ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date September 1, 2008 Issue GA-CW3508 Agricultural Summary September 2, 2008 BENEFICIAL RAIN Rains provided relief to much of the State, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Daily average high temperatures were in the high 80's. Average lows were in the 70's most of week. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 3% very short, 9% short, 62% adequate, and 26% surplus. Much needed rain helped to improve crop conditions and top soil moisture. Corn, cotton and pecans suffered wind damage from the tropical storm Fay. Boll rot has been reported in cotton due to the continued wetness. Some farmers have been concerned about disease in peanuts. Pasture and hay conditions improved slightly from the rain. Other activities included applying fungicides and spraying for insects in peanuts. County Extension Agents reported an average of 3.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 08/31/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Mature : 92 84 89 93 Corn Harvested for Grain : 42 27 48 49 Soybeans Blooming : 94 90 96 98 Soybeans Setting Pods : 79 68 75 87 Soybeans Dropping Leaves : 2 0 2 7 Sorghum Harvested : 25 23 5 20 Cotton Bolls Opening : 19 11 19 27 Apples Harvested : 11 9 12 17 Tobacco Harvested : 71 64 74 88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 08/31/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 9 21 33 32 5 Soybeans : 4 12 45 35 4 Sorghum : 4 10 35 49 2 Cotton : 4 10 36 43 7 Range and Pasture : 8 15 38 37 2 Apples : 0 4 13 24 59 Hay : 7 18 45 28 2 Peanuts : 1 7 33 48 11 Pecans : 4 14 43 36 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 08/31/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 3 17 9 Short : 9 24 27 Adequate : 62 40 56 Surplus : 26 19 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 08/31/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 7 20 66 7 District 2 (NC) : 0 15 80 5 District 3 (NE) : 7 32 61 0 District 4 (WC) : 0 3 67 30 District 5 (C) : 0 8 75 17 District 6 (EC) : 17 15 63 5 District 7 (SW) : 0 3 38 59 District 8 (SC) : 0 1 52 47 District 9 (SE) : 0 1 64 35 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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 08/31/08, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 7 14 40 39 0 District 2 (NC) : 4 25 43 27 1 District 3 (NE) : 39 36 23 2 0 District 4 (WC) : 2 13 41 43 1 District 5 (C) : 5 19 44 30 2 District 6 (EC) : 16 14 48 22 0 District 7 (SW) : 1 5 32 53 9 District 8 (SC) : 0 6 36 57 1 District 9 (SE) : 0 1 30 65 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 08/31/08, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:-------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day:Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alapaha 90 71 80 0.02 2 7.99 12.39 32.86 81 Albany 90 73 82 1.46 4 13.23 17.78 38.41 84 Alma 91 74 82 0.16 2 7.00 12.31 34.04 81 Alpharetta 85 68 78 2.80 3 4.48 6.22 28.11 78 Arabi 85 67 76 0.46 3 6.41 9.47 30.47 82 Arlington 89 70 79 2.10 3 4.27 6.75 23.22 81 Atlanta 84 70 77 1.45 2 2.97 6.69 24.94 N/A Attapulgus 89 72 81 1.00 3 22.48 28.58 58.79 82 Baxley 89 72 81 1.11 3 8.69 15.26 35.12 84 Blairsville 79 48 63 3.30 3 4.43 8.43 31.52 75 Blue Ridge 82 64 73 4.44 4 4.66 10.94 36.94 76 Brunswick 88 73 80 0.22 3 8.24 13.87 30.97 83 Byromville 84 71 80 2.64 3 9.14 17.33 38.53 81 Byron 87 70 78 1.55 5 6.05 9.44 31.00 79 Cairo 89 73 81 1.15 4 18.96 21.61 54.30 80 Calhoun 86 65 75 3.39 3 5.78 8.68 28.77 78 