ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 17, 2009 Issue GA-CW2009 Agricultural Summary May 18, 2009 SCATTERED SHOWERS Scattered showers were beneficial in some areas, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Daily average high temperatures ranged from the lower 70's to mid-80's. Average lows ranged from the upper 50's to lower 60's. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 2% very short, 15% short, 68% adequate, and 15% surplus. Some areas of the state welcomed the recent showers; however, in other areas the showers delayed some planting and hay harvesting. Some farmers were able to cut hay, while others were reluctant to cut with the rain. High winds and hail damaged vegetable fields. Corn suffered from nitrogen and sulfur deficiencies due to extensive rain. There have been reports of tomato spotted wilt virus (tswv) in tobacco fields. Other activities included baling hay, spreading poultry litter and applying herbicides to pasture weeds. County Extension Agents reported an average of 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 05/17/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Emerged : 97 92 99 95 Corn Silked : 1 0 1 1 Soybeans Planted : 21 12 27 24 Soybeans Emerged : 9 2 14 13 Sorghum Planted : 20 15 40 32 Cotton Planted : 40 22 47 49 Winter Wheat Harvested : 2 0 3 4 Apples Blooming : 95 86 100 100 Onions Harvested : 69 46 66 64 Peaches Harvested : 3 1 4 7 Peanuts Planted : 34 13 41 37 Tobacco Transplanted : 98 94 100 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 05/17/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 2 7 34 50 7 Winter Wheat : 2 7 34 50 7 Range and Pasture : 0 5 33 55 7 Apples : 0 0 9 46 45 Hay : 1 4 38 51 6 Onions : 0 0 20 79 1 Peaches : 0 15 24 61 0 Tobacco : 0 1 31 59 9 Watermelons : 1 9 44 38 8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 05/17/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 2 2 18 Short : 15 16 30 Adequate : 68 67 48 Surplus : 15 15 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture for Week Ending 05/17/09, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 0 1 62 37 District 2 (NC) : 0 0 78 22 District 3 (NE) : 0 0 79 21 District 4 (WC) : 0 10 76 14 District 5 (C) : 2 22 65 11 District 6 (EC) : 0 8 79 13 District 7 (SW) : 10 27 56 7 District 8 (SC) : 0 33 63 4 District 9 (SE) : 0 13 67 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Georgia/Publications/County_Esti mates/index.asp. Pasture Condition for Week Ending 05/17/09, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 1 4 41 53 1 District 2 (NC) : 0 0 14 69 17 District 3 (NE) : 0 0 20 61 19 District 4 (WC) : 0 9 28 53 10 District 5 (C) : 0 12 42 43 3 District 6 (EC) : 0 0 31 65 4 District 7 (SW) : 1 9 43 44 3 District 8 (SC) : 0 1 33 62 4 District 9 (SE) : 0 1 55 43 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Georgia/Publications/County_Esti mates/index.asp. Weather Summary for Week Ending 05/17/09, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:-------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day:Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alapaha : 83 63 73 2.10 3 3.80 19.97 23.70 76 Albany : 86 66 76 1.63 3 2.36 17.93 22.49 82 Alma : 85 65 75 1.94 3 2.26 17.81 21.71 76 Alpharetta : 77 59 68 0.52 2 3.99 9.93 21.90 71 Arabi : 83 63 73 6.30 3 6.73 19.32 23.68 76 Arlington : 86 64 75 0.25 2 0.92 15.86 23.38 78 Atlanta : 75 60 68 0.68 3 3.79 9.31 16.41 NA Attapulgus : 86 65 75 1.10 4 1.27 15.72 22.65 83 Baxley : 83 63 73 4.59 4 5.79 19.31 23.31 78 Blairsville : 71 53 62 0.34 5 5.47 9.65 18.19 66 Blue Ridge : 71 54 62 0.90 4 8.98 13.96 26.39 67 Byromville : 82 63 72 1.68 5 5.69 14.27 16.70 76 Byron : 81 61 71 2.42 3 3.85 13.47 21.02 74 Cairo : 85 66 75 0.72 4 1.06 15.93 21.48 73 Calhoun : 75 57 66 0.90 3 6.30 11.52 23.79 67 Camilla : 85 65 75 0.22 3 2.54 18.77 23.67 82 Cordele : 83 63 73 1.15 3 1.50 12.81 16.36 77 Covington : 77 56 67 0.21 4 1.81 12.09 23.63 72 Dahlonega : 72 55 64 1.29 4 6.17 13.36 25.60 68 Dallas : 74 59 66 0.75 4 5.45 11.10 21.07 70 Danielsville : 77 56 67 1.26 3 2.80 10.38 21.01 75 Dawson : 84 63 74 2.02 3 2.61 13.71 19.29 77 Dearing : 80 60 70 2.97 4 5.57 13.15 21.32 73 Dixie : 86 65 75 2.19 3 2.36 14.68 19.34 81 Douglas : 82 62 72 1.92 5 2.86 19.66 22.99 77 Dublin : 81 62 72 0.93 3 1.45 9.97 15.30 75 Dunwoody : 74 58 66 0.75 4 7.12 13.06 22.11 70 Eatonton : 79 58 69 0.50 3 2.72 13.44 24.44 74 Elberton : 78 57 68 1.23 4 5.48 13.31 22.29 73 Ellijay : 72 55 64 0.43 4 5.90 10.44 20.95 69 Gainesville : 74 59 66 0.26 3 3.98 10.47 20.52 71 Georgetown : 82 60 71 6.29 4 9.51 20.03 26.83 78 Griffin : 75 60 68 0.94 2 2.35 9.45 23.04 71 Hatley : 83 63 73 1.21 3 1.45 12.13 16.57 74 Homerville : 85 63 74 1.47 3 1.75 12.26 20.70 78 