State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 09/02/01 Issue NH-CW3501 Volume 21, Number 18 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) September 4, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary CROPS CONTINUE TO SUFFER FROM DRY CONDITIONS For the week ending September 2, 2001, there were 6.3 days available for fieldwork across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 21% very poor, 35% poor, 35% fair, 7% good, 2% excellent. Major farm activities included: irrigating; spreading manure; cutting hay and chopping haylage; seeding hayfields and pasture; harvesting oats, barley, silage corn, potatoes, tobacco, apples, peaches, pears, raspberries, highbush blueberries, sweet corn and other vegetables; completing harvest of wild blueberries; and spraying for weeds, disease and insects. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 27 29 7 Short 42 49 12 Adequate 31 22 69 Surplus 0 0 12 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 28 32 0 Short 42 38 15 Adequate 30 26 78 Surplus 0 0 7 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report FIELD CROPS: Last week's scattered shower activity was welcomed across New England, but still not enough precipitation was received to place most areas within normal moisture levels. Irrigation continued and water supply problems have been reported. Many crops are past the point of recovery from drought conditions and as a result, yields are expected to be low. Cool, dry weather provided excellent conditions for potato harvest last week. Field corn continued to dry up and farmers are concerned the thirsty crop will get nitrate poisoning if rain arrives. Hay yields are below normal. Maine oat and barley harvest is well ahead of last year. Tobacco harvest was finished in Massachusetts and is nearing completion in Connecticut. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: The harvest of apples, peaches, pears and raspberries proceeded last week. Specialists continue to receive reports of below average sized orchard fruits. Highbush blueberry harvest progressed and Maine farmers finished harvesting lowbush blueberries. Some cranberries are being harvested before they turn red for the production of a new white cranberry juice that will be coming to market. Regular cranberry harvest will begin shortly in Massachusetts. VEGETABLES: Vegetable crops were harvested last week and irrigation continued for those not yet picked. Many growers have reported good vegetable crop yields despite this growing season's dry conditions. Scouting continued to take place for weeds, insects and disease, and applications were made where necessary. Only a quarter of this year's sweet corn crop remains to be harvested, which is consistent with the five year average. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 5 10 5 Good/Fair Mass 35 45 45 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 60 40 30 Good Oats, ME 50 15 35 Good/Excel Barley, ME 75 20 45 Good Silage Corn 10 -- 5 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 75 70 75 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 90 99 95 Good/Fair Broadleaf 90 90 90 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 90 80 80 Fair Third Cut 45 40 35 Fair/Poor ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND -------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition -------------------------------------------------------- Apples 15 15 15 Good/Fair Peaches 70 75 75 Good/Fair Pears 35 20 15 V.Poor/Poor Cranberries,MA <5 -- -- Good/Fair Blueberries Highbush 95 95 95 Good/Fair Wild,ME 100 90 95 Good/Fair -------------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the Week ending Sunday, September 2, 2001 --------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ----- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 32 86 63 +1 0.00 2.75 NH 27 90 64 +2 0.46 3.21 VT 35 88 63 +1 0.29 4.08 MA 37 89 70 +4 0.00 1.76 RI 47 89 72 +5 0.00 0.30 CT 43 87 71 +4 0.19 1.99 -------------------------------------- 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 37 84 63 -3 1795 -43 729 -2 Allagash 32 82 57 -2 1326 +104 407 +92 Augusta_ME 47 84 67 +3 2069 +288 942 +248 Bangor 42 82 66 +3 1980 +354 859 +276 Barnard 40 81 62 +1 1720 +305 653 +218 Bath 40 82 65 +0 1758 +95 714 +94 Bethel 43 86 63 +0 1752 +139 672 +110 Brassua_Dam 39 79 60 +1 1425 +247 450 +149 Brunswick_ME 45 79 