASAP. Peanut quality grades are not good. Leaving peanuts in the ground so long trying to improve yield made a lot of over and under matures. Might can start sowing winter pasture and wheat. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST .17" rainfall. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Light frost and cold temperatures have growers digging peanuts and picking cotton. Some peanut fields are being dug early due to cold weather. Irrigated yields continue to be good or better than expected and dryland yields are weak. Need rain to germinate or to plant small grains for winter grazing by cattle. Hay is already in short supply. Drought continues. Rain will aid in planting small grains. Scattered showers have allowed us to plant winter grains and forages. Pecan harvest has started, the crop is way worse than we thought. We will have less than 30% of a normal pecan harvest yield. Cloudy and rainy forcast will hold up harvest of peanuts, cotton, and pecans. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Onions being transplanted on a few acres; cotton and peanut harvest 3/4 completed; fall squash and zucchini winding down. Dry conditions hinder peanut digging and small grain planting. 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