Jeffersonville : 79 60 69 0.79 4 1.66 8.64 14.42 76 Johns Creek : 76 58 67 0.46 4 3.73 10.37 21.06 70 Jonesboro : 77 60 68 0.38 3 4.54 13.17 24.03 72 Midville : 81 61 71 2.62 2 6.91 14.35 18.45 77 Moultrie : 85 65 75 1.81 3 2.23 18.61 24.96 80 Newton : 86 65 75 0.24 3 0.52 18.09 25.21 81 Odum : 83 63 73 2.07 4 3.55 17.16 21.19 77 Ossabaw : 81 66 73 0.94 7 1.67 10.82 12.18 77 Pine Mountain : 78 63 71 0.59 4 2.43 14.19 25.52 73 Plains : 81 61 71 3.02 4 4.64 15.33 23.03 76 Roopville : 76 60 68 1.27 3 4.63 12.18 22.75 71 Rome : 76 59 67 1.17 4 6.38 13.50 28.65 70 Sasser : 84 64 74 2.09 3 3.11 14.32 18.59 75 Savannah : 82 64 73 2.53 6 4.05 12.76 16.37 77 Shellman : 85 64 74 1.37 4 2.22 10.90 15.37 82 Skidaway : 79 65 72 3.05 4 4.20 12.42 16.90 73 Sparta : 80 57 68 2.99 4 3.59 14.02 18.81 73 Statesboro : 81 61 71 2.60 4 3.99 11.49 14.71 79 Tennille : 79 58 69 1.03 4 6.70 15.54 22.88 74 Tifton : 83 65 74 0.94 2 2.62 18.02 22.90 76 Tiger : 72 52 62 1.34 6 6.65 14.67 25.40 68 Unadilla : 81 61 71 2.16 4 3.51 11.78 17.75 75 Valdosta : 85 66 76 1.51 3 1.72 12.87 18.52 80 Vienna : 82 63 72 1.51 3 2.62 15.34 23.35 74 Vidalia : 83 64 73 2.84 5 3.22 13.81 18.78 77 Wat-UGA : 77 59 68 0.66 3 3.09 10.74 22.29 72 Williamson : 76 60 68 0.47 2 2.06 9.82 21.70 72 Woodbine : 84 65 74 0.55 3 0.85 10.72 15.88 78 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *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 17, 2009 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Still too wet to do any field work. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Wet weather is keeping farmers from taking first cutting of cool season annuals and perennials. Quality is starting to drop. Popup showers over the last couple weeks have made hay harvesting and drying difficult. Fescue pastures are maturing rapidly. Some wheat cut for hay this week, disease control sprays in vineyards, routine care of livestock, spotty showers delayed most field work. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Producers still reluctant to cut hay with the rain. Hay diminishing in quality as it has stood too long. Rainfall could also hamper quality when bailing. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL We had a pretty good rain over the weekend. This area is wet for the moment. Cool season permanent and temporary forages have had a good spring and produced this year. Been slow making any hay from it as enough consecutive dry days to cure has been a challenge. Warm season grass growth is slow still. Wheat looking good and beginning to ripen, seed clover as well. Should begin clover harvest later this week. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL We received 0.23 of an inch of rainfall over the past seven days. Welcome rains over the weekend. Planting continues. High winds and hail damaged some vegetable fields Sunday night. Green bean fields, watermelon fields, and at least three center pivot irrigation systems were destroyed. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Peanut planting is full speed ahead since the fields have dried out some. We're behind on planting due to heavy rains last week. Some fields still have wet spots and planting is proceeding on a field by field basis. Corn suffering some nitrogen and sulfur deficiencies due to excessive rain inhibiting root function. Sunflowers are up and growing. Having to plow where weeds came through the pre-emerge herbicide. Extra ryegrass being baled but nights are too cool to allow a lot of Bermuda grass growth. Rains have allowed pigweeds to come up where land was prepared and this is causing growers to spray a burndown at planting. All in all, the heavy rains have put us behind in planting. Wet! Life is great! DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST We need a rain. Planting in high gear for cotton and peanuts. Majority acres will be planted in next seven days. Soybean planting has begun. Stands emerging fast. Having to irrigate most crops up. Corn growth has increased rapidly in the last week. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Planting in full swing. Need some rainfall. Applying herbicides and irrigation of corn. Baling hay, spreading poultry litter and applying herbicides to pasture weeds. TSWV showing up in tobacco. Fall army worms in corn. Shaping up to be an interesting and exciting crop season. Heard some good news that Pilgrims Pride in Douglas had an offer to be bought. This week like many other weeks have been very dry. However, on Sunday May 17,2009, we received good rain over most of the county, here at the extension office we collected 3.5 inches. This was the first rain in five plus weeks for the county. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST No comments available.