66 +2 1872 +209 793 +173 Caribou 40 79 61 +3 1643 +328 594 +225 Corinna 40 83 64 +3 1882 +329 769 +251 Danforth 35 81 60 -2 1569 +57 560 +52 Dover-Foxcroft 38 78 62 +1 1615 +200 569 +134 Durham 41 85 65 -2 1778 -111 735 -50 East_Hiram 39 84 64 +2 1728 +122 681 +124 Eustis 37 81 58 -2 1291 +146 383 +110 Frenchville 42 80 60 +3 1491 +269 500 +185 Gray 46 83 68 +4 2070 +432 958 +360 Greenville_ME 41 81 63 +3 1653 +227 627 +182 Guilford 41 80 62 +2 1728 +313 697 +262 Hollis 38 84 65 +3 1850 +311 783 +270 Houlton 35 79 62 +3 1608 +234 590 +178 Kennebunkport 42 83 64 -4 1708 -284 678 -181 Livermore_Falls 36 86 64 +4 1869 +477 802 +388 Moosehead 37 83 60 +1 1409 +231 450 +149 New_Sharon 40 85 65 +5 2013 +621 893 +479 Patten 40 77 60 +1 1424 +50 451 +39 Portage 43 82 61 +3 1682 +367 632 +263 Portland_ME 44 83 67 +3 1920 +282 834 +236 Rangeley 37 80 58 -1 1333 +224 392 +137 Sebec_Lake 40 84 62 +1 1679 +253 633 +188 Vanceboro 40 79 62 +1 1629 +191 589 +132 Waterville 43 85 66 +2 1966 +128 855 +124 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 44 84 67 +3 2018 +226 903 +208 Benton 40 83 62 +2 1685 +198 627 +172 Berlin_AG 41 85 62 +1 1717 +219 646 +168 Bethlehem 36 84 60 -1 1583 +96 552 +96 Concord 39 87 68 +5 2074 +282 946 +251 Diamond_Pond 37 76 57 -1 1201 +189 330 +131 First_Conn_Lake 39 82 59 +3 1134 +122 299 +100 Greenville 40 90 65 +3 1778 +157 722 +172 Keene_AP 45 88 69 +4 2086 +89 937 +91 Lakeport 48 87 69 +7 2183 +501 1035 +420 Marlow 37 83 64 -2 1609 -205 586 -110 Mt_Washington 27 59 47 +3 218 +157 10 +10 North_Conway 40 85 64 +2 2054 +382 921 +317 Otter_Brook_Lk 41 85 67 +2 1911 -86 787 -59 Plymouth 39 85 62 +2 1663 +188 611 +151 Rochester 42 86 66 +1 2064 +153 947 +160 Weare 45 84 65 +1 1798 -16 714 +18 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 38 83 61 -2 1421 -143 454 -62 Bethel 42 86 64 +3 1853 +368 759 +290 Burlington_VT 44 86 67 +3 2251 +334 1063 +273 East_Haven 35 82 60 +2 1492 +246 499 +175 Island_Pond 38 80 60 +1 1538 +308 534 +224 Montpelier 40 82 63 +3 1727 +216 679 +196 Morrisville_AG 37 83 60 -2 1509 +3 524 +36 Mount_Mansfield 35 70 54 +1 915 +261 200 +134 Northfield 38 83 62 +2 1715 +339 650 +250 Pownal 42 81 65 +3 1794 +224 683 +166 Rochester 42 84 64 +2 1689 +204 626 +157 Rutland_AG 42 83 64 -3 1818 -159 705 -118 Sunderland 41 82 63 -3 1602 -293 560 -192 Sutton 39 83 61 +2 1583 +337 564 +240 Townshend_Lake 42 88 66 +2 1889 +14 794 +33 Union_Vill_Dam 41 88 64 -2 1821 -70 728 -41 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 44 81 68 +5 2044 +415 901 +332 Boston 54 84 73 +4 2480 +209 1268 +197 Greenfield 48 89 71 +5 2190 +57 1036 +88 New_Bedford 48 83 72 +2 2253 -36 1059 -29 Otis_AFB 52 81 72 +5 2213 +349 1057 +284 Plymouth 47 83 71 +5 2150 +225 985 +167 Walpole 46 83 70 +5 2344 +389 1139 +320 West_Medway 44 85 70 +5 2329 +374 1125 +306 Westover 43 82 71 +2 2414 -25 1189 -3 Worcester 49 82 70 +6 2131 +307 968 +248 Worthington 38 84 65 +2 1715 +121 646 +112 RHODE ISLAND Providence 52 84 72 +4 2489 +324 1256 +260 Woonsocket 47 89 72 +7 2467 +544 1263 +482 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 43 84 67 -2 2018 -334 873 -252 Bridgeport 55 84 74 +4 2588 +262 1334 +201 Hartford_AP 48 87 72 +5 2504 +159 1268 +146 Norfolk 45 82 68 +5 1974 +376 846 +308 Norwich 49 86 72 +5 2474 +293 1231 +246 Thomaston_Dam 45 86 69 +4 2171 +269 989 +230 Willimantic 47 84 72 +7 2461 +523 1215 +424 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 1.01 +0.19 4 1.81 -1.54 10 Allagash 1.88 +0.97 3 2.91 -0.81 6 Augusta_ME 0.71 +0.00 3 0.85 -2.15 6 Bangor 1.49 +0.72 4 2.46 -0.61 10 Barnard 1.06 +0.17 5 1.64 -1.75 12 Bath 1.01 +0.29 4 1.55 -1.44 10 Bethel 1.08 +0.20 3 2.05 -1.56 11 Brassua_Dam 2.75 +1.91 5 4.16 +0.80 13 Brunswick_ME 0.80 +0.08 2 1.15 -1.84 5 Caribou 1.45 +0.56 5 1.93 -1.69 13 Corinna 1.97 +1.06 3 2.92 -0.55 7 Danforth 2.55 +1.64 4 3.14 -0.57 8 Dover-Foxcroft 0.40 -0.49 4 1.07 -2.32 11 Durham 0.76 +0.06 2 1.25 -1.57 7 East_Hiram 0.94 +0.14 3 1.74 -1.64 9 Eustis 1.08 +0.32 3 2.19 -0.88 9 Frenchville 2.11 +1.20 5 2.80 -0.92 14 Gray 0.82 +0.12 2 1.10 -1.52 7 Greenville_ME 0.84 -0.05 3 2.71 -0.68 10 Guilford 0.96 +0.07 5 1.68 -1.71 12 Hollis 0.68 -0.05 1 1.45 -1.38 8 Houlton 2.11 +1.20 5 3.15 -0.54 10 Kennebunkport 0.95 +0.25 3 2.17 -0.65 8 Livermore_Falls 1.06 +0.15 3 1.90 -1.83 9 Moosehead 2.34 +1.50 5 3.74 +0.38 12 New_Sharon 1.96 +1.05 3 3.57 -0.16 9 Patten 2.09 +1.18 5 3.27 -0.42 13 Portage 