new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 09/15/02 Issue NH-CW3702 Volume 22, Number 21 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) September 16, 2002 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary HARVEST IS FULL SPEED AHEAD For the week ending September 15, 2002, there were 5.9 days suitable for field work across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 13% very poor, 38% poor, 36% fair, 13% good, 0% excellent. Strong winds arrived in the Northeast at week's end, causing increased drop for some tree fruit crops. Rain fell mostly in northern New England, small amounts were received in the south. Any rainfall from now until the end of harvest will be too late to help most crops, but will be needed to help replenish ground water supplies. Major farm activities included: harvesting shade tobacco, potatoes, oats, barley, apples, peaches, pears and vegetables; finishing highbush blueberry harvest and harvest of broadleaf tobacco in Connecticut; applying vine desiccants to potatoes; cutting dry hay and chopping haylage; irrigating; applying manure. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year ---------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 32 34 37 Short 37 38 38 Adequate 31 28 25 Surplus 0 0 0 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 39 39 36 Short 32 31 34 Adequate 29 30 30 Surplus 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Farmers continue to cut third crop hay and finish off what remains of the second crop. Silage corn harvest is in full swing. Due to lack of moisture, field corn is short and ears are small. Oat and barley harvest in Maine continues to progress at a rapid pace. Maine potato harvest advanced to 15 percent last week, and vine desiccants continue to be applied to unharvested fields. Potato crops throughout New England are generally in good to fair condition. Broadleaf tobacco harvest is complete in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. Connecticut shade tobacco harvest neared completion by week's end. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Apples, peaches, plums and fall raspberries were harvested last week. Weekend rain thwarted plans for pick- your-own customers, but dry weather during the week allowed up to 15 percent more harvest to be completed for tree fruit crops. White cranberry harvest is complete in Massachusetts, and some early dry harvest of red and black berries took place last week. VEGETABLES: Last week, growers harvested cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn, and tomatoes, along with other summer and fall vegetable crops. Crops such as gourds are being harvested for fall decorating. Pumpkin and squash crops have been reported in poor condition due to the dry season. Sweet corn was rated in good to fair condition and harvest advanced to 90 percent complete last week. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND -------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2002 2001 5-yrAvg Condition -------------------------------------------------------- Barley, ME 85 95 75 Good/Excellent Oats, ME 60 85 70 Good/Excellent Potatoes Maine 15 10 10 Good/Fair Mass 50 45 55 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 75 85 60 Good/Fair Silage Corn 20 35 20 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 90 90 85 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 99 99 99 Good/Fair Broadleaf 100 95 99 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 95 90 85 Good/Fair Third Cut 65 65 60 Fair --------------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2002 2001 5-yrAvg Condition ---------------------------------------------------------- Apples 35 35 30 Good/Fair Peaches 90 90 90 Good/Fair Pears 40 40 30 Very Poor/Poor Blueberries Highbush 100 95 99 Good Cranberries,MA <5 5 <5 Good/Fair ---------------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, September 15, 2002 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 29 100 64 +7 0.00 2.41 NH 25 100 65 +8 0.00 2.47 VT 32 98 65 +8 0.02 6.24 MA 37 96 69 +7 0.00 0.62 RI 46 92 69 +6 0.00 0.02 CT 41 92 68 +4 0.00 0.04 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Weather Information Table Weather Summary For New England