sc-crop-weather South Carolina Weekly Weather and Crop Progress Report Released: July 5, 2011 Week Ending Date: July 3, 2011 Issue: SC-CW002611 GENERAL High temperatures and deficient rainfall continued to plague farmers this past week. Thunderstorms did bring much needed precipitation to some areas, but the rain showers were very isolated and missed many growers that were in a desperate need for relief from the drought. Most reported crop conditions continued to show signs of decline. Likewise, soil moisture conditions continued to fall and were 40% very short, 46% short and 14% adequate. Dry, sunny weather allowed for 6.6 days that were considered suitable for fieldwork. FIELD CROPS Ninety-seven percent of CORN had silked and 26% had doughed. Corn was just beginning to mature, however several growers reported that their crop is not filling out due to hot, dry conditions. Some fields of dryland corn are beyond recovery. Conditions declined further to 41% very poor, 32% poor, 21% fair, and 6% good. Over half of the COTTON crop had squared and 16% had set bolls by week's end. Above average temperatures had cotton crop development ahead of schedule. Conditions were reportedly 5% very poor, 12% poor, 46% fair, 36% good, and 1% excellent. Thirty-five percent of PEANUTS had pegged, falling behind historical figures. Conditions fell and were reported 1% very poor, 11% poor, 53% fair, 34% good, and 1% excellent. SOYBEAN planting was 95% complete. Eighty-three percent of the crop had emerged with conditions showing signs of decline. TOBACCO harvest had just begun with 10% of the crop harvested. Like other crops, conditions dropped and tobacco was reportedly 4% very poor, 21% poor, 44% fair, 30% good, and 1% excellent. OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST LIVESTOCK conditions declined and were 2% very poor, 15% poor, 46% fair, 36% good and 1% excellent. PASTURES were 22% very poor, 36% poor, 35% fair and 7% good. Ninety-six percent of CUCUMBERS and 80% of SNAPBEANS had been harvested. Forty-four percent of PEACHES had been harvested, remaining ahead of the five-year average. Conditions were 6% poor, 23% fair, 70% good and 1% excellent. Sixty percent of both CANTALOUPES and WATERMELONS had been harvested. TOMATO harvest was 80% complete. Crop Progress for Week Ending July 3, 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg :: Crop and Stage : 2011 : 2010 :5-Yr Avg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cantaloup, Harvested : 60 57 56 :: Peanuts, Pegged : 35 48 43 Corn, Silked : 97 97 91 :: Snapbeans, Fresh, Harvested : 80 69 82 Corn, Doughed : 26 51 36 :: Soybeans, Planted : 95 99 98 Corn, Matured : 3 1 0 :: Soybeans, Emerged : 83 92 90 Cotton, Squared : 53 52 46 :: Tobacco, Topped : 80 83 58 Cotton, Bolls Set : 16 6 3 :: Tobacco, Harvested : 10 14 6 Cucumbers, Fresh, Harvested : 96 95 96 :: Tomatoes, Fresh, Harvested : 80 70 67 Hay, Other Hay, Harvested : 40 0 0 :: Watermelons, Harvested : 60 59 46 Peaches, Harvested : 44 38 36 :: : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Condition for Week Ending July 3, 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent :: Crop :Very Poor: Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent :: : Percent : :: : Cantaloup : 11 13 53 23 0 :: Peaches : 0 6 23 70 1 Corn : 41 32 21 6 0 :: Peanuts : 1 11 53 34 1 Cotton : 5 12 46 36 1 :: Soybeans : 8 34 41 17 0 Hay : 12 33 42 13 0 :: Tobacco : 4 21 44 30 1 Livestock : 2 15 46 36 1 :: Watermelons : 3 9 55 33 0 Pasture : 22 36 35 7 0 :: : --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending July 3, 2011 Lake City and Dillon reported Monday afternoon high temperatures of 98 degrees. Isolated thunderstorms produced 1.80 inches of rain at Laurens and 1.09 inches at Clinton. Early afternoon storms on Tuesday left 1.21 inches of rain at the Orangeburg AP in just 33 minutes. At 5:06 p.m., the Springmaid Pier at Myrtle Beach reported south winds at 31 mph; gusting to 34 mph. Darlington and Longtown each reached 99 degrees on Tuesday. Localized storms brought 1.11 inches of rain to the Rock Hill AP and 1.00 inches to Lake Wylie. Widely scattered thunderstorms on Wednesday were more concentrated across the central and southern coastal counties in response to a boundary of cooler air entering the state. The Hardeeville USGS site received 2.40 inches of rain while the Georgetown AP reported 1.73 inches. Allendale and Walterboro cooled to 67 degrees on Thursday morning. June's 2011 rainfall in South Carolina ranged from 8.51 inches at Ft. Mill to 0.30 inches at the Florence AP. After a short break that included bright blue skies and temperate northeast surface winds, the summer heat returned for the weekend. Bamberg and Lake Wateree recorded 99 degrees on Friday as did the Florence AP on Saturday. Sunshine over smoke and haze was observed on Sunday. The Clemson AP thermometer indicated a Sunday maximum temperature of 96 degrees. The state average temperature for the seven-day period was four degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 100 degrees at Ft. Moultrie on June 27. The lowest official temperature reported was 62 degrees at Chesnee on June 30. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.78 inches at Barnwell ending at 7:00 a.m. on June 29. The state average rainfall for the period was 0.7 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth soil temperature: Columbia 82 degrees, Charleston 85 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were below normal. Ocean water temperatures at Springmaid Pier Myrtle Beach were reported at 84 degrees. Precipitation ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location : Total : Total : Deviation : for Week : for 2011 : from Average ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greer : 0.38 22.92 -3.5 Anderson : 0.18 18.32 -6.4 Columbia : 0.33 18.54 -6.2 Orangeburg : 1.36 18.21 -6.5 Charlotte, NC : 1.83 20.47 -1.9 Augusta, GA : 0.41 18.28 -5.7 Florence : 0.28 14.16 -7.8 N Myrtle Beach : 0.00 16.13 -4.0 Charleston : 1.24 14.56 -9.6 Savannah, GA : 4.90 19.39 -4.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday.