new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 9/04/05 Issue NH-CW3704 Volume 25, Number 19 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) September 6, 2005 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary-- A TALE OF TWO WEATHER FRONTS GENERAL CONDITIONS: For the week ending September 4, 2005, there were 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Topsoil moisture: 8% very short, 26% short, 65% adequate, and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture: 8% very short, 22% short, 68% adequate, 2% surplus. Pasture condition: 9% very poor, 14% poor, 33% fair, 41% good and 3% excellent. The remnants of Hurricane Katrina hit the region at the beginning of the week with cloudy, rainy conditions, bringing much needed moisture to parched crops. Rain was welcomed to the region but may have arrived too late for crops under severe stress due to prolonged lack of moisture. On Friday, clear, sunny weather arrived and remained for the Labor Day weekend. It was a great weekend to do field work, to pick berries, fruits and vegetables, and sales at farm stands were brisk. Major farm activities included cultivating, weeding, irrigating, monitoring pests and diseases, spraying fungicides and pesticides, spreading manure, baling hay, chopping grass, chopping corn silage and harvesting a variety of fruits and vegetables. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year -- Percent -- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 8 10 1 Short 26 41 11 Adequate 65 49 69 Surplus 1 0 19 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 8 10 0 Short 22 28 7 Adequate 68 60 78 Surplus 2 2 15 --------------------------------------------- -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Sunshine during the weekend allowed blueberry growers to near completion for the harvest season. Both highbush and wild blueberry harvests should wrap up this coming week. Remnants of Katrina brought much needed rains for cranberry growers to enhance the crop as the harvest season approaches. However, more rain is needed to help bulk up reservoirs to prevent against frost damage this fall. Apple growers appreciated rains early in the week to improve sizing of fruit as early apple harvest was starting to wrap up and as other varieties of apples were becoming ready to pick. This year, the pear harvest has varied in Connecticut and Massachusetts due to unfavorable conditions to pick, thus conditions were only rated fair in the region. Peach harvest was more than three quarters finished at week's end and crop condition rated good to fair in New England. Orchardist's were busy mowing orchard floors, and spraying insecticides and pesticides. Also, strawberry growers were busy cultivating and weeding newly renovated beds. VEGETABLES: Vegetable growers appreciated the rains early in the week but continued to irrigate crops in the southern region due to insufficient rainfall in recent weeks. Sun arrived to the region for a great weekend that provided for brisk sales at local farm stands and farmers' markets even though gas prices were over $3 per gallon. Sweet corn growers welcomed the rains early in the week to enhance conditions as harvest almost three quarters completed. Growers were busy harvesting a variety of vegetables such as: beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, pumpkins, radishes, snap beans, summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini and winter squash. Greenhouse and nursery operations were busy harvesting and selling a variety of flowers. FIELD CROPS: The rains early in the week brought much needed moisture to the region. Sunshine arrived for the weekend and provided farmers great conditions to work in the fields. First cutting of hay finally finished up at week's end. Second cutting of hay was progressing along rated in good condition. Some farmers were skeptical of third cutting of hay due to the prolonged lack of moisture in southern New England creating very low yields. Tobacco growers welcomed the early rains and the sunshine for the weekend as the harvests come to