ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 5, 2008 Issue GA-CW1808 Agricultural Summary May 5, 2008 LITTLE MOISTURE Dry conditions continue for much of Georgia, with little to no rainfall according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Daily average high temperatures fluctuated between the high-60's and high-80's. Average lows were in the 50's most of the week. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 7% very short, 42% short, 50% adequate, and 1% surplus. Soil moisture vanished faster than it appeared, with ponds not having the opportunity to re-charge. The below normal cold temperatures mid-week caused light frost in some areas. Farmers irrigated wheat, oats, corn and watermelon this week. Cattle producers continue to feed supplemental hay as grass continued to be in short supply. Where grass was available, cattle began to gain weight. Some hay producers cut their first cutting of hay. Corn planting was near completion. Other activities included applying poultry litter and spreading chemicals and fertilizer. Cotton stands, tobacco transplants and corn were looking good due to light and timely rains. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 05/04/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Planted : 97 92 93 93 Corn Emerged : 90 80 85 86 Soybeans Planted : 7 3 4 8 Soybeans Emerged : 3 0 2 3 Sorghum Planted : 27 19 16 19 Cotton Planted : 15 6 9 20 Winter Wheat Headed : 95 83 95 92 Onions Harvested : 29 21 30 30 Peaches Harvested : 0 NA 1 1 Peanuts Planted : 7 2 4 7 Tobacco Transplanted : 94 78 89 94 Watermelons Planted : 94 91 91 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 05/04/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 0 3 27 66 4 Winter Wheat : 0 3 22 52 23 Range and Pasture : 3 10 42 43 2 Apples : 0 0 9 24 67 Hay : 2 8 44 44 2 Onions : 0 0 12 81 7 Peaches : 8 12 18 62 0 Tobacco : 0 3 21 63 13 Watermelons : 0 1 26 67 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 05/04/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 7 6 12 Short : 42 39 27 Adequate : 50 52 53 Surplus : 1 3 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 05/04/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 8 25 66 1 District 2 (NC) : 3 31 63 3 District 3 (NE) : 5 35 60 0 District 4 (WC) : 4 43 53 0 District 5 (C) : 9 48 43 0 District 6 (EC) : 11 42 47 0 District 7 (SW) : 12 49 37 2 District 8 (SC) : 4 46 50 0 District 9 (SE) : 3 39 58 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. Pasture Condition for Week Ending 05/04/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 0 12 51 37 0 District 2 (NC) : 0 2 18 69 11 District 3 (NE) : 4 11 51 33 1 District 4 (WC) : 8 8 43 41 0 District 5 (C) : 12 20 38 30 0 District 6 (EC) : 4 3 55 38 0 District 7 (SW) : 0 12 44 40 4 District 8 (SC) : 0 6 39 55 0 District 9 (SE) : 6 16 35 39 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. Weather Summary for Week Ending 05/04/08, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:---------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day : Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albany : 86 44 68 0.43 2 2.42 5.02 15.15 75 Alma : 85 45 67 0.53 1 3.39 5.80 15.16 70 Alpharetta : 83 37 62 0.61 3 2.56 6.26 16.95 66 Arlington : 86 42 65 0.52 2 1.89 3.48 12.90 70 Attapulgus : 84 42 65 0.66 2 4.34 7.86 22.94 74 Blairsville : 68 19 40 1.05 4 4.52 9.19 9.19 46 Williamson : 72 22 48 0.78 1 3.25 8.02 8.02 50 Bowen : 85 43 67 0.27 1 1.44 4.12 12.54 75 Brunswick : 83 47 68 0.34 1 1.07 4.00 11.32 71 Byromville : 85 41 66 0.21 1 2.88 5.63 15.46 70 Byron : 83 40 64 0.77 1 2.91 5.32 16.18 68 Cairo : 84 44 67 0.17 2 3.80 6.46 21.43 70 Calhoun : 81 33 60 0.46 2 2.28 6.60 14.07 67 Pine Mountain : 81 35 62 0.12 2 2.59 4.40 14.89 67 Camilla : 85 42 67 0.25 2 2.82 6.69 21.00 74 Clarks Hill : 84 38 63 0.44 1 1.77 5.40 14.03 69 Cordele : 85 43 67 0.73 1 2.77 5.94 15.45 70 Covington : 81 38 63 0.17 1 1.86 5.96 12.87 66 Dahlonega : 78 34 59 0.72 2 2.31 6.98 19.25 63 Dallas : 81 36 62 0.30 2 2.43 6.72 15.22 65 Dawson : 84 42 65 0.85 2 3.14 5.29 15.16 71 Dearing : 85 42 65 0.30 1 2.52 6.74 16.94 68 Dempsey : 82 36 63 0.17 2 