State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 09/23/01 Issue NH-CW3801 Volume 21, Number 21 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) September 24, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary SHOWERS CAME TOO LATE TO HELP CROPS For the week ending September 23, 2001, there were 6.0 days available for fieldwork across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 22% very poor, 32% poor, 35% fair, 11% good, 0% excellent. Major farm activities included: fertilizing fields; re-seeding pastures and hayfields; cutting hay and chopping haylage; desiccating potato vines; and harvesting oats, barley, silage corn, potatoes, apples, peaches, pears, Fall raspberries, cranberries, highbush blueberries, sweet corn and other vegetables. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 25 37 1 Short 44 38 11 Adequate 28 25 83 Surplus 3 0 5 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 40 36 1 Short 28 34 7 Adequate 29 30 88 Surplus 3 0 4 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Last week's rain showers came too late to help crop growth and slowed harvest activities; however, the rain helped replenish ground water supplies. Leaves have started to turn bright colors, as the cool Fall temperatures arrive. Potato harvest continued last week. Oat and barley harvest in Maine is running ahead of last year and normal. Corn yields have varied greatly due to lack of rain this season. Broadleaf tobacco harvest was completed in the Connecticut River Valley last week. The cutting of the second hay crop is almost complete. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Last week, growers harvested apples, pears, peaches, highbush blueberries and Fall raspberries. Pick- your-own operations had good business over the weekend. Most fruit crops have a below average size this year, due to drought conditions during the growing season. Highbush blueberry harvest in New England should be finished shortly. The harvest of Massachusetts' cranberry crop is well underway, with some report of fruit rot. VEGETABLES: The harvest of sweet corn, pumpkins, winter squash and other vegetables continued last week. Pumpkins and gourds are becoming popular items at roadside stands now that the Fall season is here. Sweet corn growers are nearing the end of harvest. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 25 25 25 Good/Excel Mass 55 70 70 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 85 60 65 Good Oats, ME 90 65 80 Good Barley, ME 95 65 85 Good Silage Corn 55 15 30 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 95 90 90 Good/Fair Tobacco Broadleaf 100 100 100 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 95 90 90 Fair/Poor Third Cut 70 65 65 Fair/Poor ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 40 45 45 Fair/Good Peaches 95 95 95 Fair/Good Pears 45 40 45 Poor/Fair Cranberries,MA 15 5 5 Good/Fair Blueberries Highbush 99 99 99 Fair/Good ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the Week ending Sunday, September 23, 2001 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ----- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 30 80 58 +4 0.15 1.64 NH 29 82 59 +4 0.64 2.01 VT 30 78 60 +5 0.29 3.92 MA 36 82 64 +4 0.15 2.94 RI 44 83 66 +5 0.80 3.15 CT 37 82 65 +4 0.70 2.23 ---------------------------------------------- Weather Information Table AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 35 75 58 -2 2004 -58 789 +5 Allagash 30 75 54 +4 1466 +145 446 +123 Augusta_ME 47 77 62 +5 2367 +375 1044 +302 Bangor 41 75 61 +5 2234 +417 932 +311 Barnard 39 76 58 +5 1925 +371 703 +251 Bath 36 77 60 +3 1980 +110 761 +101 Bethel 35 80 59 +4 1984 +192 728 +132 Brassua_Dam 38 74 57 +5 1596 +308 491 +181 Brunswick_ME 43 77 61 +4 2126 +256 862 +202 Caribou 34 75 58 +6 1848 +427 660 +282 Corinna 39 76 58 +3 2097 +388 825 +285 Danforth 31 74 54 +0 1715 +60 600 +75 Dover-Foxcroft 36 72 55 +2 1788 +234 608 +156 Durham 39 77 60 +1 2005 -119 790 -47 East_Hiram 35 75 59 +3 1931 +147 730 +140 Eustis 34 72 55 +3 1437 +188 419 +136 Frenchville 34 72 56 +5 1679 +358 558 +235 Gray 48 77 62 +5 2372 +528 1064 +427 Greenville_ME 40 74 58 +4 1870 +303 687 +224 Guilford 33 75 54 +0 1898 +344 739 +287 Hollis 36 78 60 +5 2082 +377 847 +315 Houlton 31 75 57 +5 1792 +307 648 +224 Kennebunkport 41 75 59 -2 1929 -330 723 -208 Livermore_Falls 32 80 60 +7 2103 +579 