a close. Some farmers have started to chop corn silage even though conditions vary throughout the region due to the prolonged lack of moisture; however crop was rated good to excellent in New England. Maine small grains growers continued to harvest barley and oats as both were rated in good to excellent condition. Maine potato growers were busy preparing equipment for the upcoming harvest and desiccating vines. Growers also continued to spray fungicides on a seven to 10 day schedule. Massachusetts potato harvest was behind last year's and crop condition was rated fair to good. Rhode Island potato harvest had slowed down due to heavy soils hindering progress and crop condition was rated fair to poor. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Barley, ME 65 55 55 Good/ Excellent Oats, ME 55 30 35 Good/ Excellent Potatoes Maine - 5 5 Good/Excellent Mass. 25 40 40 Fair/Good Rhode Isl. 50 50 55 Fair/Poor Sweet Corn 70 75 75 Good/Fair Field Corn <5 - <5 Good/ Excellent Tobacco Broadleaf 95 85 90 Good/Fair Shade 90 95 95 Good Dry hay, 1st cut 100 95 99 Good/Fair Dry hay, 2nd cut 85 85 85 Good Dry hay, 3rd cut 35 35 45 Good/Excellent ---------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- --Percent Harvested-- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Fruit Condition Avg Size ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 20 20 20 Avg Good/Fair Peaches 80 85 80 Avg Good/Fair Pears 15 25 25 Avg Fair Blueberries Highbush 95 95 95 Avg/A.Avg Good/Excel Wild, ME 99 99 99 Avg Fair Cranberries, MA - - - Avg/B.Avg Good ----------------------------------------------------- -- Weather Summary For the Period: Monday August 29, 2005 To: Sunday September 4, 2005 AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI -- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 42 85 68 +7 0.51 4.30 NH 40 92 68 +7 0.45 5.63 VT 46 85 68 +7 1.23 3.79 MA 45 89 72 +7 0.09 7.52 RI 56 86 74 +7 1.90 3.45 CT 52 88 73 +6 0.38 2.74 ------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table For the Period: Monday August 29, 2005 To: Sunday September 4, 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 50 81 69 +5 1682 -183 734 -5 Allagash 42 81 66 +9 1318 +82 462 +145 Augusta_State_A 58 82 70 +7 1908 +101 922 +220 Bangor_Intl_Arp 52 82 70 +8 1884 +234 872 +283 Barnard 51 80 67 +7 1588 +154 652 +213 Bath 52 83 70 +7 1654 -35 708 +80 Bethel 53 80 68 +6 1728 +93 750 +182 Brassua_Dam 48 77 66 +8 1408 +214 529 +226 Brunswick_ME 55 82 70 +7 1754 +65 813 +185 Caribou_Municip 49 79 67 +9 1573 +242 639 +268 Corinna 52 83 69 +9 1721 +148 758 +236 Danforth 50 80 67 +7 1544 +12 619 +107 Dover-Foxcroft 48 78 65 +5 1463 +29 558 +119 Durham 51 80 68 +3 1693 -224 736 -58 East_Hiram 51 80 67 +6 1694 +66 728 +165 Eustis 52 77 65 +7 1351 +192 474 +199 Frenchville 50 79 68 +10 1550 +314 629 +312 Gray 58 83 70 +7 1922 +258 939 +334 Greenville_ME 53 77 66 +6 1541 +96 623 +174 Guilford 50 82 66 +6 1581 +147 671 +232 Hollis 50 83 69 +8 1753 +192 792 +275 Houlton 48 80 68 +9 1566 +176 637 +221 Kennebunkport 49 84 69 +3 1587 -436 662 -208 Livermore_Falls 49 85 68 +9 1775 +365 813 +395 Moosehead 50 78 65 +7 1365 +171 489 +186 New_Sharon 51 83 68 +9 1734 +324 785 +367 Patten 50 80 67 +8 1473 +83 567 +151 Portage 48 80 67 +9 1544 +213 618 +247 Portland_ME 54 84 71 +8 1874 +210 896 +291 Rangeley 51 78 66 +8 1406 +282 516 +259 Sebec_Lake 50 80 67 +7 1560 +115 627 +178 Vanceboro 50 80 67 +7 1521 +63 597 +136 Waterville 54 83 70 +6 1804 -61 840 +101 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 50 85 68 +5 1831 +14 850 +147 Benton 53 80 67 +7 1716 +209 734 +275 Berlin_AG 53 78 68 +7 1732 +214 745 +263 Bethlehem 52 82 68 +8 1724 +218 739 +279 Concord 52 84 71 +8 2135 +318 1070 +367 Diamond_Pond 51 73 63 +7 1314 +290 453 +252 First_Conn_Lake 49 74 63 +7 1299 +275 435 +234 Greenville 52 86 71 +10 2205 +561 1133 +577 Keene_AP 54 84 71 +6 2132 +107 1059 +203 Lakeport 57 84 71 +10 2132 +428 1077 +456 Marlow 50 81 68 +5 1908 +68 895 +191 Mount_Washingto 40 60 50 +7 338 +277 15 +15 North_Conway 52 81 69 +7 1898 +204 892 +282 Otter_Brook_Lk 51 82 69 +4 1985 -40 