2.14 3.73 10.35 69 Dixie : 85 43 67 0.18 1 2.27 4.48 18.33 74 Dublin : 85 40 65 0.37 1 1.58 5.33 15.26 70 Duluth : 82 36 61 0.48 2 2.51 6.52 15.20 65 Dunwoody : 82 38 62 0.61 2 2.91 7.24 16.38 64 Eatonton : 83 34 62 0.13 1 2.07 6.19 16.28 68 Elberton : 84 41 64 0.32 1 2.23 5.63 13.57 68 Ellijay : 79 32 58 0.68 2 2.83 6.29 13.03 65 Rome : 73 19 45 0.75 2 3.38 6.33 6.33 47 Fort Valley : 83 42 64 0.64 3 2.57 4.50 14.04 68 Gainesville : 80 39 62 0.47 2 1.92 7.16 17.12 67 Georgetown : 85 37 65 0.42 3 4.04 5.41 18.76 71 Homerville : 87 40 66 0.35 1 6.04 8.94 20.37 72 Jonesboro : 82 38 63 0.23 2 2.37 6.29 14.21 66 Jeffersonville : 84 40 64 0.41 1 2.91 5.02 16.65 69 Lafayette : 81 32 60 0.53 2 3.18 8.15 18.27 65 McRae : 85 39 65 0.19 1 3.08 5.97 17.45 71 Midville : 72 27 49 0.76 1 4.94 8.77 8.77 53 Newton : 85 42 66 0.32 3 1.94 5.00 15.89 75 Plains : 72 24 49 0.51 1 4.05 9.30 9.30 52 Sasser : 32 32 32 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 32 Savannah : 88 40 66 0.20 1 1.00 3.04 9.23 71 Skidaway : 82 43 66 0.31 3 1.03 3.03 11.15 68 Sneads : 84 53 69 0.44 2 3.37 6.35 21.96 74 Statesboro : 85 42 66 0.15 1 2.87 7.45 16.81 72 Tiger : 77 32 57 1.48 2 3.18 8.97 21.25 63 Valdosta : 86 49 69 0.32 1 3.33 4.35 17.15 70 Vidalia : 85 43 67 0.05 1 1.50 3.78 14.03 71 Roopville : 81 38 61 0.35 3 3.36 7.53 17.13 67 Watkinsville : 80 38 63 0.33 1 3.06 5.86 13.45 67 Woodbine : 87 42 66 0.56 1 3.10 6.95 14.82 72 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *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 May 4, 2008 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Good rainfall on Saturday. It had become extremely dry once again. Earlier rains helped but ponds are beginning to go dry once more, especially the watershed ponds. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL No comments available. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Need rain! Hay equipment preparation and some baling of ryegrass, oats, and clover. Hay being fed; pastures are slow to do anything; soil moisture vanishes faster than it appears; ponds have not re-charged. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Needing rain! Had some cold morning temperatures mid-week. Some light frost in some areas. Corn planting nearing completion. Pasture and hayfield conditions improving slightly. Some hay producers cutting their first cutting of hay. We received 0.20 inches of rain on Sunday and 0.91 inches on Monday. We have begun planting of some crops. overall conditions are looking fairly good in the county. Farmers irrigated wheat, oats, corn, and watermelons this week. Cattle farmers are still feeding hay due to the lack of grazing. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Losing soil moisture rapidly just as cotton planting has begun. A few early soybeans, MG IV and V have been planted but most will be later groups planted in late May. Wheat disease threat is over and crop looks very good. Probably enough moisture to make good yield even if May is dry. Cattle putting on weight as grass comes out, still too cool at night for a lot of Bermuda growth. Most corn reaching V4-V6 stage. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Received 0.40" of rainfall. Peanut planting increased. No problems with wheat crop (aphid population slight increase). Cotton stands look good due to light but timely rains. Peanut planting delayed this week due to cold front with below normal temperatures. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Dry and need rainfall. Wheat yields are being hurt by drought. Tobacco transplants look good but need rain. No TSWV as of yet. Planting cotton and preparing land to plant. Applying poultry litter and spreading chemicals and fertilizer. Some side dressing tobacco. Much dryland cotton and peanut land has been planted over the past week. Soil moisture was good, so farmers planted with the anticipation that: (a)it would rain and planting might be delayed for a few days or (b)it would not rain and stand establishment would be difficult. It didn't rain. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Rain needed for pastures and hay fields and row crops.