State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 5/22/05 Issue NH-CW3704 Volume 25, Number 4 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) May 22, 2005 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary It was another Rainy week!!! For the week ending May 22, 2005, there were 5.1 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was rated 2% short, 56% adequate, 42% surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 3% short, 55% adequate, 42% surplus. Pasture condition was rated 3% poor, 30% fair, 60% good, and 7% excellent. Cool, wet conditions hindered field work progress and crop development in New England throughout the week. Much needed warm, dry days are needed to improve field and crop conditions in the region and the outlook does not look good for the week ahead. Farmers continued to work the fields when weather permitted, Northern Maine still battles for workable weather conditions with less than 2 days suitable for fieldwork last week. Major farm activities included: transplanted vegetables, harvested asparagus and rhubarb, planted early season vegetables, worked in greenhouses, set bees in fields and orchards, applied herbicides and fertilizers to fields, planted grains fields, spread manure, chopped grass silage, plowed and disced fields. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 0 0 3 Short 2 6 5 Adequate 56 53 65 Surplus 42 41 27 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 0 0 3 Short 3 9 4 Adequate 55 53 83 Surplus 42 38 10 --------------------------------------------- -- Field Crops Report Cool, wet conditions delayed farmers in Northern Maine from planting small grains and potatoes and are behind normal. First cutting of hay is green but lacks growth from limited sunshine. Planted Shade and Broadleaf Tobacco are progressing ahead of the normal. In southern New England, planted field crops are on schedule, whereas, in the northern region, crops have been limited due to wet conditions and are being planted only on well drained soils. Pasture conditions are improving but are still a little too wet to put animals out. Farmers continued to prepare fields by spreading manure and fertilizer, plowing, discing and tilling fields. -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Growers are still concerned to what extent of damage was caused from the frost on May 13th on apples, peaches and strawberries. The cool conditions have caused for an extended apple bloom period. If the wet conditions continue, pollination will be a problem with fruit trees. Bee hives were set in fields and orchards but sunshine is needed to aid bees in pollination. Pre emergence herbicides and fertilizer were applied to nonbearing blueberry fields. Rainy conditions have been conducive in infecting blueberries to mummy berry disease. Cranberries producers have noticed some black headed fireworm and rain has limited the ability to spray. Also, rain has led to the risk of root rot development. VEGETABLES: Vegetable growers started to plant tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, potatoes, and sweet corn where field conditions allowed. Some cold crops, peas, and radishes are up and growing. Greenhouses started to transplant some vegetables. Farmers harvested salad greens, asparagus, and rhubarb. Producers continued to proceed with preparing fields to plant as weather permitted to plow, disc, fertilize and spray fields. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Avg Percent Condition Emerged ---------------------------------------------------- Barley, ME 10 80 55 -- Fair Oats, ME 10 85 60 -- Good Potatoes Maine 5 70 50 -- Fair Mass 75 85 85 10 Good Rhode Isl 75 85 90 20 Good Silage Corn 35 55 40 5 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 30 40 40 15 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 75 45 30 -- Good Broadleaf 10 <5 5 -- Good/Fair Dry Hay First Cut 0 <5 <5 -- Good/Fair ---------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage Fruit Set Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples EB/PF Avg Good/Fair Peaches FB/PF Avg/Below Fair/Good Pears FB/PF Avg/Below Fair/Good Blueberries Highbush Bud/FB Avg Good Wild, ME EB -- Good/Excel Cranberries,MA Bud