Agricultural Statistics Service Prepared By AWIS, Inc. For the Period: Monday September 9, 2002 To: Sunday September 15, 2002 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 38 94 64 +4 1750 -242 672 -100 Allagash 29 93 59 +5 1241 -54 416 +93 Augusta_State_A 44 96 70 +10 2095 +167 949 +217 Bangor_Intl_Arp 41 97 67 +9 1959 +199 845 +232 Barnard 39 97 65 +9 1646 +130 607 +155 Bath 38 93 63 +3 1723 -84 650 -3 Bethel 43 99 67 +8 1847 +109 742 +153 Brassua_Dam 37 94 62 +8 1434 +175 494 +184 Brunswick_ME 43 93 67 +8 1949 +142 832 +179 Caribou_Municip 38 89 62 +8 1524 +130 562 +184 Corinna 39 93 64 +7 1752 +88 661 +123 Danforth 32 93 61 +5 1479 -137 494 -31 Dover-Foxcroft 36 94 63 +7 1486 -30 503 +51 Durham 37 96 65 +4 1881 -170 777 -50 East_Hiram 39 94 66 +8 1817 +87 710 +127 Eustis 37 91 61 +7 1353 +132 427 +144 Frenchville 36 85 60 +6 1400 +105 510 +187 Gray 49 96 71 +11 2173 +392 1009 +379 Greenville_ME 42 92 65 +9 1610 +83 596 +133 Guilford 35 96 61 +5 1412 -104 455 +3 Hollis 38 94 67 +9 1962 +305 829 +297 Houlton 31 92 62 +8 1560 +103 570 +146 Kennebunkport 41 88 65 +3 1748 -425 665 -248 Livermore_Falls 37 100 66 +10 1899 +411 807 +378 Moosehead 35 95 62 +8 1400 +141 454 +144 New_Sharon 44 94 66 +10 2035 +547 888 +459 Patten 36 93 63 +9 1526 +69 553 +129 Portage 40 93 63 +9 1593 +199 609 +231 Portland_ME 44 93 69 +9 2051 +270 896 +266 Rangeley 38 94 61 +7 1394 +207 442 +178 Sebec_Lake 37 97 64 +8 1627 +100 587 +124 Vanceboro 38 92 62 +6 1563 +15 548 +72 Waterville 44 96 67 +7 1925 -67 812 +40 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 42 94 67 +8 2133 +200 931 +201 Benton 42 93 65 +9 1810 +216 713 +239 Berlin_AG 41 92 64 +8 1737 +134 649 +153 Bethlehem 39 93 63 +6 1595 +3 568 +94 Concord 38 95 69 +10 2324 +391 1106 +376 Diamond_Pond 37 86 60 +8 1220 +146 362 +157 First_Conn_Lake 36 89 61 +8 1223 +149 341 +136 Greenville 40 96 68 +10 2008 +259 866 +289 Keene_AP 37 93 68 +7 2245 +84 1020 +127 Lakeport 49 95 70 +12 2312 +506 1088 +448 Marlow 35 89 62 +2 1702 -258 640 -93 North_Conway 43 98 68 +10 2138 +344 974 +345 Otter_Brook_Lk 40 91 65 +4 2088 -73 902 +9 Plymouth 38 95 64 +8 1818 +241 712 +235 Rochester 40 100 70 +9 2260 +189 1047 +215 Weare 48 88 69 +10 2071 +111 893 +160 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 43 92 64 +6 1930 +244 782 +240 Bethel 39 94 65 +7 2016 +414 863 +369 Burlington_Intl 48 98 70 +10 2360 +300 1128 +301 East_Haven 35 93 62 +8 1608 +279 589 +252 Island_Pond 38 91 62 +8 1611 +295 579 +255 Montpelier 41 92 66 +9 1865 +245 737 +233 Morrisville_AG 41 93 63 +6 1651 +35 597 +88 Mount_Mansfield 32 92 58 +8 1006 +313 255 +189 Northfield 41 93 65 +10 1880 +405 741 +323 Pownal 41 87 64 +6 1909 +217 756 +213 Rochester 41 95 66 +8 1868 +266 750 +256 Rutland_AG 39 93 66 +6 1979 -157 822 -48 Sunderland 39 93 64 +3 1845 -202 715 -79 Sutton 39 92 65 +10 1677 +348 619 +282 Townshend_Lake 42 92 67 +7 2136 +108 934 +131 Union_Vill_Dam 39 98 66 +5 2006 -38 863 +53 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 43 92 68 +10 2216 +463 991 +398 Boston/Logan_In 54 91 74 +9 2835 +346 1500 +343 Greenfield 43 92 67 +5 2420 +101 1144 +135 New_Bedford 47 88 71 +5 2542 +23 1217 +33 Otis_AFB 50 84 70 +7 2429 +381 1147 +318 Plymouth 42 89 69 +7 2427 +322 1158 +286 Walpole 47 93 70 +9 2526 +405 1242 +376 West_Medway 45 96 70 +9 2552 +431 1251 +385 Chicopee/Westov 41 91 69 +4 2677 +20 1358 +80 Worcester 46 88 70 +9 2342 +363 1104 +345 Worthington 37 91 64 +5 1974 +248 825 +261 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 52 88 72 +7 2829 +454 1489 +416 Woonsocket 46 92 69 +8 2508 +420 1219 +393 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 44 87 64 +0 2256 -295 1008 -189 Bridgeport/Siko 50 84 71 +4 2883 +324 1520 +287 Hartford/Bradle 47 91 71 +7 2854 +308 1497 +304 Norfolk 45 89 66 +7 2239 +513 998 +434 Norwich 45 92 68 +4 2658 +277 1339 +284 Thomaston_Dam 41 88 65 +3 2465 +397 1163 +354 Willimantic 42 89 69 +7 2541 +430 1236 +393 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.38 -0.38 1 1.54 -1.66 8 Allagash 2.15 +1.27 6 2.35 -1.28 8 Augusta_State_A 0.29 -0.41 1 1.34 -1.53 7 Bangor_Intl_Arp 0.28 -0.56 2 1.36 -1.82 12 Barnard 0.62 -0.29 4 1.24 -2.30 11 Bath 0.15 -0.55 1 2.04 -0.86 8 Bethel 0.07 -0.70 1 0.69 -2.70 8 Brassua_Dam 1.00 +0.14 4 