State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 07/25/04 Issue NH-CW3004 Volume 24, Number 14 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) July 26, 2004 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary HOT AND HUMID WEEK For the week ending July 25, 2004, there were 5.1 days available for field work across New England. Topsoil moisture was rated 19 percent short, 70 percent adequate, 11 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated one percent very short, 17 percent short, 75 percent adequate, seven percent surplus. Pasture condition was rated two percent very poor, eight percent poor, 27 percent fair, 51 percent good, 12 percent excellent. Hot, humid conditions mixed with scattered showers prevailed during the week across New England hindering haying activities in many areas. The warmer temperatures and sunshine benefitted field crops by increasing growth rates and crop development. Major farm activities included: making hay and haylage when possible; harvesting highbush blueberries and shade tobacco; finishing harvesting strawberries, mowing; cultivating; weeding, top-dressing fields; monitoring fields; applying pesticides. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 0 0 6 Short 19 24 18 Adequate 70 65 69 Surplus 11 11 7 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 1 0 3 Short 17 23 26 Adequate 75 71 63 Surplus 7 6 8 --------------------------------------------- -- Field Crops Report Operators had a tough time making hay during the week due to the scattered showers, though good regrowth was reported on meadows already harvested. In Northern Maine, late blight was reported in some potato fields; growers were urged to use preventative sprays. Fields were also being monitored for corn borer egg masses. Potato conditions ranged from good to excellent across the six- state region. Shade tobacco harvest advanced to 10 percent complete during the week and broad leaf harvest was underway. The hot, humid weather improved field corn growth as early corn fields have begun to tassel. -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Harvest of berry crops made significant gains during the week. Highbush blueberries advanced 25 percentage points, well ahead of last year and average. Operators continued to monitor for insect pest and diseases and the crop was reported in good to fair condition. Wild blueberry harvest is expected to be delayed at least a week due to the cool, wet weather during the spring and early summer. Growers sprayed insecticides to control fruit fly. Cranberries are nearly out of bloom and fruit set was still rated as good. The crop has received little rain as growers continued with irrigation. Fruit worm injury was reported in some beds. Raspberry harvest continued and strawberry harvest was completed during the week. VEGETABLES: Growers have reported good yields on crops already harvested. Growers were top-dressing late vegetable crops and applying protective sprays as needed. Harvest continued during the week for beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, snap beans, summer squash, and greenhouse tomatoes. Sweet corn harvest began during the week as 10 percent of the crop had been picked. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2004 2003 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Barley, ME -- -- -- Good/Excel Oats, ME -- -- -- Excel/Good Potatoes: Maine -- -- -- Excel/Good Mass 10 -- -- Good Rhode Isl -- -- -- Good/Excel Silage Corn -- -- -- Good/Fair Sweet Corn 10 10 15 Good Tobacco: Shade 10 10 15 Good/Excel Broadleaf -- -- -- Good/Fair Dry Hay: First Cut 90 95 95 Good Second Cut 30 35 45 Good ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2004 2003 5-yr Avg Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples -- -- -- Good/Fair Peaches -- -- 10 Good/Fair Pears -- -- -- Good Blueberries Highbush 40 20 20 Good/Fair Wild -- -- -- Fair/Poor Cranberries,MA -- -- -- Good/Fair Strawberries 100 100 99 Good/Fair ----------------------------------------------------- -- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, July 25, 2004 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 40 87 68 +0 0.00 3.16 NH 39 89 69 +1 0.43 1.72 VT 43 91 69 +1 0.35 4.35 MA 50 89 72 +1 0.00 3.15 RI 60 86 73 +2 0.00 0.64 CT 55 90 73 +1 0.41 3.85 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table Weather Summary For New England Agricultural Statistics Service - Prepared By AWIS, Inc. For the Period: Monday July 19, 2004 To: Sunday July 25, 2004 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 84 70 -1 893 -259 263 -156 Allagash 43 86 66 +2 586 -171 123 -61 Augusta_State_A 51 83 70 -1 1011 -92 331 -60 Bangor_Intl_Arp 46 84 69 +0 942 -49 300 -19 Barnard 45 83 68 +2 793 -66 214 -26 Bath 50 85 69 +0 861 -136 258 -71 Bethel 47 84 69 +0 957 -48 289 -34 Brassua_Dam 42 82 65 -1 635 -69 123 -40 Brunswick_ME 52 82 70 +2 1017 +20 330 +1 Caribou_Municip 47 84 69 +3 730 -90 204 -12 Corinna 48 85 70 +2 911 -59 281 -18 Danforth 45 83 67 -2 711 -220 165 -126 Dover-Foxcroft 45 81 67 +1 707 -152 177 -63 Durham 51 82 70 -2 916 -255 286 -161 East_Hiram 46 83 68 -1 898 -106 266 -57 Eustis 40 83 64 -1 625 -71 125 -24 Frenchville 47 83 68 +3 654 -103 161 -23 Gray 53 82 70 +0 1054 +74 353 +39 Greenville_ME 51 84 69 +3 969 +99 315 +68 Guilford 43 84 66 -1 619 -240 130 -110 Hollis 46 84 70 +2 959 +15 309 +23 Houlton 41 83 68 +2 726 -123 209 -28 Kennebunkport 51 76 67 -6 811 -425 211 -272 Livermore_Falls 46 87 70 +3 972 +117 324 +91 Moosehead 42 83 65 -1 643 -61 130 -33 New_Sharon 46 84 69 +2 872 +17 235 +2 Patten 44 82 67 -1 691 -158 168 -69 Portage 45 84 69 +3 690 -130 180 -36 Portland_ME 52 80 69 -1 970 -10 315 +1 Rangeley 44 82 66 +3 680 +17 145 +10 Sebec_Lake 44 84 68 +2 800 -70 223 -24 Vanceboro 46 82 68 +0 722 -139 181 -64 Waterville 50 84 70 +0 939 -213 296 -123 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 52 89 70 +0 1005 -126 333 -74 Benton 47 84 67 +2 931 -17 273 +7 Berlin_AG 47 85 68 +1 947 +0 294 +13 Bethlehem 45 86 67 +0 854 -94 240 -27 Concord 52 88 72 +3 1293 +162 510 +103 Diamond_Pond 43 80 63 +0 588 -31 97 -6 First_Conn_Lake 46 82 64 +2 610 -9 115 +12 Greenville 54 88 72 +4 1280 +258 496 +177 Keene_AP 52 88 71 +0 1220 -61 435 -71 Lakeport 54 89 72 +4 1199 +138 454 +90 Marlow 51 83 67 -4 828 -331 203 -211 Mount_Washingto 39 59 52 +4 53 +27 0 +0 North_Conway 51 88 71 +3 1092 +35 393 +35 Otter_Brook_Lk 54 87 70 -2 1124 -157 379 -127 Plymouth 49 85 70 +3 929 +5 276 +7 Rochester 54 85 71 -1 1099 -106 395 -62 Weare 53 84 70 +0 1096 -63 369 -45 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 57 88 69 +2 1021 +39 308 +11 Bethel 47 88 69 +3 1051 +124 355 +83 Burlington_Intl 52 87 71 +1 1309 +79 542 +64 East_Haven 44 85 67 +2 873 +96 262 +70 Island_Pond 46 84 67 +3 833 +66 234 +54 Montpelier 48 85 69 +2 1033 +74 347 +57 Morrisville_AG 47 91 70 +3 896 -51 291 +1 Mount_Mansfield 43 74 59 -1 409 +15 43 +4 Northfield 49 88 69 +4 952 +90 295 +58 Pownal 52 84 67 -1 1092 +104 336 +33 Rochester 50 87 69 +3 1027 +100 333 +61 Rutland_AG 50 90 70 -2 1103 -175 363 -137 Sunderland 50 87 67 -4 1003 -226 291 -170 Sutton 47 84 67 +3 844 +67 240 +48 Townshend_Lake 54 85 70 -1 1125 -69 377 -75 Union_Vill_Dam 51 89 70 +0 1056 -151 374 -83 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 56 86 71 +3 1204 +181 438 +103 Boston/Logan_In 61 87 73 -1 1455 +21 633 +18 Greenfield 56 87 72 -1 1326 -47 516 -52 New_Bedford 60 87 74 -2 1306 -111 505 -91 Otis_AFB 62 86 73 +3 1230 +108 479 +71 Plymouth 60 86 73 +2 1248 +69 494 +43 Walpole 60 88 74 +3 1386 +153 565 +88 West_Medway 60 87 73 +2 1394 +161 567 +90 Chicopee/Westov 59 86 73 -3 1539 -38 665 -45 Worcester 57 83 72 +2 1315 +175 508 +97 Worthington 56 83 69 +1 1063 +68 334 +28 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 62 86 74 +1 1490 +136 634 +70 Woonsocket 60 86 72 +2 1358 +147 546 +97 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 56 83 69 -6 1180 -348 399 -283 Bridgeport/Siko 64 85 74 +0 1586 +138 703 +68 Hartford/Bradle 61 89 74 +0 1591 +70 707 +28 Norfolk 55 82 69 +2 1163 +164 399 +88 Norwich 63 88 75 +3 1488 +99 629 +55 Thomaston_Dam 59 90 74 +4 1517 +311 646 +203 Willimantic 61 85 73 +3 1426 +201 577 +120 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.44 -0.37 3 2.64 -0.50 14 Allagash 1.45 +0.54 3 4.75 +1.38 11 Augusta_State_A 0.38 -0.34 4 1.96 -0.91 15 Bangor_Intl_Arp 0.59 -0.14 4 2.73 -0.31 15 Barnard 1.83 +1.06 4 4.98 +1.71 18 Bath 0.89 +0.26 4 3.14 +0.44 14 Bethel 2.33 +1.53 4 5.51 +2.28 15 Brassua_Dam 2.68 +1.77 4 6.70 +3.03 14 Brunswick_ME 