ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date July 28, 2008 Issue GA-CW3008 Agricultural Summary July 28, 2008 SCATTERED SHOWERS CONTINUED Widely scattered showers were beneficial for crops and pastures, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Daily average high temperatures fluctuated between the high 80's and low 90's. Average lows were in the high 60's most of week. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 16% very short, 40% short, 42% adequate, and 2% surplus. Rain helped improve soil moisture conditions and prevented crop conditions from deteriorating. Pasture and hayfield conditions improved as a result of the showers. A high number of armyworms have been reported in some fields of hay. Some farmers predict corn yeilds may decrease as a result of stink bugs and heat damage. Other activities included irrigating crops, as needed, and controlling crop insect damage. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 07/27/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Dough : 90 81 87 90 Corn Dent : 67 52 65 69 Corn Mature : 16 6 21 24 Soybeans Blooming : 52 38 39 57 Soybeans Setting Pods : 15 8 14 27 Sorghum Planted : 96 93 99 100 Cotton Squaring : 93 87 86 95 Cotton Setting Bolls : 66 52 50 73 Apples Harvested : 1 1 1 4 Peaches Harvested : 80 69 89 82 Peanuts Blooming : 97 93 91 97 Peanuts Pegging : 84 72 85 90 Tobacco Harvested : 26 18 30 37 Watermelons Harvested : 94 90 94 94 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 07/27/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 7 16 32 37 8 Soybeans : 7 15 41 34 3 Sorghum : 4 11 47 38 0 Cotton : 4 10 36 41 9 Range and Pasture : 13 25 36 25 1 Apples : 0 0 18 23 59 Hay : 12 27 39 21 1 Peanuts : 1 6 32 49 12 Pecans : 1 8 40 45 6 Tobacco : 1 6 25 51 17 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 07/27/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 16 17 11 Short : 40 39 27 Adequate : 42 43 51 Surplus : 2 1 11 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 07/27/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 10 41 44 5 District 2 (NC) : 14 53 33 0 District 3 (NE) : 39 32 28 0 District 4 (WC) : 16 34 47 3 District 5 (C) : 18 55 27 0 District 6 (EC) : 28 38 34 0 District 7 (SW) : 5 29 59 7 District 8 (SC) : 9 35 51 5 District 9 (SE) : 17 28 54 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. Pasture Condition for Week Ending 07/27/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 4 10 48 38 0 District 2 (NC) : 14 32 31 22 1 District 3 (NE) : 42 27 30 1 0 District 4 (WC) : 5 32 45 18 0 District 5 (C) : 16 33 37 13 1 District 6 (EC) : 25 39 20 16 0 District 7 (SW) : 3 22 34 36 5 District 8 (SC) : 1 10 41 42 6 District 9 (SE) : 4 16 29 51 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 Summary for Week Ending 07/27/08, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:---------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day : Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albany : 99 71 83 2.34 2 5.50 9.26 25.09 89 Alma : 98 71 81 0.27 3 3.06 4.36 23.86 83 Alpharetta : 97 63 78 0.09 3 2.41 3.62 23.49 82 Arlington : 98 66 81 0.04 1 2.05 2.38 18.52 86 Attapulgus : 97 69 81 0.52 1 7.16 9.90 34.47 89 Blairsville : 83 55 72 0.20 1 4.24 5.23 26.61 77 Williamson : 97 62 79 0.04 1 2.22 5.07 22.03 84 Bowen : 97 70 81 0.00 0 1.84 5.83 18.80 89 Brunswick : 98 71 80 2.52 4 6.08 8.05 22.16 82 Byromville : 98 67 81 5.03 2 9.72 9.89 29.01 84 Byron : 101 66 80 1.05 2 4.77 7.29 24.79 84 Cairo : 97 71 81 0.64 3 6.20 10.10 34.45 83 Calhoun : 99 60 77 0.22 2 2.41 5.07 22.14 83 Pine Mountain : 97 63 77 0.33 2 4.21 4.95 22.57 81 Camilla : 96 67 80 0.18 2 3.46 8.41 31.40 88 Clarks Hill : 101 62 80 0.66 2 2.12 2.78 18.58 86 Cordele : 97 67 80 0.63 2 1.51 2.67 20.31 86 Covington : 99 67 80 0.01 1 1.68 2.90 18.13 81 Dahlonega : 93 60 76 0.57 1 5.51 8.03 30.54 81 Dallas : 97 63 78 0.28 2 4.75 5.62 23.40 81 Dawson : 96 69 81 0.35 2 8.45 10.55 26.81 84 Dearing : 100 68 81 0.29 3 2.67 3.37 23.12 83 Dempsey : 97 64 78 0.14 2 3.93 5.22 17.85 82 Dixie : 97 67 80 0.12 2 3.78 7.29 26.65 86 Dublin : 101 67 82 0.00 0 1.63 5.47 23.01 85 Duluth : 96 60 77 0.15 2 2.55 5.90 24.45 80 Dunwoody : 95 64 79 0.53 2 5.22 7.21 26.43 80 Eatonton : 98 62 78 1.39 2 6.20 7.64 27.81 80 Elberton : 101 67 81 0.73 1 4.76 