1.65 -1.75 9 Brunswick_ME 0.17 -0.53 1 2.40 -0.50 8 Caribou_Municip 1.32 +0.48 6 2.86 -0.63 11 Corinna 0.00 -0.84 0 0.72 -2.80 5 Danforth 0.98 +0.14 4 1.55 -2.01 9 Dover-Foxcroft 0.15 -0.76 1 1.86 -1.68 7 Durham 0.13 -0.57 1 1.67 -1.13 9 East_Hiram 0.07 -0.63 1 1.65 -1.47 8 Eustis 0.73 +0.02 4 0.79 -2.22 6 Frenchville 1.94 +1.06 6 4.48 +0.85 12 Gray 0.25 -0.45 1 1.95 -0.80 7 Greenville_ME 1.13 +0.22 4 1.63 -1.91 10 Guilford 0.91 +0.00 4 1.54 -2.00 13 Hollis 0.07 -0.70 1 2.28 -0.65 8 Houlton 1.60 +0.75 3 2.18 -1.41 9 Kennebunkport 0.10 -0.60 1 1.63 -1.19 7 Livermore_Falls 0.28 -0.56 1 1.00 -2.60 9 Moosehead 1.59 +0.73 4 2.10 -1.30 8 New_Sharon 0.42 -0.42 1 1.06 -2.54 8 Patten 1.39 +0.54 4 2.16 -1.43 8 Portage 1.68 +0.84 6 2.16 -1.33 8 Portland_ME 0.08 -0.62 1 1.82 -0.93 8 Rangeley 0.41 -0.32 4 0.72 -2.59 10 Sebec_Lake 0.51 -0.40 3 1.05 -2.49 10 Vanceboro 0.99 +0.08 3 1.69 -1.73 9 Waterville 0.34 -0.42 1 1.06 -2.14 8 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.16 -0.49 1 1.99 -0.80 9 Benton 0.55 -0.21 2 1.77 -1.58 6 Berlin_AG 0.68 -0.09 3 1.07 -2.45 7 Bethlehem 0.79 +0.04 3 1.54 -2.02 8 Concord 0.01 -0.64 1 2.10 -0.69 9 Diamond_Pond 1.73 +0.77 3 2.38 -1.86 8 First_Conn_Lake 1.10 +0.14 1 1.28 -2.96 4 Greenville 0.00 -0.73 0 2.19 -1.08 4 Keene_AP 0.11 -0.59 1 3.23 +0.10 7 Lakeport 0.04 -0.66 1 2.09 -0.95 8 Marlow 0.12 -0.65 1 2.60 -0.63 6 North_Conway 0.04 -0.75 1 0.99 -2.43 9 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.03 -0.67 1 2.52 -0.61 10 Plymouth 0.02 -0.70 1 2.00 -1.15 5 Rochester 0.00 -0.70 0 1.77 -1.23 6 Weare 0.00 -0.77 0 2.27 -0.96 7 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.12 -0.79 2 2.39 -1.38 10 Bethel 0.42 -0.49 2 1.55 -2.37 8 Burlington_Intl 1.49 +0.70 4 2.46 -0.98 8 East_Haven 1.62 +0.81 3 2.12 -1.62 9 Island_Pond 2.19 +1.38 3 3.20 -0.60 7 Montpelier 0.53 -0.15 3 1.53 -1.59 7 Morrisville_AG 1.41 +0.57 3 2.10 -1.78 8 Mount_Mansfield 6.24 +4.75 5 7.47 +1.03 13 Northfield 0.70 -0.07 3 1.71 -1.52 6 Pownal 0.19 -0.72 2 2.29 -1.48 8 Rochester 0.60 -0.31 2 1.97 -1.95 7 Rutland_AG 0.82 -0.03 1 1.99 -1.64 5 Sunderland 0.28 -0.56 1 3.06 -0.48 5 Sutton 1.87 +1.06 3 2.40 -1.34 9 Townshend_Lake 0.02 -0.75 1 2.80 -0.58 9 Union_Vill_Dam 0.28 -0.49 2 1.68 -1.51 7 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.06 -0.64 2 2.33 -0.58 11 Boston/Logan_In 0.00 -0.70 0 3.25 +0.27 10 Greenfield 0.02 -0.79 1 2.68 -0.60 11 New_Bedford 0.06 -0.74 1 2.19 -1.39 12 Otis_AFB 0.00 -0.77 0 2.19 -0.91 9 Plymouth 0.01 -0.97 1 3.02 -0.84 13 Walpole 0.00 -0.87 0 3.47 -0.13 9 West_Medway 0.00 -0.87 0 3.46 -0.14 10 Chicopee/Westov 0.00 -0.84 0 2.04 -1.31 8 Worcester 0.05 -0.86 1 2.64 -0.97 10 Worthington 0.02 -0.82 2 2.82 -0.74 10 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 0.00 -0.84 0 2.65 -0.71 10 Woonsocket 0.00 -0.91 0 3.88 +0.24 9 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.00 -0.91 0 3.14 -0.41 8 Bridgeport/Siko 0.01 -0.75 1 5.12 +2.25 9 Hartford/Bradle 0.00 -0.91 0 2.80 -0.75 8 Norfolk 0.00 -0.98 0 3.44 -0.64 10 Norwich 0.00 -0.91 0 5.54 +1.90 10 Thomaston_Dam 0.00 -0.95 0 3.89 +0.00 10 Willimantic 0.00 -0.91 0 3.25 -0.34 10 Summary based on NWS data. DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precip of 0.01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page at www.awis.com or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955. Other Agricultural Comments and News CONNECTICUT - Howard Rood (FSA), Fairfield/Litchfield: High winds (up to 60 mph in some areas of the county) damaged trees and tree fruit crops. Very little rain. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Third cutting of hay was about 60% of usual. Corn less than wished for with smaller ears. High wind shook out some fruit. Apple color is coming with arrival of cooler weather. Peaches almost done, good quality fruit. Market stands busy. Still need more rain. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: Chopping corn. Picking winter squashes and decorative gourds for stands. Humid weather and rains bring cracks to tomatoes and apples. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes: Harvesting potatoes on a small scale both for processing and fresh market. Vine desiccation continues. Late maturing varieties still green, trying to gain larger size of tubers. Small grain harvesting continues. Showers during the week might help in getting more size on tubers, but time is running out. Tuber quality looks good. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Potato farmers are starting to harvest for processing. Regular harvest will start by the end of the week or first of next week. We recently received rain that was very much welcomed. Showers are continuing today (Monday). This recent rain should help the sizing on late varieties. Farmers are continuing to harvest small grains. Crop are looking good. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Still harvesting small grains and some early processing potatoes. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Well water levels are low. Sebec Lake's official temperature was 97 degrees at the beginning of the week. Potato harvest is under way now. Janet King (FSA), Somerset: Finally some rain. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Dry weather continues to keep pastures from a fall flush of growth. Corn silage harvest is in full swing, along with apples. Some manure spreading activity. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Sale of fresh produce is winding down. Fall mowing of blueberry fields has begun. Rain finally arrived on Sunday - too late for most crops. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: Now it pours. Sunday gave us heavy showers but it's a little late for most crops. Folks are harvesting whatever is available and trying to get the crop year ended. Apples look good and "pick your own" is in full swing. Some of the silage corn is looking pretty good; much of it is short, no ears and dry. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Fall harvest is underway, apples - small but good quality, silage corn - poor, hay - very little left to be harvested. Animals on pasture have to be fed from next winter's supply. They say rain is on the way, let's hope! Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Several requests for livestock water assistance have been received. Harvest has been easy due to dry field conditions. Insects have had a very high population this summer. Frost and dry soil conditions have turned some cornfields brown already. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Ground conditions are very dry! Fall vegetables are appearing at farm stands, silage corn harvest has begun. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Producers chopping corn this week. Vegetables still being harvested: sweet corn, fall squash, pumpkins, etc. Fruit being picked. Not good yield this year. Seasonally average temperatures returned this week. Light rainfall mid-week, heavy on Sunday, 1-3 inches. High winds mid-week. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Harvest of late season crops is well underway and as expected all crops are showing damage from the drought. Pumpkins and squash are almost a total loss, sweet corn is slightly better than corn picked in August, with other crops like potatoes, green beans, etc. probably producing less than 50% of their normal yield. Cranberry harvest continues with some early blacks being harvested for fresh fruit with average yields and size. Process growers continue to wait for color and water before they start harvest. Silage corn growers are opening up their fields and harvesting drought damaged corn. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: Vegetable farmers were busy picking end of the season vegetables including pumpkins, squash, tomatoes and sweet corn. About 3/4 of the sweet corn is harvested. Farm stands are still in full swing. We had some heavy winds last week that fell some trees and caused some crop damage as well. Vegetable yields varied from field to field depending on locations. Field corn harvest will be well underway soon and has begun in some parts of the county. Aside from the dry weather we've had, the corn is holding up for the most part. Third cutting of hay is in full swing between the raindrops. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: White berry harvest completed. Some dry harvesting begun. Harvesting will start on a wider scale later this week. Color is much better than expected, size is average to small. Some fruit rot problems. Rain coming from Hanna will help. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Rain on Sunday provided a welcome relief from the dry weather. All farms are actively harvesting fall crops including squash, mums and pumpkins. Corn silage seems to be ripening slowly, most growers are planning to start harvest this week. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Fall harvest is in full swing. Harvesting third cutting of hay, pears, apples, corn silage, potatoes and many more fall crops. Growers report yields are down slightly due to the dry year, but quality is good. A very nice gentle rain on Sunday. Gary Guida, Worcester: Well, yet another week without rain - although forecasting some for Sunday. Sweet corn holding up well. Harvesting pumpkins, winter squash, gourds, tomatoes, and summer squash. Only good rain will do now is help last sections of corn and recharge groundwater. Busy week again at farm stands as autumn crop sales are picking up, but sweet corn is still a big seller. Mum's the word. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Mostly dry all week, with some rain late on Sunday. Third and remainder of second cutting hay harvests continue. Regrowth on alfalfa is good, and while regrowth on grasses is slower, fields generally look green and lush. Late summer seedings are starting to green up. Field corn continues to mature - kernels are denting and corn is about 1/3 milk line. Chopping has started along the Connecticut River. Orchards are busy with PYO and apple harvest. Farm stands and farmers' markets still have an abundance of various vegetables. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Heavy soaking rains, well over 2 inches over the past week, have done much to alleviate drought concerns. Field corn generally at soft dough stage, beginning to dent in some plantings. Nice looking second cut hay being taken, with some decent third crop coming along. Late season veggies now available, winter squash and pumpkins showing up at farm stands. Fall soil testing beginning. Appears to have been more mention of both bear and bird damage on various crops this season. Perhaps attributing this to dry weather and somewhat sparse wild apple and other fruits. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Harvest of corn silage has begun, despite the lack of maturity. Dry weather has halted growth and corn has dried down significantly, especially on sandy soils. Rain on Sunday will help regrowth on hay crop but came too late for most corn. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: McIntosh and Gala apple harvest, also starting to harvest some early Cortland. Warm temperatures have delayed the coloring of red-colored apple varieties. Peach, pear, plum and fall raspberry harvest continued. Vegetables: Harvesting wide array of summer and fall vegetable crops. Farmers kept busy irrigating crops not harvested and starting to clean up harvested fields. Field Crops: Hay cutting continued. Farmers finished making new forage seedings. Farmers starting corn silage harvest. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Apple harvest in full swing. Pumpkins, squash, fall raspberries and other fall crops are harvested. Crop residues turned under on harvested fields. Corn silage harvest has begun. Lots of needed rain came at week's end. Drought related problems prevalent. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Picking late blueberry varieties, fall raspberries, peaches, pumpkins, and a whole array of vegetables. A significant amount of apples ready to be harvested (such as McIntosh) were knocked down to the ground as a result of strong winds that happened on Wednesday afternoon. Wind damages not completely assessed. Cleaning apple and fruit orchards from drops and broken branches. Harvesting apple varieties and packing. Sunday evening's soaking rain was welcomed. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Silage corn harvest is in full swing. Various yields due to the drought. Apple picking has begun with reports of apples being smaller than normal, but an overall good crop. Strong winds last week did minor damage to crop fields, mostly slightly blown over corn. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: Dry weather continued last week. However, some rains during the weekend brought some relief. Third cut hay harvesting continued. Harvesting of sweet corn, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. continues. Harvesting of apples continues. More rain is needed. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: The weather ran from cool to hot and from high winds to no air. Still harvesting potatoes, sweet corn, most summer vegetables, winter squash, gourds, decorative crops and some haying done. The lack of water is the main topic of conversation and what type of relief will the future bring. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Rain is great for all of us BUT rainy Sundays are devastating to our pick your own fruit operations. Sunday is traditionally the busiest day of the week. Mid-September is the make or break time for orchardists. Potatoes are small and marketing them is difficult. Silage corn harvest is gearing up but yields will be down. It will take many more rainy days to relieve the drought anxiety. Animal operations are preparing to enlarge ponds and fracture wells on a case-by-case basis. Loan inquiries have increased in recent days. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: We're finally getting some much needed moisture although it's getting a little late in the growing season to help most crops. Corn silage harvest is gaining some momentum with reasonable yields. When grass starts growing again there should be more third cut. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: Corn silage harvest starting up with clouds of dust behind equipment. Much needed rainfall occurred on Sunday with 2 inches in my rain gauge. Still need much more before the ground freezes. No frosts reported which is unusual in this area by this date. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Rain over the weekend will help to ease the drought conditions. Farmers are getting ready to begin harvesting corn silage. Many farms are harvesting third cut hay. Crop is short due to the lack of moisture. Corn is beginning the dent stage. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: Much needed rain fell on Sunday into Monday, about one and one-half inches - that is a start but will need more before winter. Silage corn harvest is in full swing with a lot of variation in quality and quantity. A lot of excellent third cut alfalfa went in last week as dry feed. Richard Noel, Franklin/Grand Isle: We finally received some rain, over 3 inches this past week and it's all soaked in, no standing water hardly visible. Ground was very dry and some springs were running short of water. Corn harvest has begun on the early planted corn, but farmers are going to wait, probably until close to frost, for the later planted corn. Grass looks pretty poor, this rain will help perk it up. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Another summer-like week. Some haying, spreading manure, getting geared up for chopping corn. Received some badly needed rain on Sunday. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Farmers starting to chop corn. Seeded down more land to winter rye. Potatoes ready for digging. Had a nice rainy day Wednesday. A good big half- inch. First rain in two weeks. It was badly needed. It will help the last of garden crops, late cabbage, broccoli and beets. Still picking real nice mid-season corn. Early seeding of winter rye, looks good in spite of dry weather. Have a good week. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service Agency(FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals. Contact Information To receive this report every Monday evening, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statisticians: Emily McAllister, Robin Helrich Stat Assistant: Wayne Colpitt Deputy: David Luckenbach New England Agricultural Statistics Service National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Department of Agriculture Aubrey R. Davis, Director 22 Bridge St, 3rd Floor PO Box 1444 Concord, NH 03302-1444 Phone: (603) 224-9639 Fax: (603) 225-1434 Internet: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ E-Mail: nass.nh@nass.usda.gov ****************** end of report ***********************