ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date August 5, 2007 Issue GA-CW3107 Agricultural Summary August 6, 2007 CONSISTENT RAINFALL NEEDED Weather conditions were hot and humid this week, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Average high temperatures were in the 90's most of the week. Low temperatures averaged in the upper 60's and lower 70's. Southeast and south central Georgia received significant rainfall this week. Most of the remaining areas received only light scattered showers. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 11% very short, 43% short, 44% adequate, and 2% surplus. Afternoon thunderstorms continued to provide some relief to farmers. However, with the increase in temperatures, crops in some areas were already showing signs of stress. Conditions will deteriorate rapidly without consistent rainfall. Farmers were cutting and baling hay. Although quality and yield were down considerably, early expectations were exceeded. The corn harvest was underway. Good yields were expected for irrigated corn. The vegetable harvest continued to go well. Frequent rain showers in July resulted in increased disease pressure in vineyards. Lesser cornstalk borers were severely damaging late planted sorghum. Other activities included picking tobacco, side dressing cotton with nitrogen, spraying peanuts with fungicides, irrigating crops, and feeding hay to livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 08/05/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Dough : 93 89 98 97 Corn Dent : 79 69 90 85 Corn Mature : 38 25 64 54 Soybeans Blooming : 57 43 77 77 Soybeans Setting Pods : 27 16 47 50 Cotton Squaring : 96 89 100 100 Cotton Setting Bolls : 72 55 96 91 Cotton Bolls Opening : 0 NA 3 3 Apples Harvested : 4 1 11 9 Peaches Harvested : 93 90 86 92 Peanuts Pegging : 89 86 97 98 Tobacco Harvested : 41 32 59 56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 08/05/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 15 20 29 31 5 Soybeans : 2 11 43 39 5 Sorghum : 9 8 46 35 2 Cotton : 3 11 37 40 9 Range and Pasture : 14 29 34 22 1 Apples : 35 15 44 6 0 Hay : 18 24 33 23 2 Peanuts : 3 9 37 43 8 Pecans : 11 15 32 36 6 Tobacco : 1 7 35 48 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 08/05/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 11 12 11 Short : 43 37 30 Adequate : 44 49 48 Surplus : 2 2 11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 08/05/07, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 32 54 14 0 District 2 (NC) : 6 53 41 0 District 3 (NE) : 26 44 26 4 District 4 (WC) : 29 49 22 0 District 5 (C) : 5 57 36 2 District 6 (EC) : 6 49 45 0 District 7 (SW) : 13 38 47 2 District 8 (SC) : 5 29 60 6 District 9 (SE) : 2 15 78 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. Pasture Condition for Week Ending 08/05/07, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 42 45 21 12 0 District 2 (NC) : 2 20 54 23 1 District 3 (NE) : 28 52 12 8 0 District 4 (WC) : 11 45 31 12 1 District 5 (C) : 15 29 39 14 3 District 6 (EC) : 6 31 37 26 0 District 7 (SW) : 26 17 34 20 3 District 8 (SC) : 1 19 39 39 2 District 9 (SE) : 0 9 35 55 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 Summary for Week Ending 08/05/07, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:---------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day : Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albany : 99 72 83 0.01 1 3.13 7.09 21.63 91 Alma : 95 71 79 3.52 3 9.02 10.58 20.55 82 Alpharetta : 95 66 80 0.01 1 2.66 6.19 18.99 82 Arlington : 97 70 80 0.24 4 4.38 7.54 21.81 84 Attapulgus : 95 71 79 1.81 4 3.89 6.37 14.11 85 Blairsville : 89 59 73 2.54 5 7.07 12.66 24.05 78 Williamson : 95 65 79 0.00 0 5.18 8.09 21.36 83 Bowen : 96 70 80 0.07 3 1.87 3.69 15.64 91 Brunswick : 97 73 80 4.09 3 7.17 10.66 22.01 81 Byromville : 97 68 81 0.11 2 3.30 6.71 19.70 85 Byron : 97 67 80 0.02 1 2.29 6.96 19.48 83 Cairo : 96 72 80 0.88 5 5.56 10.46 20.07 81 Calhoun : 94 65 78 0.83 4 3.59 6.57 15.01 81 Pine Mountain : 97 68 80 0.00 0 2.43 7.27 23.89 83 Camilla : 96 71 81 0.07 2 5.41 8.14 20.64 86 Clarks Hill : 98 65 79 1.02 2 2.18 4.24 17.57 83 Cordele : 97 68 81 0.53 2 4.92 8.45 21.02 85 Covington : 96 67 80 0.15 1 4.19 7.49 20.58 83 Dahlonega : 91 62 75 0.74 4 2.25 6.20 21.29 80 Dallas : 94 68 80 0.00 0 5.56 7.58 19.29 82 Dawson : 99 69 82 0.16 1 1.91 3.66 14.67 84 Dearing : 98 68 80 0.21 1 2.86 4.49 17.72 82 Dempsey : 96 67 80 0.00 0 2.82 4.55 15.89 85 Dixie : 95 70 78 2.67 5 11.09 17.11 28.22 86 Dublin : 96 68 80 0.00 0 1.77 5.19 26.65 84 Duluth : 95 67 79 0.00 0 4.82 7.79 21.93 81 Dunwoody : 93 68 79 0.00 0 7.60 10.54 23.10 82 Eatonton : 97 66 79 0.58 1 5.86 7.96 20.71 84 Elberton : 101 65 81 0.03 1 1.67 3.20 20.28 82 Ellijay : 90 62 75 1.08 4 