941 +85 Plymouth 53 82 68 +8 1766 +272 776 +312 Rochester 52 83 71 +6 1955 +16 941 +144 Weare 51 83 70 +6 1971 +131 945 +241 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 49 79 65 +4 1802 +216 793 +271 Bethel 54 82 68 +8 1879 +373 861 +386 Burlington_Intl 59 83 71 +8 2305 +362 1194 +396 East_Haven 51 79 67 +9 1709 +447 722 +396 Island_Pond 51 77 66 +8 1660 +414 699 +386 Montpelier 53 80 69 +9 1948 +417 906 +419 Morrisville_AG 52 79 67 +7 1687 +161 720 +228 Mount_Mansfield 46 66 58 +6 1036 +374 249 +183 Northfield 52 81 68 +9 1807 +413 798 +394 Pownal 53 83 68 +7 1969 +377 895 +372 Rochester 54 80 68 +7 1885 +379 861 +386 Rutland_AG 55 83 70 +6 2056 +51 1006 +173 Sunderland 51 82 69 +5 1982 +61 932 +172 Sutton 52 77 66 +8 1654 +392 692 +366 Townshend_Lake 53 82 69 +6 2028 +126 975 +206 Union_Vill_Dam 49 84 68 +4 1861 -57 849 +72 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 54 83 70 +8 2072 +421 1008 +433 Boston/Logan_In 64 86 75 +7 2372 +65 1284 +197 Greenfield 50 85 71 +5 2187 +22 1091 +131 New_Bedford 54 85 73 +4 2158 -169 1078 -28 Otis_AFB 57 84 74 +8 2354 +458 1221 +437 Plymouth 54 84 73 +7 2149 +193 1114 +285 Walpole 56 86 72 +8 2333 +349 1229 +400 West_Medway 56 84 72 +7 2187 +203 1108 +279 Chicopee/Westov 52 86 72 +3 2485 +9 1306 +98 Worcester 59 83 71 +7 2236 +385 1143 +415 Worthington 51 82 68 +7 1903 +286 857 +317 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 61 86 75 +7 2526 +325 1381 +371 Woonsocket 56 85 73 +8 2320 +368 1200 +409 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 52 82 70 +2 2111 -275 1007 -132 Bridgeport/Siko 61 86 75 +6 2602 +237 1384 +233 Hartford/Bradle 56 87 74 +6 2632 +253 1430 +294 Norfolk 53 80 68 +6 1974 +353 903 +359 Norwich 56 88 73 +6 2448 +233 1299 +300 Thomaston_Dam 55 85 72 +8 2340 +410 1204 +435 Willimantic 52 85 73 +7 2353 +385 1200 +399 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 2.71 +1.91 4 4.41 +1.08 9 Allagash 1.74 +0.83 2 3.24 -0.48 9 Augusta_State_A 1.89 +1.18 4 3.17 +0.19 11 Bangor_Intl_Arp 2.00 +1.23 4 3.69 +0.61 13 Barnard 3.37 +2.46 5 6.08 +2.65 13 Bath 3.91 +3.21 4 5.05 +2.06 9 Bethel 3.62 +2.76 4 4.88 +1.29 10 Brassua_Dam 3.48 +2.64 4 4.46 +1.10 13 Brunswick_ME 3.50 +2.80 4 4.78 +1.79 9 Caribou_Municip 2.84 +1.97 2 3.94 +0.34 9 Corinna 3.05 +2.14 3 4.37 +0.88 10 Danforth 2.94 +2.03 4 4.53 +0.82 13 Dover-Foxcroft 2.08 +1.17 4 3.06 -0.37 10 Durham 1.52 +0.82 4 3.17 +0.37 8 East_Hiram 2.10 +1.32 4 4.35 +0.99 10 Eustis 3.84 +3.08 4 5.33 +2.26 11 Frenchville 3.62 +2.71 2 5.09 +1.37 10 Gray 1.69 +0.99 4 2.95 +0.31 11 Greenville_ME 4.00 +3.09 4 6.94 +3.51 10 Guilford 3.12 +2.21 5 5.99 +2.56 13 Hollis 0.99 +0.26 4 1.93 -0.90 10 Houlton 2.61 +1.70 5 3.36 -0.33 15 Kennebunkport 0.92 +0.22 4 1.87 -0.95 10 Livermore_Falls 1.90 +0.99 4 3.17 -0.56 10 Moosehead 3.78 +2.94 4 4.94 +1.58 11 New_Sharon 1.65 +0.74 4 3.03 -0.70 11 Patten 3.07 +2.16 4 4.53 +0.84 12 Portage 0.51 -0.36 1 2.03 -1.57 8 Portland_ME 1.30 +0.60 4 2.31 -0.33 9 Rangeley 2.88 +2.04 4 5.30 +1.70 11 Sebec_Lake 3.50 +2.59 5 6.30 +2.87 13 Vanceboro 2.82 +1.95 4 4.29 +1.18 13 Waterville 2.60 +1.80 4 4.30 +0.97 12 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.84 +0.14 4 1.95 -1.00 9 Benton 2.58 +1.73 4 4.58 +1.00 11 Berlin_AG 1.96 +1.08 5 3.79 -0.03 10 Bethlehem 2.25 +1.35 4 4.99 +1.00 13 Concord 1.18 +0.48 4 3.05 +0.10 10 Diamond_Pond 3.00 +1.93 5 5.30 +0.73 14 First_Conn_Lake 3.28 +2.21 6 5.55 +0.98 15 Greenville 0.45 -0.37 3 2.12 -1.47 9 Keene_AP 1.32 +0.54 4 2.85 -0.58 8 Lakeport 1.47 +0.72 4 3.11 -0.15 9 Marlow 2.15 +1.34 4 5.28 +1.95 9 Mount_Washingto 5.63 +3.75 4 8.21 +0.68 14 North_Conway 4.32 +3.47 4 5.97 +2.39 11 Otter_Brook_Lk 2.02 +1.24 5 3.85 +0.42 10 Plymouth 2.90 +2.12 4 3.90 +0.48 10 Rochester 0.92 +0.15 4 1.77 -1.41 7 Weare 1.71 +0.90 4 4.10 +0.77 13 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 1.51 +0.57 4 3.66 -0.22 12 Bethel 2.36 +1.38 4 3.74 -0.39 11 Burlington_Intl 2.84 +1.97 5 3.37 -0.26 10 East_Haven 3.79 +2.84 5 5.41 +1.22 13 Island_Pond 3.34 +2.39 6 4.78 +0.53 13 Montpelier 2.65 +1.86 4 4.40 +0.96 13 Morrisville_AG 2.56 +1.58 4 3.29 -0.99 11 Mount_Mansfield 