5.64 21.91 83 Ellijay : 93 57 74 1.31 1 8.28 9.68 32.22 80 Rome : 98 63 78 0.92 3 2.86 4.83 21.86 84 Fort Valley : 100 68 81 2.01 2 5.35 6.96 22.73 82 Gainesville : 97 65 79 0.68 1 3.55 4.61 24.34 87 Georgetown : 98 65 81 0.23 1 3.76 4.84 23.82 88 Griffin : 96 65 79 0.23 2 3.72 4.86 20.30 81 Homerville : 99 69 80 0.18 4 3.29 6.65 28.35 84 Jonesboro : 97 64 79 0.05 1 5.06 6.27 21.96 83 Jeffersonville : 100 66 80 1.03 4 2.81 4.93 24.76 85 Lafayette : 99 58 76 1.52 2 3.28 4.28 24.63 80 McRae : 102 65 81 0.67 2 4.47 5.19 25.54 86 Midville : 98 69 81 0.00 0 4.18 4.75 24.77 85 Nahunta : 99 66 79 0.39 7 3.44 6.00 19.63 84 Newton : 100 69 82 0.42 2 2.87 4.23 20.60 88 Plains : 96 66 79 0.35 2 3.52 5.41 23.37 85 Savannah : 100 71 81 0.49 3 2.83 4.11 15.15 83 Skidaway : 98 72 80 1.52 3 4.36 10.08 23.37 81 Sneads : 96 74 83 0.04 2 6.86 8.57 31.80 88 Statesboro : 99 61 79 0.04 2 3.98 6.15 24.39 86 Tifton : 96 70 81 0.00 0 2.62 4.64 23.82 82 Tiger : 93 56 73 1.41 2 4.07 5.44 30.09 80 Valdosta : 99 72 82 0.39 3 4.20 6.74 25.23 82 Vidalia : 101 69 81 1.19 1 6.66 8.58 24.31 85 Roopville : 99 64 79 0.74 2 3.70 4.74 24.99 84 Watkinsville : 99 65 79 0.29 1 3.04 4.94 20.93 84 Woodbine : 98 70 79 2.12 4 10.74 14.26 31.74 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 July 27, 2008 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST It has once again become extremely dry. There has been scattered showers but the scattered showers have been short rain fall. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Rain this week improved soil moisture conditions. Most corn is now tasseling and adequate rain is needed. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Scattered thunder showers (1/2 to 9/10 in.) kept situation from deteriorating. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Scattered rainfall has helped improve crop conditions, especially forages. Two weeks since last appreciable rainfall, the brief relief was just that, brief. Dry and hot is leading to rapidly deteriorating conditions. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Some light showers this week and very hot! We received 0.67 inch of rainfall during the past week and 4.25 for the month. Continues to dry and hot. Rains continue to miss most of the county. Scattered light showers have fallen. Haying continues on hay fields. Quantity is low. Praying for rain! July rains have improved pasture and hay conditions. Many farmers were late getting their first Bermuda hay cutting. Now many are working on growing their second cutting. Getting reports of armyworms in a few fields of hay in the county. Some have reported heavy damage already. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Getting spotty rains, heavy in places. Next 10-15 days will "tell the tale" on all dry land crops. Some cotton, in driest fields, approaching cut-out. Cattle are "limping along" with low feed and low prices. Corn yield will be down primarily due to stink bug and heat damage during pollination/silking along with averaging in dry land corn that didn't even try to make ears. Crop conditions continue to deteriorate. Scattered showers have been extremely spotty. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Scattered showers over 85 % of the county the past week. Crop and pasture conditions continue to improve. We have received some rain over almost all of the county. The northern part of the county had been without any appreciable rain for a significant period. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Afternoon showers are helping but need a weather front. Some parts of county suffering due to lack of rainfall. Peanuts getting worms and diseases showing up. Cotton is vulnerable to the stink bug and worms. Corn yields will be down 10-15% due to high heat and drought. Tobacco TSWV was about 8% or less on treated plants and about 18% on untreated plants. Tobacco harvest is cranking up big time. Fuel cost to cure is cutting into profits. Cutting and baling hay between showers. We have been receiving spotty rain showers during this reporting period! This has been good for our producers in the county, this has been two weeks in a row with spotty rain showers. Dryland cotton needs more rainfall. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST No comments available.