3.67 5.80 16.51 80 Rome : 96 67 80 0.12 1 2.24 7.73 14.82 82 Fort Valley : 98 68 82 0.19 1 2.28 7.21 16.31 87 Gainesville : 94 68 79 0.02 2 2.93 7.29 18.03 84 Georgetown : 96 70 81 2.20 2 6.09 9.38 26.02 86 Griffin : 95 68 80 0.00 0 4.12 7.17 18.73 82 Homerville : 97 69 79 1.98 4 6.93 11.35 23.02 82 Jonesboro : 98 68 81 0.05 1 2.12 4.65 17.25 84 Jeffersonville : 98 66 80 0.34 1 2.43 5.62 22.46 86 Lafayette : 94 66 78 0.94 2 4.30 5.42 16.67 81 McRae : 99 65 80 0.03 2 2.31 4.65 20.64 86 Midville : 98 69 79 0.14 1 2.37 6.89 21.66 84 Newton : 97 71 81 1.25 3 2.71 3.74 17.46 87 Plains : 98 68 81 0.17 1 2.91 8.64 20.51 86 Sasser : 96 69 80 0.13 1 4.93 8.38 22.32 83 Savannah : 97 71 79 2.07 5 4.47 8.89 21.76 83 Skidaway : 96 68 78 6.54 3 10.73 14.47 26.22 80 Sneads : 94 71 81 0.00 0 1.74 2.99 10.03 85 Statesboro : 95 69 78 1.02 4 5.39 8.63 25.26 83 Tifton : 95 71 80 0.31 2 2.76 5.76 17.52 83 Tiger : 91 61 73 1.55 5 5.12 12.63 31.86 80 Valdosta : 95 72 79 2.62 5 5.90 10.70 23.79 81 Vidalia : 97 70 79 1.72 4 6.46 10.70 27.23 83 Roopville : 97 67 80 0.15 1 4.57 8.85 20.69 84 Watkinsville : 97 67 80 0.00 0 2.61 4.06 17.65 83 Woodbine : 97 71 79 4.63 2 8.82 11.77 26.48 83 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Weather data are supplied by the 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 at www.georgiaweather.net. DISTRICT COMMENTS August 5, 2007 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Vegetable harvest continues to go well; afternoon thunderstorms have provided some relief to pastures & hayfields. Rain showers continued to improve soil moisture situation resulting in a marked improvement in our late planted corn - frequent showers are resulting in increased disease pressure in vineyards. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Rain hampering hay operations. We're finally getting the grass to grow, but afternoon showers eliminate the chance for putting up quality hay. Recent thundershowers have improved conditions in western and southern parts of the county. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Some parts of county received 5 inches of rain and 2 inches in others. Hay fields are being cut now. Hay yield, while still below normal, looks much better than first cutting. A week of hot temperatures and very little rainfall has caused a lot of crop stress. The first hay cutting is almost complete. Lot of activity cutting and baling hay. First cut on Bermuda grass finally. Yields are down considerably and are running 1.0 to 1.5 tons/acre. Pastures have rebounded nicely but the rains that turned it around seem to have left and dry conditions are returning and soil moisture is declining rapidly. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Very hot and humid! No rain to speak of this week. Pasture and hayfield conditions will start declining if we don't get rain soon. Hay feeding continues for some livestock due to poor pasture conditions. Despite the recent rains we still are very dry in certain areas of the county. Another sustained rain cycle would definitely help us. Extreme heat taking toll on pastures and hay fields. Few spotty rains since a week ago. Drought stress taking hold again after a rainy July. Heat stress on livestock apparent this week. Hay stocks are terribly short. The first cutting of hay is coming off now. Quality is low as most of the stands have necessarily been cut at late maturity. Nitrate levels are also running very high in hay which has been cut so far. Excessive nitrate levels will limit usefulness of existing hay. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Will lose soil moisture quickly this week with highs at 100 degrees. Good boll retention on early cotton, later cotton threw off bolls during wet/dry periods. Corn harvest getting underway with good yields expected. Peanuts doing well as we enter higher level of water requirement. MGIV & MGV soybeans being sprayed with dismilin/boron plus fungicide for "yield boost". Good haying weather for sorghum-sudan/millet baling. Hot, hot, and dry. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Irrigation increased due to rain shortage. Hay supply remains short. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Getting much needed showers today. Major jobs included picking tobacco and harvesting hay. Side dressing cotton with nitrogen. Spraying peanuts with fungicides. Corn harvest underway until today's rainfall. Crop looks good if we just have enough time to make and Mother Nature cooperates. Corn harvest underway. Good yields in irrigated fields. Scattered showers many areas in need of significant rainfall event. Lesser cornstalk borers are severely damaging late planted sorghum. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST No comments available.