3.69 +2.06 4 5.81 -0.94 16 Northfield 1.94 +1.12 3 3.91 +0.52 8 Pownal 1.73 +0.79 4 3.08 -0.80 10 Rochester 2.32 +1.34 5 3.60 -0.53 11 Rutland_AG 2.74 +1.83 4 4.26 +0.46 11 Sunderland 2.03 +1.12 4 3.61 +0.01 12 Sutton 3.48 +2.53 5 5.33 +1.14 13 Townshend_Lake 1.87 +1.03 4 3.57 +0.00 11 Union_Vill_Dam 2.79 +2.01 5 4.09 +0.80 14 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.55 -0.16 4 3.24 +0.17 10 Boston/Logan_In 0.88 +0.12 4 1.95 -1.03 11 Greenfield 1.92 +1.11 5 3.34 +0.03 11 New_Bedford 7.52 +6.62 4 7.69 +3.87 6 Otis_AFB 1.71 +0.94 4 1.98 -1.12 7 Plymouth 4.97 +3.99 4 5.19 +1.46 8 Walpole 2.17 +1.26 4 3.32 -0.29 11 West_Medway 1.82 +0.91 4 3.11 -0.50 11 Chicopee/Westov 1.52 +0.68 4 2.96 -0.28 9 Worcester 0.84 -0.07 3 2.49 -1.01 9 Worthington 1.85 +0.94 4 3.18 -0.52 9 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 3.45 +2.61 2 4.56 +1.22 6 Woonsocket 2.47 +1.56 4 4.13 +0.49 9 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.02 +0.11 4 2.02 -1.38 10 Bridgeport/Siko 0.62 -0.08 4 1.83 -1.04 7 Hartford/Bradle 0.80 -0.11 4 2.17 -1.23 8 Norfolk 1.35 +0.31 4 2.15 -2.01 10 Norwich 2.74 +1.83 4 3.26 -0.35 7 Thomaston_Dam 1.16 +0.18 4 2.34 -1.56 11 Willimantic 0.94 +0.03 3 1.03 -2.54 7 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 AWIShome page at www.awis.com or call toll free at1-888-798-9955. -- Other Agricultural Comments and News CONNECTICUT - Howard Rood (FSA), Fairfield/Litchfield: Scattered showers early in the week were a welcome sight for farmers worried about pasture lands and vegetable crops. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Another week of little to no rain. Vegetable producers who had water were irrigating. Large quantities of sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, cukes, squash, and eggplant were shipped for the Labor Day weekend. Several were starting to chop corn for silage. Long stretch of dry weather for making dry hay where it could be found. Tobacco producers were complete with broadleaf harvest and firing sheds in some cases. We need rain but very little in sight. Frank Himmelstein (Ext), New London: The remnants of Katrina did little to help the corn crop in New London County. Dry weather continues to plague the region. Farmers with crop insurance should be gathering yield data to document their losses. Dry Hay- Good weather continues for quality hay harvest although yields are very low. Marsha Jette (FSA), New London: Need rain. Silage corn is being harvested with smaller ears producing less grain. Conditions vary throughout the county. Third cutting of hay is nonexistent. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Grapes turning purple, will be picking Pepin variety soon. Honey production may be down - less nectar with dry weather. Mid season blueberries have good number of berries but are shriveled and bitter tasting due to heat and dry conditions. String beans unmarketable as they immediately went to seed production. Sugar baby water melons ripened much smaller than they should have. Short crop of potatoes. Green peppers turning red at 2" in size and mushy texture. Tilled in sweet corn that went to starch at harvest. Silage corn chopping began earlier on many farms with sandy soils, production estimates are from 9 to 24 tons, with better production on farms that got rain around pollination to allow good ear development. The sandy soils have small ears with kernels half the size they should be. Joyce Meader (Ext), Windham: Silage corn ranges from great to terrible. Pollination successful on most fields, but lack of rain prohibited kernels from filling with that high energy starch. Ears have all the kernels in many cases, but tiny ears. Other fields have green stalks and big ears. Ration balancing is going to be a challenge this year, requiring many silage samples as the pile changes quality frequently. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Katrina brought welcome rain to some areas but left others high and dry. Farmers returned to making hay by the end of the week with cooler drier weather. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains; Growers continue getting ready equipment for harvest. Harvesting small grains and canola. Some vine desiccation has begun. Also growers are plowing some of their fields. Mostly grain fields after the crop is harvested. Rains first part of the week have really helped the potato crop. Quality looks very good and yields should be average. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Fungicides still being applied. Vine desiccation is being done in most areas. Grains being harvested. Broccoli harvesting continues. Showers early in week prevented fieldwork for a couple of days. Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Harvesting early. Starting to top kill for harvest. Leslie Nelson (NRCS), Piscataquis: Over two+ inches of rain saturated fields and prevented much fieldwork from occurring. Donald Burke (FSA), Waldo: Second crop harvest of hay resumed as soon as Katrina moved out. Silage corn still growing. Sweet corn still plentiful, but late. Showers during the week and the remnants of Hurricane Katrina brought several inches of rain to the area. Great news for pastures and crops. Rising fuel costs affecting farmers. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Wet weather Monday through Wednesday slowed down second crop haying. A couple of blueberry fields were being finished this week. Wide variety of fruits and veggies still available, especially sweet corn. Rain from Hurricane Katrina brought relief for dry pastures and gardens. Skyrocketing fuel costs hurting local farmers. Farmers don't get to add a "fuel surcharge" onto their crops! Sandy Truslow (FSA), Cumberland/York: Weather has been beautiful for harvesting a ctivities. The area continues to need rain having missed most of the rain from Hurricane Katrina. Apple orchards are opening for pick your own. Marcia Hall (FSA), Oxford: Oxford County producers had several rainy days last week. Some parts of Oxford County welcomed the rain as the soils were dry. Apple producers have reported that some fruits are small in size but the majority of the fruit is average size. Apple producers reported that the rains helped with the size issue but will hinder with harvesting, which will start hopefully this week for some. Potato producers have reported some major issues with harvesting in Oxford County. Vegetable growers are still harvesting their vegetables and taking to market, but the market will slow now that Labor Day has gone by. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Monday through Wednesday the county had up to 3" of rain, though some areas only received 1.5" of rain. Most of the land absorbed the water. Very few puddles in the fields. Harvesting of fruits and vegetables was hampered with the wet conditions. Pick your own cane berries had a good demand. The volume of 2nd cutting for some farmers has been real short. But we have at least one farmer from south county reporting a 4th cutting. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Nice dose of rain last Tuesday and Wednesday. After wanting rain so bad for so long, the New Bedford area received nearly 7 inches. Some cranberry beds were flooded for a few hours. Damage should have been minimal, as temperatures were relatively moderate thereafter. Berries of the early varieties have disappointing size, whereas the later varieties have pretty good size. We still need rain to bulk up the reservoirs and to continue to size up the berries. Color is coming along slowly but surely. Jason Otto (FSA), Bristol: Good week for field work. Some rain on Monday was a relief but it seems to be too late for most crops. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: It was a tale of two weather fronts this week. During the beginning of the week we had the remains of Hurricane Katrina with rain and humidity and wind. The second half of the week brought cool, dry, sunny weather that was great for making hay. All fall crops are being harvested now. Corn silage yields should be awesome this year. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: A nice cool week for harvesting fall crops. Harvesting of fall crops continues at a rapid pace with dry conditions. Growers are harvesting apples, peaches, potatoes, all types of peppers and squash, tomatoes and pumpkins. Soil conditions are dry and many farmers are irrigating their crops. Growers continue to scout for pests and disease in late fall crops. Tobacco producers are reporting the crop is drying down very good in the sheds. Gary Guida, Worcester: Heavy rains from remnants of Katrina brought much needed rain and pushed Labor Day corn crop to excellent condition. Good size ears and Oh so sweet! Farmers harvesting all crops. Blueberry harvest complete, fall raspberry harvest underway. Pumpkins and mums now at farm stands. Great Labor Day weekend, sales and weather! Growers getting ready to pick fall products. How will gas prices affect fall leaf peeper season? NEW HAMPSHIRE - Amy Ouellette (Ext), Belknap: The early apples are being picked and fall mums are selling. Corn mazes opened over the holiday weekend. Farm stands and farmers' markets are filled to the brim with a large assortment of native grown vegetables. Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: With Labor Day weekend behind us, can frost be far away? Fall mums and pumpkins appearing at the garden centers. Hay cutting and baling winding down. Peaches coming in, apples not far off. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Pretty warm most of the week, with some heavy rain midweek and gorgeous haying weather over the weekend. Field corn continues to mature, with a few farms just beginning to chop. Too wet to hay for much of the week, but remainder of second cutting and more third got mowed over the weekend. Vegetable producers, still doing well with later corn, field tomatoes, etc. Blueberry harvest starting to wind down, PYO apples just picking up. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: A rainy beginning of the week gives way to sunny but cooler temperatures in time for the county fair. Field corn maturing well, generally in milk stage or a bit further. Good re-growth of haylands and pastures. Hay being taken as possible. Plenty of summer veggies available, better than average year for sweet corn . Mature orange pumpkin entries at fair give a look at what was an overall good growing season. Some more signs of fungal problems, powdery mildew, more common now in squash plants. Seem to see more leaf miners in field corn this year. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn continues to mature aided by rainfall and heat. Third cutting continuing as weather permits. Quality of third cutting hay is excellent. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Vegetables: Harvesting an array of vegetables: beans, beets, cole crops, cucumbers, greens, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, winter squash, zucchini, and other vegetables. Mildew can be found on pumpkins and winter squash. Farmers are cutting and picking up pumpkins and winter squash. Some farmers are starting to clean up harvested fields and planting cover crops. Fruit: Orchardists harvesting peaches, plums, and finished picking Paulared apples. Orchardists busy monitoring for pests, summer pruning trees, mowing orchard floors, fixing up orchard roads and move bins into the orchard. Highbush blueberry harvest over except for those few growers who have late maturing varieties, and fall raspberry harvest continued. Seeing Two-Spot Mite buildup in fall raspberry plantings. Field Crops: Hay cutting continued during the week with the second and third cuttings being made. Some spreading manure on hay fields. Farmers making new forage seedings and some new seedings have germinated. Corn looks good to excellent. Sadie Puglisi (Ext), Merrimack: Markets are full with everything you can think of. Cabbage, onions, potatoes, beans, watermelons, peaches, apples, tomatoes, cantaloupe. The nights and mornings are very cool. Trees that were stressed through the summer are already dropping leaves. Mums are for sale and corn mazes are starting. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Harvesting fall raspberries and blackberries; pumpkins, winter squash, hot peppers, eggplants and a whole array of vegetables and peaches are being harvested. Great Labor Day weekend for apples Pick-Your-Own harvest. Hay and haylage being produce. Pasture, in general, look good. Irrigating vegetables, weeding and cultivating. Fall mums are also available at garden centers and farmers' markets. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Harvesting of silage corn has begun in the lower part of the county. Fourth cutting of haylage just about ready. Harvesting of summer vegetables still going on with pumpkins starting to show up at farm stands. PYO apples has begun with early varieties. Signs are it is an abundant year. PYO blueberries should be finishing up in another week or so. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: This was a dry week. It was a pleasant week for field work. Hay making and haylage continued during the week with the second cut. Silage corn is growing rapidly and some is ready for harvest. Vegetable growers were busy harvesting an array of vegetables. Crops were irrigated most of the week but there were a few scattered showers which gave growers a break. Disease and insect pressure is high this year and growers were busy monitoring crops and spraying where necessary. Fruit growers mowing orchard floors, monitoring for pests, cultivating and weeding new strawberry beds and renovated beds. Blueberry harvesting continued through the week, but was light because it is almost coming to an end. Harvesting of peaches in pick you own operations continued through the week. Harvesting early apple varieties such as Gingergold and McIntosh. Poinsettias are growing well in most greenhouses and Garden Centers are already selling early mum varieties. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Heavy rains mid week helped and hurt. Potato harvest was slowed due to heavy soils and some second cut hay was rained on, but summer vegetables, corn and field conditions improved with a good drink. Some cool nights and warm days have been ideal for field work. A good Labor Day Weekend sent people to roadside stands and farmers markets for the purchase of mums, flowers, summer vegetables and fruits. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Corn silage harvest started last week on a few farms. Remnants of Katrina left us with some much need moisture. Great weekend weather provided ideal conditions for second and third grass harvest. Winter squash showing up at farm stands already. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: There was not a lot of activity last week. A few farmers were finishing second cut and a few more were doing third cut hay. The remnants of Katrina came through on Wednesday and provided some needed moisture. No flooding occurred from this thankfully. Farmers are beginning to think corn harvest now. The corn is nearly matured. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Got some much needed moisture but still short. Corn within a week of harvest. Terence Bradshaw, Univ of Vermont: Early harvest of Paulareds, JerseyMacs, etc. should be wrapping up. Picking of Gala and McIntosh will begin this week. Welcome but heavy rain last week should help to size up fruit. Color appears excellent this year. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: We had about 2.5 inches of rain from Hurricane Katrina, most of it came over night as a steady rain with no damage. Morning fogs making drying conditions difficult. Heather Darby (Ext), Franklin: Very dry with some rain relief this week. Some corn is being chopped because it is drought stricken. Other corn is drying down more rapidly than usual because of the dry weather. Third cut hay is being harvested. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext),Farm Service Agency(FSA), Natural Resources ConservationServices (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: Deirdre Davis Deputy Director: Gerald Tillman New England Agricultural Statistics 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*********************