868 +439 Moosehead 35 76 56 +4 1570 +282 486 +176 New_Sharon 41 79 61 +8 2278 +754 975 +546 Patten 35 72 55 +4 1575 +90 486 +62 Portage 36 75 58 +7 1886 +465 691 +313 Portland_ME 42 78 62 +5 2194 +350 922 +285 Rangeley 35 73 57 +5 1481 +265 416 +152 Sebec_Lake 34 77 57 +4 1862 +295 676 +213 Vanceboro 37 74 57 +3 1817 +225 635 +157 Waterville 40 79 61 +3 2225 +163 926 +142 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 38 76 61 +5 2265 +270 971 +233 Benton 37 75 58 +4 1888 +250 679 +203 Berlin_AG 34 74 58 +4 1911 +266 695 +198 Bethlehem 33 76 58 +4 1761 +125 590 +114 Concord 36 80 64 +7 2350 +355 1047 +309 Diamond_Pond 40 67 55 +4 1331 +236 357 +152 First_Conn_Lake 34 69 55 +4 1243 +148 311 +106 Greenville 33 80 62 +6 2045 +240 808 +223 Keene_AP 37 82 64 +6 2363 +126 1033 +126 Lakeport 42 79 63 +8 2490 +631 1147 +502 Marlow 30 75 58 -1 1771 -255 619 -124 Mt_Washington 35 51 43 +5 244 +183 10 +10 North_Conway 37 76 59 +4 2288 +443 979 +346 Otter_Brook_Lk 38 77 61 +3 2147 -90 844 -63 Plymouth 32 78 58 +4 1851 +233 649 +172 Rochester 39 81 62 +4 2340 +196 1042 +198 Weare 38 77 60 +2 2018 -8 763 +20 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 30 77 57 +2 1561 -179 478 -72 Bethel 35 77 60 +5 2070 +417 813 +311 Burlington_VT 44 77 64 +8 2549 +427 1178 +341 East_Haven 33 75 59 +7 1663 +303 534 +197 Island_Pond 39 71 58 +6 1714 +364 575 +250 Montpelier 37 74 60 +6 1942 +276 740 +228 Morrisville_AG 33 75 58 +4 1688 +26 567 +51 Mount_Mansfield 45 60 53 +6 1027 +320 222 +156 Northfield 31 77 58 +5 1914 +399 701 +279 Pownal 38 74 61 +5 2016 +270 736 +185 Rochester 34 77 60 +5 1900 +247 680 +178 Rutland_AG 38 75 61 +3 2036 -173 757 -128 Sunderland 34 73 58 -1 1780 -337 595 -213 Sutton 36 73 59 +7 1773 +413 607 +270 Townshend_Lake 38 77 60 +3 2108 +11 836 +21 Union_Vill_Dam 33 76 60 +2 2033 -80 780 -42 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 43 77 62 +7 2309 +502 979 +381 Boston 45 80 65 +2 2835 +236 1424 +234 Greenfield 43 82 65 +5 2510 +102 1156 +127 New_Bedford 41 77 65 +0 2561 -74 1177 -46 Otis_AFB 46 77 65 +5 2543 +406 1192 +344 Plymouth 41 78 64 +4 2451 +261 1100 +211 Walpole 44 79 64 +6 2662 +465 1265 +385 West_Medway 38 81 64 +5 2634 +437 1240 +360 Westover 39 79 64 +2 2711 -54 1303 -8 Worcester 55 76 65 +7 2439 +388 1081 +311 Worthington 36 76 61 +5 1938 +153 696 +124 RHODE ISLAND Providence 46 80 66 +4 2836 +357 1406 +304 Woonsocket 44 83 66 +8 2806 +642 1407 +569 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 40 76 62 +0 2283 -365 956 -267 Bridgeport 53 77 68 +4 2961 +283 1506 +231 Hartford_AP 44 80 65 +5 2832 +189 1403 +185 Norfolk 44 82 64 +8 2261 +479 941 +369 Norwich 42 81 66 +5 2802 +324 1364 +282 Thomaston_Dam 37 79 62 +3 2432 +284 1071 +245 Willimantic 43 80 66 +6 2779 +586 1342 +482 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.72 -0.02 2 2.45 -0.63 8 Allagash 0.67 -0.17 3 2.96 -0.57 9 Augusta_ME 0.94 +0.20 3 2.01 -0.84 9 Bangor 0.65 -0.13 3 2.68 -0.52 10 Barnard 0.78 -0.13 3 2.49 -1.13 11 Bath 0.80 +0.10 3 2.13 -0.69 10 Bethel 1.23 +0.46 2 2.48 -0.75 9 Brassua_Dam 0.48 -0.36 3 3.63 +0.23 12 Brunswick_ME 1.15 +0.45 3 2.29 -0.53 8 Caribou 0.38 -0.39 4 2.72 -0.62 11 Corinna 0.57 -0.27 3 2.63 -0.85 7 Danforth 0.66 -0.18 3 4.22 +0.74 9 Dover-Foxcroft 0.45 -0.46 3 1.30 -2.32 8 Durham 1.13 +0.43 2 2.40 -0.40 8 East_Hiram 0.47 -0.23 1 1.97 -0.99 8 Eustis 0.95 +0.25 3 2.15 -0.78 8 Frenchville 0.88 +0.04 4 3.69 +0.16 12 Gray 1.30 +0.58 3 2.18 -0.64 7 Greenville_ME 1.58 +0.67 3 3.07 -0.55 8 Guilford 0.84 -0.07 3 2.24 -1.38 10 Hollis 0.61 -0.16 3 1.51 -1.50 8 Houlton 0.15 -0.68 2 2.90 -0.59 9 Kennebunkport 1.18 +0.45 2 2.75 -0.08 7 Livermore_Falls 0.64 -0.20 3 2.00 -1.46 8 Moosehead 0.49 -0.35 3 3.22 -0.18 12 New_Sharon 0.76 -0.08 3 3.04 -0.42 7 Patten 0.32 -0.51 3 4.21 +0.72 10 Portage 0.37 -0.40 3 2.41 -0.93 11 Portland_ME 1.64 +0.92 3 2.49 -0.33 8 Rangeley 0.74 +0.04 3 2.52 -0.55 9 Sebec_Lake 0.82 -0.09 3 2.69 -0.93 10 Vanceboro 0.55 -0.36 3 3.12 -0.46 10 Waterville 0.63 -0.11 3 1.89 -1.19 8 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 1.15 +0.52 2 2.54 -0.13 8 Benton 1.75 +1.05 3 3.42 +0.31 10 Berlin_AG 0.69 -0.04 3 1.80 -1.44 7 Bethlehem 1.92 +1.22 4 4.22 +1.02 10 Concord 0.74 +0.11 2 1.89 -0.78 7 Diamond_Pond 1.04 +0.13 3 4.48 +0.51 10 First_Conn_Lake 0.86 -0.05 4 4.39 +0.42 11 Greenville 1.30 +0.60 2 2.99 -0.04 7 Keene_AP 1.00 +0.31 2 2.55 -0.39 7 