Camilla 89 72 80 0.96 2 14.52 17.87 47.48 83 Clarks Hill 89 68 79 0.71 4 2.18 4.59 21.74 82 Cordele 88 69 78 0.33 2 5.49 7.10 25.92 81 Covington 85 69 77 1.47 3 2.63 6.73 23.39 78 Dahlonega 82 64 73 9.93 4 11.26 16.28 42.92 75 Dallas 85 67 76 2.23 3 4.43 10.30 29.21 78 Danielsville 85 69 77 2.75 4 3.13 5.61 23.30 81 Dawson 87 71 79 2.16 3 14.45 21.19 41.72 81 Dearing 89 70 80 1.44 3 5.14 9.20 30.47 81 Dixie 88 69 78 0.17 2 12.86 16.91 41.83 82 Douglas 89 72 81 0.32 2 5.35 11.84 31.15 82 Dublin 89 71 80 0.86 4 7.35 8.45 30.39 82 Dunwoody 85 67 76 5.24 3 6.52 11.55 33.16 77 Eatonton 86 68 77 1.74 3 3.32 8.84 31.58 79 Elberton 88 69 79 1.74 3 3.92 9.19 26.59 79 Ellijay 82 63 73 3.86 3 4.13 11.58 37.12 77 Ft Valley 87 70 79 1.89 5 7.61 13.12 31.08 79 Gainesville 84 68 76 6.23 3 7.34 10.60 31.74 79 Georgetown 87 70 78 0.78 2 12.50 16.26 36.88 81 Griffin 84 69 76 2.86 3 5.43 8.18 26.35 78 Hatley 88 72 80 0.28 3 6.67 10.15 26.61 81 Homerville 92 71 81 1.02 3 9.94 15.13 40.96 83 Jeffersonville 87 70 78 2.26 3 6.13 8.46 31.02 81 Johns Creek 84 64 74 2.46 4 4.26 7.18 29.38 78 Jonesboro 86 69 77 2.24 3 3.75 9.16 27.45 80 Lafayette 85 66 75 5.81 3 6.46 10.28 32.50 77 Lake Seminole 88 75 81 1.60 3 11.05 20.59 48.43 82 Mcrae 90 71 80 0.24 2 9.00 13.01 34.65 83 Midville 89 71 80 2.20 4 6.31 10.69 31.47 82 Moultrie 88 73 81 0.31 2 6.96 11.58 34.57 82 Nahunta 90 70 80 0.19 1 12.73 12.65 29.81 83 Newton 90 72 81 1.01 2 15.99 19.84 38.80 83 Odum 91 72 82 0.30 2 7.72 11.94 14.23 87 Ossabaw 90 76 83 0.20 1 7.05 12.02 29.36 87 Pine Mountain 86 68 77 1.49 3 8.33 12.06 30.98 79 Plains 85 70 77 2.54 2 11.77 14.53 35.43 79 Roopville 85 68 77 3.46 3 5.50 8.76 31.91 78 Rome 86 68 77 2.42 3 4.39 8.52 27.69 82 Sasser 88 71 80 1.30 3 10.97 15.48 18.69 80 Savannah 92 74 83 0.01 1 9.44 14.93 27.76 84 Shellman 87 71 79 3.77 3 12.19 15.02 37.83 82 Skidaway 88 76 82 0.07 4 6.40 10.47 30.23 82 Sparta 87 68 77 1.64 3 4.05 9.94 18.37 81 Statesboro 90 73 81 0.10 7 2.02 6.03 27.09 85 Tennille 88 70 79 0.81 4 5.12 9.80 30.25 81 Tifton 88 72 80 0.70 3 12.32 15.63 37.19 85 Tiger 80 63 72 10.39 5 10.90 15.19 41.65 76 Ty Ty 89 73 81 0.18 3 10.67 14.19 34.47 83 Unadilla 88 71 79 1.12 4 6.05 8.37 24.39 80 Valdosta 91 74 82 0.70 1 11.48 15.51 39.00 81 Vienna 88 72 80 0.48 4 5.13 9.46 27.67 80 Vidalia 91 74 82 0.13 2 9.40 16.06 33.84 82 Wat-UGA 84 69 77 1.11 4 1.65 4.98 21.08 78 Williamson 85 68 76 1.42 3 4.54 6.72 27.66 79 Woodbine 90 73 82 0.68 3 8.74 20.54 42.97 84 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *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 31, 2008 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Received 7+ inches of slow rain this past week. We received a little more than 3.5 inches over 3 days during the early part of this week. It was much needed, an area wide type rain, and slow enough to really soak in. Just what the doctor ordered. We are truly thankful and the weekly outlook forecast looks promising too. It has come at a critical time. 4" to 6" improved soil moisture. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Heavy rain this week from Tropical Storm Faye - up to 10.4 inches fell in parts of the county - many trees down but crop damage appears minor - rain improved overall crop conditions with the exception of commercial grapes - grape harvest delayed due to rain DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST 2-5 inches of rain certainly helped. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Spots in the county have received 5 inches of rain. A good rain, 3+ inches, over most of county has provided considerable soil recharge along with most ponds seeing some fill. Forage condition was weak prior to; soybeans good to fair. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Welcome rain! Most areas of the county had 2-3 inches. Some areas had more. Pasture and hayfield conditions improving due to the rain. Rain slowed corn harvest. We have received 1.73 of rainfall over the past 7 days which is our longest sustained rainfall in a while. This should impact our pastures quite well and our hay producers should get in a good cutting or two. The county has gotten between 4 and 5 inches of rain with Tropical Storm Fay and the recent storm bands. This rain has been very beneficial to pastures and hayfields. The rains from Tropical Storm Fay improved pasture and crop conditions. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Lost some dryland soybean and forage sorghum fields to lesser cornstalk borers. Just occasional sprays for insects (3 cornered leafhoppers) in peanuts while applying fungicide. Finding a few VBC's in soybeans but very few other worms. On the watch for stinkbugs but they don't seem numerous.....yet. They may come out of the corn as it's harvested. Scattered showers slowed down corn harvest early in the week but it's full bore right now since the weather cleared. Cotton experiencing new growth but too late to add much yield. We're not fussing but one more rain would do us well, especially on beans and peanuts. Finally getting a good hay cutting (second cutting for most people) but it's awfully late to try for a third. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Tropical storm Fay dumped 14 to 18 inches of rain. Unharvested field corn is significantly lodged and will suffer harvest loss. Damage to cotton includes loss of squares and bolls to wind, boll rot and seed germination in lint of open bolls. Continued wetness will result in continuing boll rot and harvest losses are expected from lodged stalks. Some pecan orchards experienced up to 50% crop loss along with significant limb breakage. Pasture and hayfield ratings improved. Minimal damage from Tropical Storm Fay sustained. Excessive rains 8 inches resulted in lack of field work this week. Early planted cotton beginning to open. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Wet fields, but we dodged a bullet. We got about 3-5 inches. Harvesting some tobacco by hand and stripping other due to leaf spot and drowning. Tobacco was effected most on wet soils. May have lost about 20-30%. Corn lost about 10% yield and quality. Cotton that was open is boll rotting and washing out of potassium is causing concerns. May have lost 25% or so of yield. What was 2 bale potential looks to me to be 1.5 at best. Still too early to tell. Some pecans were lost due to wind. Maybe at most 10%. Peanuts soil diseases showing up. Some peanuts within two weeks from digging and some cotton a week or so from defoliating. Hay quality and yield will be down due to TS Fay. probably lost one cutting and poor quality. Soybeans look okay. No livestock losses. The county and other local counties was hit hard by heavy rains during Tropical Storm Fay. This prevented harvesting of crops. The damages were tobacco 40%,pecan 40%,cotton 30%, vegetables 20%,corn 30%. We need some sun for growers to get the harvesting going! DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Rain caused extensive damage to the tobacco crop, estimated losses of 30-35%