State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 10/09/05 Issue NH-CW3704 Volume 25, Number 24 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) October 11, 2005 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary-- Everything Afloat GENERAL CONDITIONS: For the week ending October 9, 2005, there were 4.9 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was rated 2% short, 55% adequate, 43% surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 3% short, 66% adequate, 31% surplus. Pasture condition was rated 5% very poor, 14% poor, 42% fair, 31% good and 8% excellent. Warm, sunny weather dominated the beginning of the week, providing excellent harvest conditions. Rain arrived Friday afternoon and continued into the early evening bringing all activities to a halt. Heavy rains continued through the holiday weekend and brought eight to ten inches of rain to some locations, causing flooding and mudslides along rivers and streams. Hundreds of acres of corn, hay and potatoes along the Connecticut River were flooded and crops were lost. Heavy winds also caused damage. Major farm activities included applying cover crops, baling hay, chopping corn silage, chopping grass, cleaning and putting away equipment, harvesting an array of fruits and vegetables, and spreading manure. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year Topsoil -- Percent -- Very Short 0 3 0 Short 2 13 10 Adequate 55 81 83 Surplus 43 3 7 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 0 4 0 Short 3 14 10 Adequate 66 80 84 Surplus 31 2 6 --------------------------------------------- -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Warm weather early in the week provided ideal conditions for peach growers to finish harvest. Cranberry harvest continued strong until the weekend rain hindered dry harvesting. At week's end, cranberry harvest passed the halfway point to the season. Pear harvest was close to finishing and conditions varied in the region. In Connecticut, pear condition was rated fair and good to fair elsewhere. Apple harvest continued mostly with strip picking and on pace with last year and the five year average. Over the holiday weekend, PYO operations were at a standstill due to the rains and windy conditions. During the week, growers continued to harvest McIntosh, Macoun, Cortland, Red Delicious, Empire, and other varieties. Apple growers were also busy making apple cider. Fall raspberry growers continued to harvest berries. Maine wild blueberry growers were busy flail mowing fields since foliage is still too green to burn. VEGETABLES: Heavy rain and windy conditions over the weekend limited sweet corn growers from finishing harvesting the 2005 crop. Sweet corn conditions varied from excellent to good in Vermont and good to fair elsewhere. Producers were busy harvesting brussel sprouts, cabbage, eggplant, greens, kale, pumpkins, tomatoes, and winter squash. There were reports of pumpkins floating down rivers over the holiday weekend. The warm weather continued to plague pumpkins with fungal diseases. Growers were also busy planting cover crops on harvested fields. Rains over the holiday weekend hurt farmers markets and roadside stands business for fall mums, pumpkins and vegetables. FIELD CROPS: Warm, dry days early in the week allowed great conditions to harvest crops in the field; however, rains over the weekend put all field activities to a halt. Most farmers were near completion of chopping corn silage at the end of the week, except Maine growers were behind the other five states. Conditions during the first half of the week allowed farmers to bale second and third cutting of hay. Both, second and third cutting of hay conditions were rated good. Maine barley harvest advanced slightly with the warm, sunny days early in the week. But Maine oats harvest was slowed due to the weekend rain. Both oats and barley conditions were rated good. Maine potato growers took advantage of the early warm, sunny days to harvest the crop before the fall frost arrives. Potato conditions improved slightly during the week to excellent to good. Massachusetts potato growers reported hundreds of acreage of potato land damaged from flooding over the weekend. The flooding caused for a dramatic crop conditions change and was rated very poor to poor at week's end. Rhode Island potato harvest continued along as the season comes to a close. Some broadleaf tobacco was taken down in sheds. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Barley, ME 95 99 99 Good Oats, ME 90 99 99 Good Potatoes Maine 80 95 85 Excel/Good Mass. 85 85 80 Very Poor/Poor Rhode Isl. 95 100 95 Fair/Good Sweet Corn 99 99 99 Good/Fair Field Corn 85 75 75 Good/Excellent Dry hay, 2nd cut 99 99 99 Good Dry hay, 3rd cut 90 85 85 Good ---------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- --Percent Harvested-- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Fruit Condition Avg Size ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 80 80 80 Avg Good/Fair Peaches 100 100 100 Avg Fair/Good Pears 95 85 75 Avg/B. Avg Fair/Good Cranberries, MA 55 45 45 Avg/B. Avg Good ----------------------------------------------------- -- Weather Summary For the Period: Monday October 3, 2005 To: Sunday October 9, 2005 AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI -- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 36 82 60 +11 0.91 8.82 NH 34 83 62 +13 1.21 9.84 VT 38 82 61 +12 1.61 6.07 MA 37 86 65 +12 0.42 10.20 RI 47 80 66 +11 0.72 3.22 CT 36 81 65 +11 1.62 7.22 ------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table For the Period: Monday October 3, 2005 To: Sunday October 9, 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 43 76 61 +10 2008 -138 807 +17 Allagash 38 81 57 +11 1482 +139 484 +161 Augusta_State_A 44 76 62 +11 2339 +271 1039 +293 Bangor_Intl_Arp 45 76 62 +11 2285 +403 975 +353 Barnard 42 76 59 +12 1885 +294 697 +245 Bath 42 78 61 +9 2009 +66 779 +119 Bethel 44 76 61 +12 2073 +224 828 +232 Brassua_Dam 40 78 59 +13 1671 +356 574 +264 Brunswick_ME 45 74 60 +8 2154 +211 909 +249 Caribou_Municip 40 79 59 +13 1840 +394 686 +308 Corinna 43 77 61 +13 2076 +322 842 +302 Danforth 42 75 59 +12 1820 +128 656 +131 Dover-Foxcroft 40 74 57 +10 1744 +153 589 +137 Durham 42 75 60 +7 2019 -191 802 -39 East_Hiram 42 76 61 +11 2028 +188 808 +218 Eustis 40 79 58 +12 1567 +292 504 +221 Frenchville 39 79 59 +13 1812 +469 680 +357 Gray 44 79 62 +12 2373 +457 1075 +438 Greenville_ME 41 73 59 +11 1837 +232 677 +214 Guilford 42 77 59 +12 1884 +293 724 +272 Hollis 39 77 61 +12 2112 +357 888 +356 Houlton 42 78 60 +13 1847 +336 697 +273 Kennebunkport 36 74 59 +4 1928 -441 736 -205 Livermore_Falls 39 79 62 +15 2113 +554 895 +466 Moosehead 40 82 58 +12 1609 +294 521 +211 New_Sharon 42 79 62 +14 2081 +522 867 +438 Patten 39 75 57 +11 1706 +195 594 +170 Portage 39 79 59 +13 1781 +335 651 +273 Portland_ME 46 75 62 +11 2325 +409 1033 +396 Rangeley 40 77 59 +14 1681 +438 564 +300 Sebec_Lake 43 75 59 +11 1857 +252 668 +205 Vanceboro 43 75 59 +11 1805 +169 635 +157 Waterville 44 77 62 +10 2190 +44 935 +145 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 37 78 61 +10 2178 +111 936 +197 Benton 43 78 61 +12 2044 +355 817 +341 Berlin_AG 44 78 61 +14 2064 +374 823 +326 Bethlehem 42 81 62 +13 2046 +363 824 +348 Concord 46 81 65 +14 2618 +551 1242 +503 Diamond_Pond 41 76 58 +13 1537 +421 486 +281 First_Conn_Lake 41 77 58 +13 1519 +403 457 +252 Greenville 44 82 64 +14 2685 +812 1311 +726 Keene_AP 45 79 65 +12 2607 +276 1226 +310 Lakeport 40 80 64 +14 2619 +703 1250 +605 Marlow 34 80 61 +9 2271 +165 988 +241 Mount_Washingto 45 62 54 +21 398 +337 15 +15 North_Conway 39 78 61 +12 2280 +380 990 +357 Otter_Brook_Lk 43 77 62 +9 2380 +49 1044 +128 Plymouth 40 77 61 +13 2101 +440 855 +378 Rochester 41 79 63 +10 2386 +151 1076 +224 Weare 45 76 63 +11 2384 +278 1064 +317 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 41 76 59 +10 2122 +319 866 +315 Bethel 42 80 62 +13 2278 +566 990 +486 Burlington_Intl 43 79 63 +12 2785 +589 1381 +540 East_Haven 42 79 60 +15 2032 +641 807 +470 Island_Pond 43 77 61 +14 1982 +596 785 +460 Montpelier 44 79 61 +13 2358 +638 1043 +531 Morrisville_AG 39 80 60 +12 2013 +300 804 +288 Mount_Mansfield 39 69 57 +16 1237 +521 272 +206 Northfield 42 82 60 +13 2168 +609 900 +478 Pownal 45 78 63 +13 2370 +561 1007 +455 Rochester 41 81 62 +13 2285 +573 988 +484 Rutland_AG 43 82 61 +9 2466 +162 1133 +233 Sunderland 38 78 60 +9 2345 +143 1021 +200 Sutton 41 77 60 +14 1960 +569 763 +426 Townshend_Lake 43 77 62 +10 2444 +263 1100 +277 Union_Vill_Dam 43 81 62 +11 2234 +41 963 +134 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 48 77 65 +15 2540 +672 1166 +568 Boston/Logan_In 50 81 66 +9 2962 +210 1535 +312 Greenfield 43 77 63 +9 2659 +132 1260 +211 New_Bedford 45 78 66 +8 2703 -100 1302 +39 Otis_AFB 45 79 66 +11 2901 +647 1448 +583 Plymouth 47 78 66 +12 2675 +374 1323 +420 Walpole 49 79 67 +14 2862 +569 1437 +543 West_Medway 46 78 65 +13 2693 +400 1296 +402 Chicopee/Westov 48 78 66 +10 3040 +127 1537 +194 Worcester 46 76 66 +13 2779 +636 1354 +570 Worthington 40 79 61 +10 2289 +431 962 +387 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 51 78 67 +11 3149 +530 1666 +536 Woonsocket 47 80 67 +14 2865 +608 1420 +574 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 42 75 61 +6 2521 -257 1134 -114 Bridgeport/Siko 54 76 68 +10 3275 +428 1711 +391 Hartford/Bradle 46 79 67 +12 3243 +475 1709 +469 Norfolk 45 74 62 +12 2392 +543 1023 +450 Norwich 44 81 67 +12 3018 +409 1543 +437 Thomaston_Dam 46 78 65 +11 2873 +619 1410 +566 Willimantic 50 78 67 +13 2908 +606 1430 +554 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 5.15 +4.33 2 8.31 +5.23 12 Allagash 2.20 +1.43 2 7.05 +3.81 11 Augusta_State_A 5.40 +4.61 5 7.71 +4.69 15 Bangor_Intl_Arp 5.08 +4.37 4 7.90 +4.82 15 Barnard 3.78 +2.94 4 7.44 +3.89 14 Bath 7.41 +6.65 2 10.00 +7.14 10 Bethel 3.61 +2.82 2 5.57 +2.47 9 Brassua_Dam 1.80 +1.03 2 4.73 +1.47 13 Brunswick_ME 8.82 +8.06 2 12.77 +9.91 9 Caribou_Municip 2.07 +1.37 2 6.23 +3.21 13 Corinna 3.53 +2.76 2 6.60 +3.35 11 Danforth 2.78 +2.03 2 6.07 +2.89 12 Dover-Foxcroft 3.01 +2.17 2 5.15 +1.60 8 Durham 6.46 +5.69 2 8.62 +5.70 10 East_Hiram 6.14 +5.32 3 8.92 +5.92 11 Eustis 3.06 +2.41 2 5.36 +2.61 12 Frenchville 0.91 +0.14 2 5.21 +1.97 14 Gray 7.34 +6.57 3 9.98 +7.00 9 Greenville_ME 2.44 +1.60 2 6.10 +2.55 12 Guilford 4.17 +3.33 3 7.78 +4.23 13 Hollis 7.25 +6.44 3 9.58 +6.46 9 Houlton 1.79 +1.08 2 5.12 +1.99 12 Kennebunkport 6.05 +5.27 2 8.47 +5.47 9 Livermore_Falls 3.89 +3.06 2 5.98 +2.72 9 Moosehead 1.88 +1.11 2 4.84 +1.58 13 New_Sharon 4.97 +4.14 2 7.24 +3.98 9 Patten 1.99 +1.28 3 5.27 +2.14 14 Portage 1.99 +1.29 2 5.72 +2.70 13 Portland_ME 6.04 +5.27 2 7.91 +4.93 10 Rangeley 3.03 +2.36 3 5.48 +2.76 13 Sebec_Lake 3.16 +2.32 3 6.98 +3.43 12 Vanceboro 2.74 +1.97 2 5.92 +2.48 11 Waterville 4.33 +3.51 2 7.39 +4.31 10 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 7.11 +6.41 2 10.17 +7.57 9 Benton 4.01 +3.31 2 6.25 +3.42 11 Berlin_AG 3.45 +2.68 2 6.02 +3.04 8 Bethlehem 2.19 +1.49 2 4.88 +2.06 12 Concord 6.09 +5.39 2 8.48 +5.88 10 Diamond_Pond 1.90 +1.06 2 5.16 +1.66 13 First_Conn_Lake 1.21 +0.37 2 6.24 +2.74 14 Greenville 5.54 +4.77 2 6.78 +3.91 7 Keene_AP 7.94 +7.24 2 9.30 +6.58 6 Lakeport 7.23 +6.51 2 11.11 +8.35 10 Marlow 9.02 +8.25 2 11.68 +8.60 8 Mount_Washingto 4.81 +3.34 2 8.66 +2.25 10 North_Conway 4.29 +3.45 2 7.11 +3.90 9 Otter_Brook_Lk 5.69 +4.99 2 7.97 +5.25 9 Plymouth 4.93 +4.16 2 7.47 +4.56 9 Rochester 6.80 +5.94 2 9.30 +6.16 8 Weare 6.74 +5.97 2 8.67 +5.59 9 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 5.76 +4.94 3 7.79 +4.38 10 Bethel 3.35 +2.51 2 6.44 +3.04 10 Burlington_Intl 1.61 +0.98 2 4.05 +1.23 10 East_Haven 3.34 +2.62 2 5.71 +2.75 13 Island_Pond 2.10 +1.40 2 4.36 +1.47 13 Montpelier 3.22 +2.59 2 5.25 +2.71 15 Morrisville_AG 1.87 +1.17 2 4.13 +1.10 13 Mount_Mansfield 1.98 +0.78 2 7.82 +2.55 14 Northfield 3.27 +2.57 2 5.19 +2.32 10 Pownal 5.69 +4.87 2 9.18 +5.77 10 Rochester 2.82 +1.98 2 6.29 +2.89 10 Rutland_AG 4.06 +3.37 2 7.05 +4.01 10 Sunderland 5.89 +5.21 2 8.37 +5.38 11 Sutton 2.91 +2.19 3 5.79 +2.83 15 Townshend_Lake 5.56 +4.86 2 7.73 +4.83 10 Union_Vill_Dam 4.36 +3.65 3 6.72 +3.70 9 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 5.54 +4.84 2 7.49 +4.77 9 Boston/Logan_In 1.97 +1.27 2 3.56 +0.76 7 Greenfield 5.63 +4.86 4 7.53 +4.44 9 New_Bedford 2.41 +1.68 2 6.38 +3.41 8 Otis_AFB 2.19 +1.35 2 7.08 +3.84 8 Plymouth 2.59 +1.70 2 6.79 +3.08 7 Walpole 2.88 +2.04 2 5.58 +2.22 9 West_Medway 4.19 +3.35 2 6.94 +3.58 9 Chicopee/Westov 7.11 +6.34 2 9.61 +6.41 8 Worcester 3.93 +2.97 3 6.75 +2.94 9 Worthington 10.20 +9.42 2 11.49 +8.19 10 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 2.64 +1.87 3 6.92 +3.77 9 Woonsocket 3.22 +2.36 2 5.50 +2.04 9 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 5.91 +5.10 3 8.59 +5.18 9 Bridgeport/Siko 2.80 +2.13 5 4.92 +2.12 10 Hartford/Bradle 5.42 +4.61 2 6.89 +3.48 8 Norfolk 6.69 +5.83 2 8.25 +4.57 9 Norwich 3.11 +2.25 2 6.60 +3.05 8 Thomaston_Dam 7.22 +6.35 3 9.61 +6.00 11 Willimantic 3.79 +2.88 2 5.09 +1.43 9 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: Rain fell at the end of the week. Farmers are nearly finished chopping silage corn. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Early in the week mornings were foggy and afternoons were mostly sunny and humid allowing for some third cutting to be baled. Most finished chopping corn silage. Rain started on Friday and continued thru the holiday weekend, which hurt pumpkin and apple sales. Some broadleaf was taken down in sheds. Grain corn was just about ready to combine but fields are too wet or under water. Pumpkins were seen floating down the Connecticut River on Monday. Some trucks and tractors are under water along the CT River. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Warmer temperatures than normal. Heavy rain and wind, some flooding and broken branches. All crop harvests are nearly complete, apple picking, making cider, applying cover crops, spreading manure, cleaning equipment and putting it away. Fall changing leaf colors brightening the landscape. Wildlife, deer, and turkeys out in the open fields. Nancy Welsh (FSA), New Haven: The rains finally came but it was too late for the crops. Now producers are trying to cope with the results of too much rain all at once. Rain on Saturday ranged from 4 to 6 inches throughout the two county areas resulting in gully erosion and there were some reports of wind damage. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Fifteen degrees above normal and drought early in the week to seasonable temperatures and flood late in the week! Five to ten inches of rain throughout the area. Field work came to a screeching halt for those few not already finished. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Warm sunny weather during the week enabled several growers to complete potato harvest. However, growers with late maturing varieties still have considerable acreage left to harvest. Showers predicted for the next week could delay potato harvest. Also wet soils will also slow down harvesting process. Yields of late maturing varieties such as Russet Burbanks are higher than originally expected. Quality is very good. Still some small grains yet to be harvested. Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: A lot of moisture. Waiting for things to dry up. Leslie Nelson (NRCS), Piscataquis: Conditions early in the week were good for field work, but heavy rain over the weekend saturated fields and left many with standing water. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: Excessive rain this weekend have halted all field activities. Donald Burke (FSA), Waldo: PYO apples now available. Silage corn harvest happening at a rapid pace, trying to take advantage of the weather. Haying will continue once silage corn is in. High fuel prices still affecting local farmers. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Flail mowing has begun on blueberry fields, but too early to start burning as the foliage is still green. Silage corn harvest is almost complete. Haying is still underway. No frosts yet and very little fall foliage along the coast. The warm weather this fall is in contrast to the cold wet and rainy spring. Sandy Truslow (FSA), Cumberland/York: The area received 6-8 inches of rain over the weekend. The ground is very soggy, luckily most crops have been harvested. Rain over the holiday weekend wiped out income from pick your own visitors. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: The ground is saturated. Silage corn could be tough to get off in places. Some remaining apples were knocked off the trees. Grain corn & soybeans left to go. Marcia Hall (FSA), Oxford: Oxford County has received in spots more then 7 inches of rain over the weekend. This has brought mud to fields and will make harvesting fall crops harder. Farmers have reported that cows do not want to go out in this weather but it's too early for that!! Waiting on the sunshine to help dry up some of these muddy and wet fields. Laura Rand (FSA), Androscoggin: Silage and potato growers are completing harvest. Rain over the weekend hampered harvesting activities and will take awhile to dry out. No reports of frost. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Well, the big story everywhere in the county was up to 8 1/2 inches of rain on Saturday. The Housatonic and Hoosic rivers both flooded. We are waiting to hear the reports from those farms in the floodplains but it looked like it took 2 days for the water to recede. Fortunately, most of the silage has been cut and things will dry out a little before grain harvesting. Saturday was a bust for farmers' markets and farm stands but business picked up for the balance of the 3 day weekend. Our foliage should peak around next weekend so the tourist traffic will be high and school kids are making Halloween field trips to the local farms, both good for business. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Harvesting continues, with smaller crops than anticipated for many growers. Color still not very good. Horrible weather for dry harvesting over the weekend, and the coming week does not look very good either. Where was all this rain when the vines needed it in August? Jason Otto (FSA), Bristol: Very wet weekend hindered fall sales. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Ten inches of rain on October 8th flooded many sections of Franklin County. Producers have reported that the Deerfield and Connecticut River rose so fast that animals needed to be rescued by boat during the height of the storm. Preliminary indications suggest that no animals were lost to drowning. All remaining crops that were unharvested at the time of the storm have been affected. All farmland along these rivers, and their tributaries, has suffered some degree of erosion damage. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Two days if heavy, heavy rains brought all rivers overflowing their banks. The seven to ten inches of rainfall caused hundreds and hundreds of acres of corn, potato and hay to be flooded. There were reports of boats, pumpkins, and big white marshmallows (hay bales) floating down the Connecticut River. Farm stands and PYO operations were at a standstill this holiday weekend due to the rain. Fall harvest continues of apples, cabbage, greens, and potatoes. Gary Guida, Worcester: Sweet corn harvest ended here on Sunday. None left to pick. Heavy rain (5") washed out driveways and flooded some roads. Field work mainly consisted of chopping corn, picking tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet corn. Warm weather slowed pumpkin and mum sales, wet Columbus Day weekend hurting farm stand sales of fall products. Cranberry harvest starts next week. Fall raspberry harvest best in years, still picking. New strawberry fields look wonderful! NEW HAMPSHIRE - Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: The last fair of the season is in the bag, time to button everything up for the coming winter. Pumpkin and mum sales lagging, due to recent warm weather. Sales should pick up now that it's beginning to look and feel like fall. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Higher than normal temperatures. Heavy rains over the weekend caused flooding and washouts in areas, especially along Ashuelot River, but soil is water-saturated pretty much everywhere. Corn harvest pretty much done, many farms spreading manure and/or rye. Vegetable stands still offering pumpkins and a bit of sweet corn, but other crops are winding down. Orchards are doing well, but warm temperatures are holding back PYO customers - who wants to bake a pie when it's 80 degrees out? Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Crop season drawing to a close in Coos, yet still no hard killing frost/freeze. Silage corn continues to be chopped, most now in except for some of largest farm acreage on the CT River. Also fields on upper Androscoggin which were delayed in planting by late spring flooding. Bunk silos being packed and covered. Generally a good year for not much insect and disease pressure. Probably more apple scab than usual, also fungal disease in pumpkins, especially non-rotated plots. An unseasonably warm autumn. Still nice colors despite heavy rains on Saturday, corn stalks, pumpkins, mums, etc. still available at farm stands. Tomatoes still OK in high tunnels too! Canadian Geese are back. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn harvesting winding down to completion. Heavy rains over the weekend stop all field work. Fourth cutting looks good in some areas. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: The weather for the week of October 2nd was as you could ask for in October. Farmers were harvesting grass and alfalfa, along with what is left of the corn crop in a few cases. As a general rule, crops have done well, given the slow wet start that they had in the spring. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Major rain showers occurred Saturday causing flooding and eroding farm fields. At one farm, unharvested pumpkins were carried away by the strong flooded river current. Vegetables: Good demand for all vegetable continues. Harvesting wide array of vegetables including: cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, winter squash and pumpkins along with the tail end of warm season crops. Farmers kept busy working on harvested fields by pulling plastic mulch & tomato stakes, disking fields, cleaning up fields, and planting cover crops. Fruit: Pick-your-own apple operations had a bad rainy holiday weekend! Apple harvest is in full swing with most growers concentrating on strip picking McIntosh, Macoun, and Cortland. Harvesting late maturing varieties like Red Delicious, Empire, etc. Fruit size is good, but bruising can be a problem. Pear harvest almost completed. Field Crops: Field corn harvest in full swing end is in sight. Cover crops were being planted in harvested fields. Sadie Puglisi (Ext), Merrimack: We had some great warm days last week, then rain this weekend. Some flooded areas in the county. Had at least one good day this weekend for orchards to get some good business. People are harvesting, and others are preparing the soil for next spring. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: Heavy rains at the end of the week. Fruit growers busy harvesting apples and Fall raspberries. Vegetables growers harvesting sweet corn, tomatoes and other vegetables. Garden centers busy with fall mum sales. Most Garden centers and nurseries have trees and shrubs on discounted sale prices. Poinsettia crop growing well at most greenhouse operations. Some hay producers still doing second cut haying. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Warm summer like weather came to an end with several days of rain. Corn silage harvest is almost over. High moisture corn harvest has not yet started. Manure being spread on cut cornfields and grass fields. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Another warm and dry week helped some farmers finish their corn harvest. This has been a really good season for corn. Temperatures were in the 80's. Is this August or October? A few farmers are taking advantage of the long, warm season by harvesting some forth cut hay. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Corn harvesting is pretty much completed. Now finishing 3rd cut. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Another warm week, some record highs, fog some mornings did not lift until noon. Old timers say they have never seen green grass like this in October. Most of corn in, virtually all hay, good crop year. Five inches of rain on Saturday, steady heavy rain, little washout damage, don't know about flooding. Heather Darby (Ext), Franklin: Rain last week kept field work to a minimum. However, in some areas farmers were still able to harvest corn and forage. Manure spreading continues as well as fall plowing. Cover crops are up on some fields. Combining of corn and soybeans has started. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: All harvested fields seeded to winter rye. Potatoes all dug. Still cutting cabbage and broccoli, nice green cover crop of rye on early seeded fields. 0.392 inches of rain for the week. The fall market garden season in full swing from pumpkins to bitter sweet. Big crop of pumpkins and squash. Markets full for the season. Still lack of color in Rutland County. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals. September 2005 Crop Weather Summary: The month of September brought mild temperatures to the six-state region. Prolonged lack of moisture in August continued into early September, and at mid-month topsoil moisture levels were rated short or very short in 47 percent in the region. Rains finally arrived with the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia at mid-month, and again at the end of the month with Hurricane Rita, bringing much needed moisture to New England. Soil and pasture conditions improved, however, the rains came too late for many crops to recover from the long stretch of dry weather. Second cutting hay harvest was nearly complete by month's end. Rains at the end of the month enhanced re-growth of third crop hay and many farmers delayed harvest to increase yields. Growers taking a third cutting had 15 percent left to harvest at the end of September. Lack of moisture forced farmers in southern New England to chop corn silage earlier than normal, with many starting the first week in September to avoid crops burning up in the fields. Field corn harvest in the six state region proceeded at a fast pace this season because the crop dried down so quickly. Close to three quarters of New England field corn was in the silo by month's end, compared with 60 percent last year and normal. Warm, dry conditions provided excellent harvest and curing conditions for the 2005 tobacco crops. Lack of moisture kept most of the broadleaf crop disease-free, with harvest complete at mid-month. Shade tobacco harvest was also winding down by mid-September; damage from TMV (Tobacco Mosaic Virus) has shown up at some locations as the crop cures. Maine small grain farmers also took advantage of early September's dry weather to move combining along at a fast clip. Progress of oats and barley harvest remained strong until rains arrived at the end of the month, with ten percent left to combine. Maine potato growers held off harvest until the end of September to allow tubers to bulk up after a late start in June. Just as harvest was gaining momentum, heavy rains hit, leaving many fields with standing water in the rows. As of September 26th, ten percent was harvested, compared with 30 percent last year and normal. Potato harvest in Massachusetts and Rhode Island was active during the month, with good or fair conditions reported dependant on moisture availability. Sweet corn harvest also dominated fieldwork activities in New England during the month, and picking neared completion at month's end. Dry weather reduced yields on many vegetable crops and irrigation was in full force if available. Blueberry harvest was complete in New England by mid-September, on schedule with normal. High bush blueberry condition was rated good or excellent region-wide, with fruit size average to above average. Poor pollinating conditions early in the season and lack of moisture at critical times during the summer kept Maine's wild blueberry condition at mostly fair, and fruit size average. The 2005 cranberry harvest season was underway at the end of September, but proceeding slowly in hopes of rainfall to increase sizing and cooler temperatures to improve coloring. The warm month provided great weather to get folks out to pick-your-own tree fruit operations in New England. Peach harvest was winding down at month's end, with the crop rated in good to fair condition. Apple harvest reached the half-way point as the month came to a close, with fruit size varying from average to below average in the six state region due to lack of moisture. Pear growers had 35 percent of the crop left to pick at the end of September, with fruit size at average or below average. -- 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: Travil 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*********************