Avg Good/Fair Strawberries Bud/FB Good/Fair ----------------------------------------------------- FB-Full Bloom, EB - Early Bud, PF- Petal Fall -- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, May 22, 2005 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 30 69 48 -7 0.43 1.77 NH 23 75 49 -7 0.50 1.96 VT 28 73 49 -7 0.37 0.99 MA 32 74 52 -6 0.17 1.79 RI 42 69 53 -5 0.12 0.30 CT 36 77 55 -4 0.03 1.13 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table For the Period: Monday May 16, 2005 To: Sunday May 22, 2005 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 33 67 49 -9 34 -87 0 -8 Allagash 33 58 46 -6 18 -19 0 +0 Augusta_State_A 40 66 50 -7 56 -50 1 -5 Bangor_Intl_Arp 39 64 50 -5 68 -8 0 -1 Barnard 34 62 48 -6 29 -27 0 +0 Bath 35 67 49 -7 21 -50 0 +0 Bethel 35 68 48 -7 31 -53 0 -4 Brassua_Dam 32 61 45 -5 11 -17 0 +0 Brunswick_ME 36 63 47 -8 32 -39 0 +0 Caribou_Municip 38 59 46 -7 40 -15 0 +0 Corinna 37 66 49 -6 45 -34 0 -2 Danforth 37 60 47 -7 21 -34 0 +0 Dover-Foxcroft 38 60 47 -7 16 -40 0 +0 Durham 33 68 50 -8 25 -82 0 -3 East_Hiram 33 69 48 -7 30 -54 0 -4 Eustis 31 61 45 -6 11 -22 0 +0 Frenchville 38 56 45 -7 30 -7 0 +0 Gray 42 66 50 -5 53 -17 4 +4 Greenville_ME 39 59 46 -8 25 -40 0 +0 Guilford 37 60 46 -7 10 -46 0 +0 Hollis 34 67 49 -6 30 -36 0 +0 Houlton 32 61 46 -7 48 -7 0 +0 Kennebunkport 36 65 48 -10 32 -98 1 -4 Livermore_Falls 33 66 49 -5 31 -25 0 +0 Moosehead 33 61 45 -5 16 -12 0 +0 New_Sharon 37 66 48 -5 34 -22 0 +0 Patten 37 61 46 -7 21 -34 0 +0 Portage 36 62 47 -6 26 -29 0 +0 Portland_ME 39 65 49 -6 42 -28 4 +4 Rangeley 31 62 44 -7 11 -20 0 +0 Sebec_Lake 33 63 48 -6 23 -42 0 +0 Vanceboro 39 60 48 -5 22 -25 0 +0 Waterville 34 67 50 -8 38 -83 0 -8 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 32 73 50 -7 55 -66 0 -11 Benton 34 67 48 -8 37 -68 0 -12 Berlin_AG 33 65 47 -8 33 -54 1 -7 Bethlehem 31 66 48 -7 36 -67 2 -10 Concord 33 73 52 -5 108 -13 12 +1 Diamond_Pond 30 56 43 -7 11 -23 0 +0 First_Conn_Lake 29 59 43 -7 15 -19 0 +0 Greenville 38 75 53 -4 123 +10 11 +0 Keene_AP 34 70 51 -8 105 -66 8 -17 Lakeport 38 72 52 -4 86 -13 4 -4 Marlow 31 71 51 -8 61 -82 5 -12 Mount_Washingto 23 45 32 -5 0 +0 0 +0 North_Conway 33 66 50 -7 46 -56 3 -6 Otter_Brook_Lk 35 69 52 -7 76 -95 7 -18 Plymouth 31 70 48 -6 35 -41 3 -1 Rochester 36 73 52 -6 80 -62 8 -8 Weare 35 68 51 -7 68 -75 4 -13 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 31 68 50 -6 55 -49 4 -8 Bethel 31 67 48 -7 47 -43 4 -4 Burlington_Intl 35 69 51 -7 118 -37 15 -8 East_Haven 28 65 47 -5 36 -22 0 +0 Island_Pond 30 63 46 -7 29 -32 3 +3 Montpelier 32 65 48 -7 78 -23 14 +3 Morrisville_AG 29 68 47 -8 25 -65 0 -8 Mount_Mansfield 29 51 40 -8 13 -3 0 +0 Northfield 31 65 48 -6 45 -31 3 -1 Pownal 35 67 51 -4 87 -21 6 -8 Rochester 32 66 48 -7 50 -40 4 -4 Rutland_AG 33 71 50 -10 65 -120 5 -27 Sunderland 35 68 51 -8 73 -101 4 -22 Sutton 34 65 47 -6 31 -27 2 +2 Townshend_Lake 36 69 52 -6 79 -61 7 -11 Union_Vill_Dam 32 69 49 -9 55 -91 4 -15 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 39 68 52 -4 97 +2 6 +2 Boston/Logan_In 44 64 52 -8 137 -54 15 +3 Greenfield 39 67 53 -6 117 -76 10 -13 New_Bedford 40 62 52 -7 93 -101 3 -10 Otis_AFB 46 68 54 -3 152 +54 9 +8 Plymouth 39 65 51 -7 79 -32 3 +0 Walpole 42 67 53 -5 138 -7 7 -3 West_Medway 41 65 53 -6 101 -44 4 -6 Chicopee/Westov 45 68 56 -6 202 -62 22 -18 Worcester 41 63 52 -5 137 +14 14 +6 Worthington 34 66 52 -4 75 -28 4 -5 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 43 66 55 -4 153 -13 6 -2 Woonsocket 42 69 54 -5 141 +0 7 +0 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 36 71 55 -7 117 -129 7 -32 Bridgeport/Siko 45 69 57 -3 207 +3 8 -19 Hartford/Bradle 39 69 56 -5 218 -20 22 -16 Norfolk 37 67 52 -4 105 +6 9 +2 Norwich 41 77 57 -3 148 -60 8 -20 Thomaston_Dam 40 69 55 -3 139 -21 9 -8 Willimantic 38 73 55 -3 163 +5 8 -8 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 1.07 +0.23 6 16.09 +6.79 34 Allagash 1.06 +0.36 5 9.82 +2.82 33 Augusta_State_A 0.92 +0.08 5 14.02 +4.24 32 Bangor_Intl_Arp 0.51 -0.31 5 9.50 +0.38 26 Barnard 1.26 +0.47 6 15.59 +6.46 38 Bath 1.12 +0.31 5 17.27 +6.54 29 Bethel 1.48 +0.64 3 17.28 +7.79 28 Brassua_Dam 0.69 -0.08 3 10.78 +2.61 34 Brunswick_ME 1.77 +0.96 4 20.18 +9.45 27 