Lakeport 1.14 +0.50 2 3.14 +0.32 6 Marlow 1.33 +0.56 3 3.62 +0.47 8 Mt_Washington 1.99 +0.32 4 5.73 -1.42 12 North_Conway 1.44 +0.67 3 2.60 -0.66 9 Otter_Brook_Lk 1.41 +0.72 3 4.13 +1.19 9 Plymouth 1.24 +0.54 2 2.87 -0.11 8 Rochester 1.02 +0.25 2 2.54 -0.45 7 Weare 1.26 +0.49 2 2.64 -0.51 7 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.96 +0.10 2 3.04 -0.60 11 Bethel 1.11 +0.27 2 2.55 -1.13 9 Burlington_VT 0.29 -0.45 1 2.61 -0.64 6 East_Haven 0.87 +0.10 3 3.16 -0.26 9 Island_Pond 0.98 +0.25 3 4.03 +0.63 9 Montpelier 0.47 -0.16 3 1.93 -0.91 10 Morrisville_AG 1.16 +0.39 2 3.07 -0.45 7 Mount_Mansfield 1.63 +0.25 3 6.09 +0.02 10 Northfield 0.68 -0.04 2 2.38 -0.72 8 Pownal 1.22 +0.36 2 3.28 -0.36 8 Rochester 1.00 +0.16 2 2.66 -1.02 9 Rutland_AG 0.62 -0.18 1 2.26 -1.20 7 Sunderland 1.60 +0.82 2 3.62 +0.22 8 Sutton 0.87 +0.10 3 2.79 -0.63 10 Townshend_Lake 3.92 +3.17 5 6.08 +2.88 12 Union_Vill_Dam 2.16 +1.39 2 3.01 -0.10 8 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 1.41 +0.77 3 2.72 -0.05 9 Boston 0.86 +0.16 2 1.59 -1.31 7 Greenfield 1.55 +0.78 3 3.79 +0.59 10 New_Bedford 2.28 +1.51 2 2.40 -0.94 6 Otis_AFB 0.93 +0.15 2 1.19 -1.91 6 Plymouth 2.26 +1.31 3 2.80 -1.09 10 Walpole 0.77 -0.07 2 2.12 -1.40 6 West_Medway 0.59 -0.25 2 2.39 -1.13 6 Westover 0.96 +0.13 1 1.99 -1.36 8 Worcester 0.84 -0.11 2 2.08 -1.60 9 Worthington 2.64 +1.80 2 4.69 +1.21 7 RHODE ISLAND Providence 3.15 +2.36 2 3.61 +0.30 6 Woonsocket 0.80 -0.07 2 1.82 -1.78 7 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.77 +0.90 2 4.26 +0.67 8 Bridgeport 1.53 +0.83 2 2.92 +0.05 8 Hartford_AP 1.39 +0.52 2 3.84 +0.25 8 Norfolk 2.07 +1.12 2 3.56 -0.41 7 Norwich 1.87 +0.96 2 2.52 -1.12 8 Thomaston_Dam 2.18 +1.27 2 3.99 +0.18 9 Willimantic 0.98 +0.05 2 3.93 +0.27 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 2001: 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: Rain fell at the end of the week. Field corn harvest is progressing very well. Yields are fair to good. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Corn silage harvest continues, with yields below last year. Showers mid-week were nice, however, too late for help with this year's crops. Apple harvest continues. Peaches are all harvested. Many sweet corn growers completed harvest this week. Winter squash and pumpkin harvest continues. Marsha Jette (FSA), New London: Busy chopping corn and finishing 3rd cutting, and in some instances fourth cutting is possible. Roadside stands are finishing harvest of vegetables. Pumpkins in the area do not have average size due to high heat early in their development. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Rain really needed, a light shower came Thursday night. Fruits are all smaller because it's been so dry. Hail damaged apples are going into cider. Orchards are buying in fruit from out of state to keep sales rooms open. Field corn harvest is hectic; production varies from poor to actually very good. Pasture and hayland re-seeding is taking place. Equipment breakdowns are a problem, with parts hard to get quickly. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: Heavy rains Friday delayed chopping. Rain is still needed. A lot of peaches left on the trees since they did not size. Silage seems to be poor in the western side of the County, eastern side seems to have had a normal year - could be too early to tell. Sweet corn still available. Apples are fresh and crisp. Days are definitely getting shorter. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Heavy rains have slowed corn silage harvest. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potato harvest continues at a rapid pace. Grain harvesting winding down. Second application of desiccants on later varieties. Potato yields vary from one area to another, depending on where showers fell during the summer. Quality still appears to be very good. Dee Potter (Ext), Northern Aroostook: Potato harvesting is underway. First killing frost occurred this week. Pastures are limited, as there continues to be little rain. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Quality of the potato crop continues to be good. Yields were better where farmers irrigated. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Received a good rain Friday and part of Saturday. Harvesting of corn and potatoes is in full swing. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: The rain this week was welcome, but we need a lot more for the pasture and hayfields. Birds have damaged a lot of apples. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: Some much needed rain arrived this week, although too late to have much benefit for the crops. Silage corn harvest is well underway. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Finally a little rain to keep the dust down! Corn silage harvest is almost complete. Fall seeding is not looking very good at the moment. More rain is predicted. Some farmers are needing to haul water for cows. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Fall crops such as pumpkins, squash and corn stalks are available at farm stands. One day of showers during the week. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Farmers are cutting hay and harvesting apples, corn, pumpkins and squash. Reports of very light and dry loads of silage. Smaller than normal apples are indications of how dry this season has been. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Silage corn harvest is in full swing. The yield in this area looks pretty good. Tree leaves are starting to show some bright color. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Piles of silage are getting higher. Some yield is great, some with poor ear size. Crop conditions generally look good. Received a little rain on Thursday and Friday. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: No pest or fertilizer applications. Continuing to harvest apple, peaches and plums. Bees have been found sleeping in the blossoms of flowers during harvesting (sleeping on the job). No appearance of disease. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Scattered dry harvesting last week. Cool overnights, but no frost reported. Berries coloring up nicely. Good dose of rain on Friday. No water shortage this year for water harvesting. Scattered reports of fruit rot. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Fall harvesting continues. Some rain on Thursday, but more is needed. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: It rained 3-4 inches. Tobacco growers had a tobacco damp and started taking down their early harvest. Tobacco crop looks good. Fall harvest is in full swing. Harvesting apples, potatoes, silage corn, hot peppers, pumpkins and more. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bruce Clement (Ext), Cheshire: Over two inches of rain fell in most of the County on Thursday and Friday. Pastures and hayfields starting to recover. Silage harvest continues, as does the harvest of apples, pumpkins and other Fall crops. Clean up of vegetable fields has begun. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Temperatures somewhat mild this week. Finally a good soaking of much needed rain, about 1.5 inches over a two- day period. Field corn harvest going at a good pace, looks to be both good quality and quantity, not much moisture in cut stalks. Potatoes also coming in. Some hay being taken where available. Still some good late season sweet corn at stands, along with other late season vegetables. Appears to be a much better pumpkin and winter squash year than in 2000. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn harvest continues. Yields continue to be variable due to dry conditions. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: Apple harvest continues, with most growers concentrating on the second picking of McIntosh and Gala apples, as well as Cortland apples. Fall raspberry and pear harvest continued. Peach, plum and blueberry harvest is nearly complete. Pick-your-own apple operations had a wonderful weekend. Vegetables: Harvesting wide array of vegetables. Good demand for all vegetables continues. Pumpkin crop yield varies from field to field and within a given field. Field Crops: Farmers continuing to make new forage seedings. Hay cutting continued. Most farmers continued to cut corn silage. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Apple harvest continues along with Fall raspberries, pumpkins, winter squash and a full array of other vegetables. Corn silage underway. Preparing fields for seeding with cover crops. The weekend was good for pick-your-own operations. Fields are dry despite the little rain we had on Friday. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Water supplies were replenished with last week's rain. Harvesting of silage corn is ahead of schedule. Looks to be a bumper crop of pumpkins and fall vegetables. Fertilizing of harvested corn fields and hay fields is ongoing. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: Rains late last week dropped over an inch of precipitation. Fields are starting to green up. Corn harvesting is well under way, and many producers are done. A light third or fourth cutting is hoped for on some fields. The overall quality of the hay appears to be very good this year, but the amount of hay harvested appears to be down considerably. The quality of many fields of corn appears to have suffered some due to the drought. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Pumpkins look good, hard squash looks great, and cabbage is looking wonderful. Recent cool weather has helped the sweet corn crop to maintain its sweetness. Roadside stands are filled with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Rain on Friday night was welcomed by some, and not welcomed by others (potato harvesters). The good, hard rain was definitely needed. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Rain fell hard this past week. Sunny days were accompanied with extreme heat and humidity as the week drew to a close. Fungus and mold were in their element! It feels like "hurricane weather," as a storm travels up the coast in the next few days. It has been very uncomfortable working in the fields this week. Haying continues although the quality is terrible. Silage corn is also being chopped. Market gardens are winding down with some plowing taking place and cover crops being seeded. Apple harvest continues. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Corn silage harvest hit high gear last week. Yields are reported as generally better than expected. Vegetable growers still going strong as conditions have been favorable. Grass is growing and still being harvested. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: Corn silage harvest going along smoothly. No major frosts, but some areas had light scattered frost. Good rain during the week, over an inch, stopped the dusty conditions. Concerns about the need to refill water storage before winter sets in and the ground freezes. Forecast for this coming week looks helpful to replenish the water supplies. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Corn silage harvesting ongoing. Crop looks good in most places. Harvesting is made easy with dry conditions. Some rain last week has helped to ease drought conditions. Some farms are having to drill wells due to dry springs. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: Received between three and four inches of rain on September 20th. Apple picking has been good this year, with the absence of rain showers during the day. Apple size is a bit small, but the color is excellent. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Corn silage harvest nearly complete. Good crop with good quality this year. Final harvesting of alfalfa and grass. Third crop good for alfalfa, poor for grass. Pasture regrowth still slow. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: Weather was excellent for field work of all types. Franklin County had a little bit of rain, 0.25 inches on Wednesday, but we need a lot more than that to replenish the ground water! I heard something the other day that reflects some of our thoughts pertaining to what happened September 11th. The comment was "Red, white, and blue - those colors don't run!" Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Three-quarters of an inch of rain on Friday. That is a start of what we need. Corn harvest moving along, corn is variable. Most haying done for the year - foggy mornings can last quite a while. No widespread killing frost. Corn in cold spots has gotten hit. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Still picking excellent late sweet corn. Potato crop in full swing, half finished with a very good crop. Started selling winter squash, pumpkins and corn stalks. We realized a good crop from the few fruit trees we have. No rain for the week. Two light frosts finished summer squash and cucumbers, but didn't hurt late sweet corn. Indian corn and gourds beginning to sell. "Fall is in the air." Customers starting to decorate. 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 ***********************