1.03 +0.40 3 4.07 +1.37 15 Caribou_Municip 1.41 +0.46 3 3.66 +0.13 17 Corinna 0.32 -0.45 2 2.56 -0.52 12 Danforth 1.30 +0.39 4 4.30 +0.76 17 Dover-Foxcroft 0.65 -0.12 4 2.93 -0.34 13 Durham 0.65 -0.12 4 2.69 -0.45 15 East_Hiram 1.38 +0.54 4 3.25 -0.05 15 Eustis 1.97 +1.13 4 5.78 +2.42 15 Frenchville 0.50 -0.41 3 6.12 +2.75 16 Gray 1.64 +0.96 4 3.15 +0.29 14 Greenville_ME 2.60 +1.83 5 5.99 +2.72 17 Guilford 3.16 +2.39 5 6.20 +2.93 18 Hollis 0.62 -0.08 2 2.26 -0.76 13 Houlton 1.08 +0.21 3 2.90 -0.44 17 Kennebunkport 0.66 -0.02 4 3.23 +0.39 15 Livermore_Falls 1.50 +0.73 4 4.27 +1.11 16 Moosehead 2.63 +1.72 4 5.65 +1.98 18 New_Sharon 2.04 +1.27 5 4.09 +0.93 14 Patten 1.32 +0.45 4 4.44 +1.10 19 Portage 2.67 +1.72 4 6.46 +2.93 17 Portland_ME 1.24 +0.56 4 3.63 +0.77 14 Rangeley 1.97 +1.15 4 5.86 +2.67 16 Sebec_Lake 2.14 +1.37 4 4.97 +1.70 15 Vanceboro 1.39 +0.62 5 4.07 +0.99 18 Waterville 1.59 +0.78 4 3.21 +0.07 15 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 1.54 +0.77 4 4.32 +1.44 12 Benton 1.55 +0.77 3 6.03 +2.88 12 Berlin_AG 1.21 +0.37 3 3.82 +0.42 10 Bethlehem 0.87 -0.04 4 4.04 +0.50 15 Concord 0.96 +0.19 4 3.06 +0.18 14 Diamond_Pond 1.18 +0.13 4 5.22 +1.05 16 First_Conn_Lake 0.97 -0.08 4 3.75 -0.42 15 Greenville 0.73 -0.14 3 2.72 -0.67 9 Keene_AP 1.04 +0.20 2 2.78 -0.49 11 Lakeport 1.14 +0.30 4 3.55 +0.34 15 Marlow 0.43 -0.34 3 2.39 -0.76 13 Mount_Washingto 1.65 +0.06 4 6.98 +0.59 18 North_Conway 1.72 +0.88 4 5.70 +2.30 16 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.93 +0.09 5 3.59 +0.32 18 Plymouth 1.51 +0.60 3 4.10 +0.63 15 Rochester 1.18 +0.39 5 4.38 +1.26 12 Weare 1.58 +0.81 5 4.30 +1.15 17 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 1.25 +0.34 4 4.59 +0.88 16 Bethel 1.60 +0.70 4 4.27 +0.85 17 Burlington_Intl 3.28 +2.44 5 7.44 +4.17 18 East_Haven 1.52 +0.54 2 6.29 +2.46 14 Island_Pond 1.17 +0.19 4 4.96 +1.12 15 Montpelier 1.97 +1.27 5 4.28 +1.48 20 Morrisville_AG 2.29 +1.31 4 6.15 +2.44 18 Mount_Mansfield 4.35 +2.88 5 12.41 +6.55 20 Northfield 1.94 +1.14 4 3.79 +0.69 13 Pownal 1.14 +0.23 4 5.89 +2.18 14 Rochester 2.86 +1.96 4 5.76 +2.34 15 Rutland_AG 1.54 +0.63 3 4.48 +1.02 14 Sunderland 3.22 +2.52 4 5.99 +3.28 16 Sutton 1.54 +0.56 5 4.82 +0.99 17 Townshend_Lake 1.29 +0.51 4 3.08 +0.11 17 Union_Vill_Dam 1.62 +0.85 4 4.17 +1.24 14 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 1.29 +0.45 4 3.92 +0.56 17 Boston/Logan_In 1.24 +0.61 4 3.89 +1.33 11 Greenfield 1.61 +0.77 4 3.55 +0.16 12 New_Bedford 0.08 -0.63 2 1.45 -1.31 11 Otis_AFB 0.01 -0.63 1 1.08 -1.51 6 Plymouth 0.16 -0.61 3 1.77 -1.31 11 Walpole 1.32 +0.55 4 3.72 +0.59 9 West_Medway 1.63 +0.86 3 4.72 +1.59 9 Chicopee/Westov 1.10 +0.33 3 3.70 +0.37 10 Worcester 3.15 +2.31 4 4.78 +1.29 11 Worthington 0.66 -0.32 4 4.02 +0.17 15 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 0.49 -0.23 4 2.59 -0.25 10 Woonsocket 0.64 -0.23 3 3.43 -0.14 12 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.66 +0.96 3 3.37 +0.48 12 Bridgeport/Siko 1.11 +0.27 3 4.00 +0.58 8 Hartford/Bradle 1.23 +0.53 3 3.55 +0.66 12 Norfolk 1.03 +0.10 3 2.90 -0.90 15 Norwich 0.41 -0.43 4 2.23 -1.05 11 Thomaston_Dam 1.98 +1.00 4 4.16 +0.44 14 Willimantic 0.44 -0.51 4 2.35 -1.40 12 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 2004: 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 - Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Corn growing well. Heavy dew and scattered showers made it difficult to hay. Few early peaches due to winter freeze. Summer pruning and mowing orchards. Adequate moisture for crops. Summer squash and greenhouse tomatoes good. Blueberry picking excellent. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Warm temperatures and adequate moisture are helping the crops grow rapidly. Tuber formation on potatoes looks very good. Grains look good with some lodging. Growers applying fungicides and insecticides as necessary. No real problems have been discovered as yet. Fields are being monitored for Corn borer egg masses. Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Some corn borers have hatched this week in some areas. Some late blight reported in Canada. Growers have been using Curzate for a spray preventative. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Farmers struggled to get hay dried. Perhaps the worst hay season remembered. Two inches of rain fell Friday night. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: A number of farmers have cut hay over the weekend hoping that the weather forecast for sunny days was correct for the beginning of this week. Some hay has lodged with excessive rains. Quality will be low due to the late harvest date. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Some warm days helped the corn finally get going. Still having problems getting many dry days in a row to finish up first cutting hay. Crazy weather continues. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Early sweet corn is ready. Blueberry harvest will begin late this year. Wet weather still a factor in harvesting the hay crop, we need sunshine! The wet, damp weather is also causing a high blueberry fruit fly count. Dr. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild blueberries: Sprays being applied to control fruit fly. Crop harvest start still expected to be delayed a week because of cool, wet weather conditions. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: The warm, humid weather during the day and the warm nights has been helpful to the corn crop. The plants seemed to have "jumped" this week and the crops are looking good. The market garden folks are getting zucchini, summer squash and cucumbers. The big anticipation is the sweet corn. The folks I've talked to say next week. Start the water boiling. Jill Littlefield (FSA), Cumberland/York: The area received a couple of days of much needed warmth. Everyone's still waiting for summer to arrive. More sun is needed!! Dry hay is nearly impossible to make this year. Vegetables are starting to come, but everything is behind. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Nothing like a trip to Harrisburg, PA to see how far behind the corn crop is up here. Summer is going by like a speeding bullet. Where is the sunshine and heat? Sweet corn will be a little late. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Crops are doing well but in need of more warm sun. Producers are having problems getting the hay crops in between the showers. Showers and cloudy weather have been scattered and spotty throughout Oxford County. Silage corn and Sweet corn are behind due to wet and cool weather. Strawberry producers have reported small berries and winter kill. Raspberries are being harvested along with peas. Apple producers have reported dead and dying trees due to the winter weather. Potato crops are looking good in this county. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Another slow week on haying, not much rain, but cloudy and very little sun. Veggie crops going great. Lots of watching for bugs and disease. Not many complaints. On one farm, deer eating red tomatoes off the vine and plenty of other "varmits" taking their share. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Vegetable growers are harvesting most crops with good to excellent yields, excellent growing conditions continue to push all crops along. Cranberry growers are applying fertilizer to support an excellent set and help the fruit to size up, also applying fungicides and insecticides in an effort to bring the first crop in a few years to harvest. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Nearly out of bloom. Fruit set continues to look very good, with berries sizing well so far. Some fruit worm injury showing up, as well as the first fruit rot in unsprayed areas in the bed at the Station. Scattered reports of lightning strikes in some beds, as well as hail three weeks ago. Damage appears to have been minimal. Whereas other areas have received rain, the cranberry industry has received very little. Irrigation is in full swing. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: Harvesting of all crops continues. Silage corn growing very fast and looks excellent. Disease and insect pressure still low. Soil moisture is good. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Hot, muggy weather finally arrived in the valley this week. This also brought a host of disease and insect challenges as well as scattered rains to parts of Franklin County. Silage corn has taken off, vine crops have filled in crop rows and field tobacco is almost ready to cut. Apples look good as long as scab problems are kept in check. The peach and plum crops are nonexistent. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Hot and humid week with scattered showers. This type of weather brings plant diseases, so growers are on a tight spray schedule controlling bacterial diseases and powdery mildew. Growers are also scouting for insects such as aphids, beetles, maggots and tarnish plant bug. The harvest season has started for field tobacco and potato crops. Harvesting continues for sweet corn, summer squash, beans, beets, cucumbers and cabbage. Growers are top-dressing late vegetable crops, cultivating and topping tobacco. Field corn is starting to tassel, winter squash and pumpkins are flowering. Mostly all crops look very good. Gary Guida, Worcester: Harvesting all summer crops now. Quality is excellent. Cool, wet weather is causing some fungus out break in winter squash/pumpkin fields; growers spraying to combat. Continuing to plant beans, summer squash, and lettuce. Bicep failure starting to appear in corn fields. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Amy Ouellette (Ext), Belknap: Early plasticulture sweet corn. Blueberry and raspberry harvests have begun. Summer squash, broccoli, greens, herbs, radish, greenhouse tomato, cucumber, spinach and more vegetables are being harvested. Pastures and hayfields look very good. Garden centers report brisk sales to Lakes Region summer homeowners. Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: Cool, damp weather continues. Some first cutting still not in the barn. It is difficult to string together two good drying days. Numerous reports of fungal disease on everything from pumpkins to flowers. Second cutting growing well. Harvesting still an issue. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: More rain, and plenty of hot, humid weather. Field corn continues to do well - some fields have tasseled. Some farms have resumed second cutting alfalfa and grass for haylage, but weather conditions have made haying next to impossible. Despite a lack of sunlight that's kept many vegetables from ripening, sweet corn has started to appear in farm stands and at farmers' markets and is selling quickly. PYO raspberries and blueberries continues. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Lots of rain early in the week followed by hot, humid weather that gave us a few days of summer. Corn finally starting to put on some growth as a result, although haven't seen anything tasseling as yet. Still some first cut dry baled hay being taken when possible, good regrowth on meadows already harvested. Mid-summer veggies somewhat slow this year, just beginning to see tunnel tomatoes. Cool, wet weather has generally slowed season down. Weather turning colder at end of week. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Hay and haylage harvest continued as weather permitted. Regrowth is good to excellent do to the rainfall. Early corn beginning to tassel. Corn looks good to excellent despite cooler weather. Later planted corn growing well but not as good as early planted. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: This past week we had slightly more than one inch of rain. Top soil conditions improved with rains from Friday and early morning showers on Saturday. Ground water is still well below normal. Corn will get a much needed boost. The corn is looking good as a general rule, and some warmer temperatures will help, provided there is enough moisture. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Vegetables: Farmers kept busy harvesting, cultivating, hoeing weeds, monitoring pest pressures, spraying pesticides for insects and diseases - if needed. Very good demand for produce at most local farmers' markets and farm stands. Corn earworm and fall armyworm caught in traps during week. Growers harvesting an array of vegetables: beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, greens, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, snap beans, summer squash, sweet corn and other vegetables. Fruit: Blueberry and raspberry harvests continued. Orchardists busy monitoring for pests, spraying if needed, and mowing orchard floors. Continued to monitor blueberry mummyberry disease in blueberry plantings and fir blight strikes in apple and pear orchards. Field Crops: Farmers making baled hay between showers. Second crop is not looking good. Silage corn is rapidly growing. John Porter (Ext), Merrimack: Vegetables are coming along slowly, need more heat units. Covered and early planted sweet corn being harvested, most corn is late. Peppers starting to be ready. Good blueberry crop, but needs more sun and heat to ripen. Nice quality second crop hay being cut. Pasture season has been very good with the adequate rainfall. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Harvesting blueberries, raspberries, sweet corn, potatoes, and a whole array of vegetables. Finishing up first hay cut. Top-dressing vegetable fields. Mummyberry are noticed in blueberry fields. Could use some hot, sunny days. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Three days of humidity helped move the crops along. Showers over the weekend came at a good time. A good crop of sweet corn started showing up at roadside stands this week. Early planted field corn has started to tassel. Some third cutting of alfalfa has begun. PYO blueberries began this past week and the crop looks abundant. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: Haylage making continued through the week. Blueberry and raspberry harvesting was strong through the week. Farmers continued to monitor for insect pests and diseases. Apples are doing well. Orchardists monitoring for insect pests and spraying where necessary. Also mowing the orchard floor. Vegetable growers harvesting assorted vegetable crops. Growers monitoring for corn ear worm and other vegetable pests and spraying accordingly. Weeding in pumpkins and other vegetable crops. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: A warm and humid week. Spraying sweet corn, picking beans and summer squashes. Farmers using this time to catch up on field work. Potatoes and most field crops look great. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Grass harvested last week was chopped for haylage. Hearing reports of high quality second cut with yields as great as first cut. Many corn fields have tasseled and appear to have good yields. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Rain Showers have made it very difficult to do any field work. Parts of the county received over two inches in the past week. Some field are very soft causing additional problems in harvesting hay. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Apple producers are reporting that the apple crop is bigger than past crops. Blueberries and raspberries are producing better that expected with all the showers this summer. Producers are reporting that sweet corn is ripening slower but say this is good because the demand is not there yet. Late planted field corn has caught up with earlier planted corn; as a whole the crop looks GREAT. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Rains delay hay harvest. Little second cut done. Finishing dry hay, grass very mature. Corn tassel, some ears showing on early corn. Most still not tasseled. Very wet soils. Chris Benedict (Ext), Chittenden: Heavy rains have placed late-season disease pressure on apple, pears and especially, peaches from coming to harvest. Fruit size is swelling in orchards that got a good thinning earlier in the season. Looks like we may get a break from the daily rains this week. Heather Darby (Ext), Franklin: Hot and humid weather helped pushed the corn crop along. Many fields approaching tasseling. Second cut hay being harvested as much as possible between rain. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Cultivated and fertilized vine crops for the last time. Put in last planting of green and yellow beans. Weeding cole crops. Still putting nitrogen on sweet corn as needed. Weeds as usual are doing fine. Short supply of rainfall (0.358 inches) this week. Peas doing well in this type of weather. Beets, carrots, broccoli on the market. Leafy vegetables doing well. Started digging early potatoes. Sweet corn needs some warm weather. 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 Statistician: Dianne Johnson Stat Assistant: Wayne Colpitt Deputy Director: Joe Samson 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 ***********************