Caribou_Municip 1.12 +0.42 4 10.31 +3.19 38 Corinna 1.02 +0.25 3 14.29 +5.07 26 Danforth 0.97 +0.13 6 13.22 +4.55 36 Dover-Foxcroft 0.61 -0.18 4 10.84 +1.71 26 Durham 0.87 +0.10 3 18.28 +7.48 28 East_Hiram 1.41 +0.57 5 17.64 +7.25 32 Eustis 0.94 +0.17 4 10.26 +1.99 31 Frenchville 1.28 +0.58 6 7.86 +0.86 38 Gray 1.56 +0.77 6 18.95 +8.45 30 Greenville_ME 0.43 -0.36 2 12.65 +3.52 36 Guilford 0.80 +0.01 4 15.28 +6.15 30 Hollis 1.59 +0.75 6 19.11 +8.39 34 Houlton 0.70 -0.07 5 10.63 +3.35 37 Kennebunkport 1.19 +0.33 4 17.26 +6.59 29 Livermore_Falls 1.30 +0.46 4 15.25 +5.18 30 Moosehead 0.88 +0.11 3 11.33 +3.16 34 New_Sharon 1.29 +0.45 5 16.58 +6.51 29 Patten 1.27 +0.50 6 14.86 +7.58 35 Portage 0.95 +0.25 5 12.31 +5.19 36 Portland_ME 1.41 +0.62 3 15.78 +5.28 31 Rangeley 1.11 +0.36 5 11.64 +4.52 38 Sebec_Lake 0.96 +0.17 5 16.14 +7.01 35 Vanceboro 0.93 +0.09 5 13.04 +3.35 35 Waterville 0.89 +0.05 4 15.99 +6.69 26 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 1.13 +0.43 4 12.84 +4.92 34 Benton 1.49 +0.72 4 9.33 +1.81 33 Berlin_AG 1.24 +0.43 3 11.33 +2.58 27 Bethlehem 1.17 +0.40 6 8.04 +0.31 36 Concord 1.04 +0.34 3 10.72 +2.80 31 Diamond_Pond 0.50 -0.41 3 12.87 +4.28 44 First_Conn_Lake 0.54 -0.37 4 9.75 +1.16 39 Greenville 0.94 +0.10 2 12.05 +2.27 24 Keene_AP 0.64 -0.20 3 11.65 +2.85 28 Lakeport 1.05 +0.21 2 11.15 +2.22 28 Marlow 0.96 +0.05 2 11.54 +1.06 29 Mount_Washingto 1.96 +0.28 5 21.39 -1.37 42 North_Conway 1.12 +0.22 3 13.22 +2.45 32 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.82 -0.02 3 10.37 +1.57 30 Plymouth 0.86 -0.05 2 9.59 +0.10 24 Rochester 1.83 +0.98 4 15.94 +4.89 29 Weare 1.26 +0.35 3 14.96 +4.48 30 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.77 -0.28 2 10.59 -0.95 28 Bethel 0.69 -0.29 3 9.81 -0.25 29 Burlington_Intl 0.59 -0.11 3 6.05 -1.18 30 East_Haven 0.73 -0.11 4 8.34 +0.15 40 Island_Pond 0.58 -0.27 5 8.09 +0.48 39 Montpelier 0.78 +0.01 3 8.18 +1.13 35 Morrisville_AG 0.76 -0.08 4 8.86 +0.17 35 Mount_Mansfield 0.39 -0.87 2 14.29 -0.36 42 Northfield 0.99 +0.16 2 9.49 +1.55 26 Pownal 0.53 -0.52 2 10.01 -1.53 30 Rochester 0.60 -0.38 2 10.58 +0.52 27 Rutland_AG 0.62 -0.17 2 6.84 -0.58 28 Sunderland 0.45 -0.39 3 10.38 +2.38 35 Sutton 0.67 -0.17 5 9.41 +1.22 41 Townshend_Lake 0.65 -0.14 3 9.94 +0.89 31 Union_Vill_Dam 0.51 -0.33 3 9.06 +0.93 32 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.70 -0.10 4 13.05 +3.91 36 Boston/Logan_In 0.59 -0.11 3 8.11 -1.65 30 Greenfield 0.49 -0.41 2 10.94 +1.25 29 New_Bedford 0.53 -0.27 3 12.34 +1.32 34 Otis_AFB 0.39 -0.45 3 12.95 +2.73 32 Plymouth 0.45 -0.45 3 13.30 +2.06 30 Walpole 0.45 -0.32 3 11.64 +1.12 29 West_Medway 0.62 -0.15 3 11.94 +1.42 32 Chicopee/Westov 0.34 -0.57 3 9.42 -0.93 32 Worcester 0.67 -0.31 4 11.74 +0.67 31 Worthington 0.54 -0.51 2 12.50 +1.87 35 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 0.16 -0.68 3 10.76 -0.24 30 Woonsocket 0.30 -0.61 3 14.58 +3.60 32 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.13 +0.16 3 12.45 +1.90 34 Bridgeport/Siko 0.49 -0.41 3 8.53 -1.93 32 Hartford/Bradle 0.37 -0.60 3 9.49 -1.06 33 Norfolk 0.27 -0.78 2 10.50 -1.49 31 Norwich 0.03 -0.98 1 11.69 -0.72 28 Thomaston_Dam 0.58 -0.40 3 10.64 -0.82 32 Willimantic 0.03 -0.90 2 9.84 -1.28 32 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 2005: 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: Weather has been cooler than normal. Hay is starting to head out shorter than usual. Farmers predict a light first cutting. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Effects of freeze on 5/13 showing up in apples, peaches and strawberries. Field and sweet corn plantings are progressing nicely. First cut grass has been slow to grow, but some have been making silage. Spraying weed control on cornfields, transplanting of cabbage and other cole crops. Frank Himmelstein (Ext), New London: Field corn- growers continue field preparation activities and planted a number of fields this week despite the continued stretch of below than normal temperatures. The cool temperatures continue to plague the region slowing emergence of corn from the ground. The upcoming week does not look much better and depending on the amount of rainfall this week replanting is a likely scenario in wet spots. I'm still concerned with potential crop injury from application of certain herbicides for weed control under these cool wet weather conditions. Marsha Jette, (FSA), New London: Producers are hoping for warmer weather and reports indicate that fields are becoming dry, rain showers would be welcome at this point. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Good week for action, getting a lot of field work done, some showers, wet weather hampering some activities but overall moving along. Karen Vozarik (FSA), New Haven: Sun and some warmth for the week, temperatures are cooler than normal and has slowed crops down. Frost on the May13th may have done some damage. Joyce Meader (Ext), Windham: There has been a very extended apple bloom period due to the cool weather. Growers are waiting until all petals are off and all bee hives are out of the orchards before making petal fall insecticide applications. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Cold temperatures and persistent showers have kept growers out of the fields. Soils are extremely saturated with moisture. There are reports of seed spoiling in the fields already planted. Growers are getting concerned with the late date and such a small portion of the crop planted. When will spring arrive? Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Ground temperature 46 degrees. Need for sunny and warmer conditions. Crop conditions remained unchanged from previous week. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Farmers are beginning tillage. Livestock producers are spreading manure. Cool weather is causing slow progress. Soil temperature was 45 degrees Fahrenheit early in the week. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: Just when the fields were getting dry enough for tillage, we got more rain. Field work delayed. Gleason Gray (Ext), Penobscot: Still raining some field work done between rain storms. Very wet Janet King (FSA), Somerset: Is this now the rain report instead of the crop report. Kathy Hopkins (Ext), Somerset: Some sun, plowing, tilling and planting in drier areas this week. Donald Burke (FSA), Waldo: Manure spreading is on going on fields that are not too soft. Bees have been set out on blueberry fields. Some gardens have not been planted yet. Crops that are in need the sun. Bees need sunny days to pollinate blossoms. Everyone is tired of the rain! Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Bees have been placed on blueberry fields, hoping for some days suitable for pollination. Cool weather and rain have slowed up farming activities. Some gardens are still to wet to plow. The rain has affected all farmers in this area. Dr. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild blueberries: Pre emergence herbicides and fertilizers being applied on nonbearing fields. Bees being moved into fields for pollination. Wet weather has been conducive to infection to mummy berry disease. Sandy Truslow (FSA), Cumberland/York: Farmers are trying to complete field work between rainy days. Weather conditions will make for very late crops this year. Very few have any seed planted. If wet weather continues through apple bloom, pollination will be a problem. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Pennsylvania has been having a very dry spring. I was happy to report to them this weekend that I know where all the water has been going! With all the rain, pastures are green but so wet cattle will be punching up a lot of fields. Field work is falling further behind. Is there light at the end of this tunnel? Marcia Hall (FSA), Oxford: Oxford County received another one to two inches of rain over the weekend. Pastures are green but too soft to put the animals on. Some of the fields on well drained soils were dry enough for field work last week. Some early corn has been planted. Some producers are reporting field work is falling behind because of the wet conditions. Greenhouses are still being heated due to cool temperatures and producers are reporting having to spend much more on fuel/wood this spring than in the past. Apple growers have placed their bees into place and reported that the apple stage is in pink. Vegetable growers have started to plant potatoes and corn where the crop field soils are dry enough. Manure and commercial fertilizer are being spread. Barbara Murphy (Ext), Oxford: Still raining, everything soaked. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Producers are busy getting corn and potatoes planted where possible. Rain continues. Peas, radishes, and cold crops are up and growing. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Another very dry, cool week for this time of year. Temperatures are running 10 to 15 degrees below normal. Most farmers can get into the field easily for site preparation however soil temperatures are not warming up. Sweet corn and silage are both being planted and optimistically hoping for a warmer time to come. There are complaints from apple producers regarding the cool temperatures and the lack of bees willing to work in the cold. Now is the time to pollinate as most apples are in full bloom and this could be a problem down the road. There were no serious reports of frost damage from last week. Local nurseries, farmers markets and garden centers are booming with Memorial Day and spring landscaping sales are keeping them busy. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Conditions continue to be extremely cold and wet, growers are not able to plant and crops that are planted have not emerged. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Cool weather has everything delayed in development. The only insect detected in any notable consequences so far is black-headed fireworm. Growers will be spraying during the coming week, if the weather allows it. Some of the later varieties are still in their dormant red color; they should be fairly green by this point. The low spots in the beds are fairly wet, which may lead to root rot development. Quiet week for frost because it was so overcast. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Temperatures remained cool throughout the week in Franklin County. Most farms are on schedule as far as planting is concerned but the crops are growing slowly. Fruit growers are reporting that it's too early to determine the total extent of damage from last week's frost. All tree fruit appears to be doing okay but that assessment may change after fruit set. Hay is starting to grow and planted corn and potatoes have finally broken ground. Shade tobacco is being planted this week. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Crop fields have dried out. Season temperatures have been below normal for 21 days out of 23 days in May. Growers cannot wait any longer to start planting warm season crops. Vegetable growers are planting tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, potatoes and sweet corn. Diary farmers are planting corn silage at a very fast rate while soil conditions are good. Harvesting asparagus, spinach and rhubarb. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Amy Ouellette (Ext), Belknap: Still cool but dry this week, except for the weekends. Scattered frost May 20. Still haven?t seen first strawberry blossom. Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: A better week, but don't get used to it. A few breaks in the clouds allowing fruit growers to put on a spray. Green Pug Moth larva observed in Moultonboro, damaging a few apple blossoms. Rainy weather suppressing plant sales and garden activities. Cool wet weather delaying successive plantings of sweet corn. Shortage of bees has fruit growers scrambling for pollinators. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: A bit cool, but good weather for field work. Most of the field corn is planted, and early planted fields starting to spike. Grass continues to look good in pastures and hayfields. Vegetable growers setting out transplants,harvesting some salad greens. Fruit trees and berry crops in full bloom. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Cold and wet weather continues to delay corn and other plantings. Some field corn in but slow going. Manure and fertilizer being topdressed on haylands, grass growing well. Some forage crop seedings also being done. Dandelions blooming in larger numbers, just starting in north part of county. Generally behind on crops for this time of year. Not unusual but still seeing frosts during the week even a hailstorm in Colebrook area. Effects of cold winter being observed, one field of alfalfa and orchard grass hit pretty hard in central Coos. Bees are keeping pretty close to the hive, maybe the smart ones! Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Cool wet weather continues to retard plant growth. Plenty of moisture but no real heat. Field prep and corn planting continues. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: Corn and new seedings of grass are being planted. Cool conditions have caused things to start off slowly. ?WE? need some warm weather. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Weather: Localize hail storm hit part of the county on Wednesday causing some damage to transplants. Overall, plant growth is behind because of cool damp weather. Vegetables: Harvesting asparagus and rhubarb. Growers making successive plantings of sweet corn and planting potato and other early season vegetable crops. Growers were plowing, discing fertilizing and laying down plastic mulch and drip irrigation tape. Weed spraying on planted sweet corn fields. Fruits: Orchardists made sure to have protective fungicide sprays applied with off and on rain showers. Blueberries are blooming and Plasticulture Strawberries starting to bloom. Peaches were in petal fall stage at beginning of the week. Apples were at full bloom during week and earliest bloom varieties were at petal fall by end of week. Green Pug Moth seen in one orchard . Field Crops: Farmers spreading manure, plowing, discing, fertilizing and planting corn on fields. Grasses and forage crops growing slowly. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Some sun, cool weather and wet weekend. Some fields are very wet. Planted early vegetables and forage crops are growing slowly. Warm, sunnier days are needed. Preparing vegetables fields by plowing, discing, fertilizing. Tomatoes in hoop houses growing well. Weeding and cultivating. Spraying protective fungicides in orchards. Preparing forage corn fields by spreading manure, fertilizing, discing. Mulching blueberries. Planting small fruits. Weather forecast for the up coming week does not look promising: greenhouse growers hoping for a warm Memorial weekend to boost the sale of bedding plants. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: Most of the week was good for field work. The weekend was wet and cold. Grass in pastures and hayfields is doing well, but more sunlight and warmer temperatures are needed to accelerate growth. Growers planting corn and other vegetables. Fruit growers applying preventative sprays for apple scab and other pests. Greenhouse and nursery sales slow due to bad weather on the weekends. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Fruit trees are loaded with blossoms, some petal fall. Lots of field work being done, field corn getting ready to plant and the hay is looking good. Potatoes finishing up and some were emerging. Strawberry season looks like a good one. Let's get some sunshine and some heat. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Another generally cool damp week. Spring plantings are growing but need some serious warmth. First cut of grass starting to fall a little behind. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Wet weather has delayed corn planting in the area. Some of the drier fields have been planted. The cold weather has slowed grass production. Hay fields and pastures are behind in production. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Cool weather has slowed up corn germination. Planting is going great with only showers hit and miss. Hay crop needs some warmer condition to grow taller still short in some fields. Veggie crop are about the same slow growing. Terence Bradshaw, Univ of Vermont: Cool weather is delaying or extending bloom. Pollination conditions are less than optimal. Bees are in orchards, but in short supply. Scab potential is high. 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, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statistician: Travis Averill Stat Assistant: Lynne Arsenault Deputy Director: Gearld Tillman 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 ***********************