1.44 +0.55 5 1.80 -1.82 10 Portland_ME 0.65 -0.05 2 1.27 -1.35 8 Rangeley 1.34 +0.47 5 2.94 -0.69 13 Sebec_Lake 0.99 +0.10 5 1.76 -1.63 13 Vanceboro 1.80 +0.95 5 2.55 -0.50 10 Waterville 0.98 +0.16 4 1.70 -1.65 9 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.88 +0.18 2 1.72 -1.25 10 Benton 1.46 +0.59 4 1.74 -1.86 8 Berlin_AG 0.68 -0.23 2 1.37 -2.49 6 Bethlehem 1.33 +0.39 4 2.14 -1.91 8 Concord 0.46 -0.24 1 0.99 -1.98 7 Diamond_Pond 3.21 +2.12 5 4.96 +0.36 15 First_Conn_Lake 2.04 +0.95 4 3.81 -0.79 15 Greenville 0.61 -0.23 1 1.52 -2.11 6 Keene_AP 0.71 -0.09 1 2.80 -0.67 4 Lakeport 1.11 +0.33 1 1.78 -1.52 5 Marlow 1.21 +0.40 1 2.29 -1.04 5 Mt_Washington 3.07 +1.18 5 5.12 -2.40 11 North_Conway 0.88 +0.01 3 1.27 -2.33 6 Otter_Brook_Lk 1.16 +0.36 2 1.39 -2.08 6 Plymouth 1.09 +0.29 3 2.40 -1.06 8 Rochester 1.30 +0.53 2 2.10 -1.10 8 Weare 0.74 -0.07 1 1.48 -1.85 6 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.88 -0.08 5 1.63 -2.27 13 Bethel 0.92 -0.08 4 1.63 -2.52 7 Burlington_VT 2.04 +1.15 4 3.69 +0.04 12 East_Haven 1.81 +0.84 4 4.70 +0.46 14 Island_Pond 2.80 +1.81 4 4.21 -0.10 13 Montpelier 1.22 +0.41 5 1.78 -1.68 10 Morrisville_AG 1.66 +0.65 3 3.06 -1.27 14 Mount_Mansfield 4.08 +2.43 4 7.01 +0.24 15 Northfield 1.29 +0.45 3 1.49 -1.92 5 Pownal 1.09 +0.13 3 3.31 -0.59 10 Rochester 1.13 +0.13 4 1.75 -2.40 10 Rutland_AG 0.76 -0.15 3 1.84 -1.96 7 Sunderland 1.20 +0.29 2 2.16 -1.42 6 Sutton 1.75 +0.78 4 3.99 -0.25 11 Townshend_Lake 1.26 +0.40 3 1.94 -1.65 8 Union_Vill_Dam 0.29 -0.51 3 1.05 -2.24 10 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.56 -0.17 2 1.63 -1.48 9 Boston 0.12 -0.64 2 2.55 -0.41 9 Greenfield 0.65 -0.14 2 0.85 -2.46 5 New_Bedford 0.02 -0.91 1 2.83 -1.00 11 Otis_AFB 0.08 -0.70 1 3.73 +0.63 9 Plymouth 0.15 -0.83 2 3.21 -0.48 12 Walpole 0.66 -0.25 1 2.73 -0.86 8 West_Medway 1.00 +0.09 1 4.01 +0.42 7 Westover 0.19 -0.65 3 2.68 -0.54 13 Worcester 0.26 -0.65 3 1.05 -2.43 10 Worthington 0.43 -0.48 1 1.24 -2.48 4 RHODE ISLAND Providence 0.20 -0.64 2 3.95 +0.63 9 Woonsocket 0.30 -0.61 1 4.82 +1.18 8 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.38 -0.52 2 2.01 -1.35 9 Bridgeport 1.33 +0.63 3 6.03 +3.14 11 Hartford_AP 1.29 +0.39 2 3.42 +0.06 9 Norfolk 0.34 -0.71 2 3.26 -0.89 10 Norwich 0.25 -0.66 2 3.35 -0.24 9 Thomaston_Dam 0.56 -0.42 3 4.20 +0.32 10 Willimantic 1.99 +1.08 2 4.28 +0.71 11 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: Fields are very dry. Ears on field corn are not fully filled out because of the lack of rain. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Third cutting and manure spreading. Thunderstorms and wind moving in to stir up the hot, dry air. Fruit harvest happening; lack of any fruit on one farm due to a spring freeze has family in turmoil. Maintenance going on in perennial gardens. Woodstock Fair (largest CT Fair)! Joyce Meader (Ext), Windham: Beautiful weather for fairs or haying. The holiday haying is on schedule: Memorial Day, 4th of July, and the third cut on Labor Day. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Harvesting grain. A few potatoes being harvested, mostly for processors. Grain fields being tilled after harvesting. Growers desiccating potato fields. No diseases being reported. Very little insect pressure. One day's rain during the past week was appreciated, but more is needed. Soil is so dry it is making harvesting potatoes difficult. Erin Chadbourne (Ext), Central Aroostook: Still spraying fungicides on late maturing potato varieties. Harvest of early varieties has begun and vine killing is taking place. Broccoli, barley and oats still being harvested. Everything looks pretty good. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Very good growing weather. Temperatures cooling down - good for potatoes. Received some rain last week. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: Recent rain has given some relief to crops. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: Need rain. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: One good rain, but too much too quickly and probably too late for most crops. Corn silage harvest begins in earnest, with some drought stricken corn being harvested first. Feed will be short this year. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Fieldwork beginning on blueberry fields, now that the harvest is complete. A few showers, but crops still need rain. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: Dry, dry, dry, dry. Everyone is concerned about crops and water. Many of the silage farmers are starting to chop their corn. Some of it is dried up with few ears. I have heard of some farmers with no ears on any of their corn, just dry stocks. The hay crop has suffered and some producers have very little in the barn or in the silo. Another concern for corn folks is nitrate poisoning. If we get substantial rain, the ears may suck up all the nitrates. That isn't good to feed to the cows. Will it end? Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Still very dry - in fact, the weather service says the below normal period goes back to 1998. Maine has reconvened its drought task force and no significant rain is in sight. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: The corn crop probably looks better here than anywhere else in the state. Oats are being harvested. Corn chopping is about to begin. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Although we had some rain during one night, soil conditions remain very dry. Oxford County's river valleys appear to have received enough moisture during the growing season to be doing well. However, the remainder of the county has received very little moisture. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Still haying! Some chopping of corn silage to feed young stock on poorer pasture. Sweet corn worms not much of a problem yet. Two inches of rain on Friday and Saturday came quick and most ran off. Ground still needs more rain. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Early cranberries are starting to blush. Some Ocean Spray growers will start harvesting white cranberries this week for use in the new white cranberry juice and all growers are preparing for the normal harvest, which starts in approximately 10 days. The cranberry crop looks good in Plymouth County, but the growers on Cape Cod are bracing for a poor crop. Vegetable growers continue to harvest record crops with strong demand. Shellfish growers are receiving record prices, but harvest is slowed because shellfish are not sizing up. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: Mowing and chopping second cut hay. Raspberries and blueberries about finished. Field corn is looking quite good just now, ear size a bit smaller than usual. Farm stands are busy picking and selling their crops. Soils are drier in the northern part of the county. Seems to be getting more rain in the southern parts. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: The first white cranberries were harvested last week for use in the soon-to-be-available white cranberry juice. Apart from that, a pretty uneventful week. Cool weather over the weekend should help to produce anthocyanin in the berries. Berries continue to size well. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: Everyone continues to harvest crops. Fall squash harvest has begun. Farmers harrowing fields and planting cover crops. Second and third cut hay being made. Corn harvest/chopping will begin in about a week. Apples, peaches, pears are all being harvested. Deer damage showing up in squash and pumpkin fields. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Many of the late season crops have reached the point of no return as far as yield is concerned. Measurable rainfall has been nonexistent since the beginning of July. Much of the late season broadleaf tobacco seems to be susceptible to blue mold infection in spite of spraying. Silage corn is showing signs of drought stress on all acreage. Chopping is expected to begin next week. Farmers have reported that yields for the fall hay crop are far below normal. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: It's dry. Rain is greatly needed. All crops are feeling the drought stress. Many growers are still irrigating their vegetable crops. Harvesting apples, onions, winter squash, banana peppers, pumpkins and Indian corn. Tobacco harvest is complete. Gary Guida, Worcester: A picture perfect Labor Day weekend, with consumers coming out in droves for corn, mums, tomatoes etc. Still the best sales weekend of the year. Drought tolerant corn "came in just in time" to meet the demand; however, other corn here is not so good as no appreciable rain has fallen in a long time. Perhaps today, but too late I fear. Making ready field harvest equipment for pumpkins, winter squash, etc. With lack of water, the season here (with exception to corn) is winding down. Pumpkin shape and color look excellent, but weight and yield are off - same with winter squash. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bruce Clement (Ext), Cheshire: Extremely dry conditions throughout county. The driest I've seen it in 30 years. Silage corn drying is done. Should be a decent crop; however, yields will be down due to drought. Alfalfa still doing OK. Grass and clover are all dried up. Apple and peach harvest continues, blueberries about done. Full array of vegetables on the market, most grown under irrigation. Trees, shrubs and lawns all showing drought stress. What can I say? We need rain! Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: A little more welcome rain this week, can use more still. Hayland and pastures greening up some in response to cooler, wetter weather over the past couple of weeks. Corn well into milk stage, actually looks to be in pretty good condition except in areas of lighter soils. Lots of local sweet corn, along with many other summer vegetables at stands and markets. Had a report from a farmer in the cooler, northernmost part of the county of some next generation armyworms feeding in a hayfield. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Rain late in the week will probably help grass and alfalfa regrowth, but may be too late to do much good for the corn. Harvest has begun on corn silage. Some corn may be helped by the limited rainfall. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Drought conditions throughout the county with localized thundershowers Friday night and cooler temperatures giving some relief. Fruit: Peach, plum and Fall raspberry harvest continued. Finishing Paula Red apple harvest. Apple growers continue to move bins into orchards, getting ready for McIntosh apple harvest. Vegetables: Harvesting wide array of vegetables. Farmers kept busy irrigating, monitoring pest pressures, and spraying pesticides for insects and diseases. Field Crops: Hay cutting continued. Farmers making new forage seedings. Farmers gearing up for corn silage harvest and some has started. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Very, very dry conditions. Showers on Friday evening were of some help in some areas. A good soaking rain is needed. Harvesting sweet corn, a whole array of vegetables, apples, peaches and Fall raspberries. Haying continues. Seeding hayfields and pasture. Monitoring pests, irrigating and harvesting crops. Size of vegetables and fruits are smaller in non-irrigated fields. Great weather during Labor Day weekend for pick-your-own apples and Fall raspberries. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Rain Friday night was more than welcomed. Could use more. Some silage corn turning brown from lack of water. Apple picking underway, with the first signs showing a good crop. Need to assess those hit by hail earlier in the season. Sweet corn still being harvested. Pumpkins taking longer to mature due to the lack of rain. Many second and third crop hayfields being harvested. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Harvesting potatoes, crop looks good. Summer vegetables doing great, sweet corn still plentiful. Some third cut hay. Farm stands are full of mums and kale. Farmers still irrigating - we could use some rain, but I'm sure the potato harvesters don't want to hear that. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Sunny days had producers working in the fields all week. Pick-your-own pumpkins began this weekend. Corn mazes saw their first activity as well. Apples are reported to be generally smaller than expected due to lack of rain during important stages of development. Peppers are plentiful, as well as most other vegetable crops. The lateness of harvest is hurting producers in the wallet. Roadside stand activity was reported to be light over the holiday weekend. It appeared that most "Sunday drivers" left the state for a final summer vacation. Hopefully, they frequented farmstands in our neighboring states! VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Somewhat cooler, wetter weather has convinced grass to start growing again. Picked up one inch of rain in one event, the most since May. Saw one field of corn silage that had been harvested. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: Good shower on Friday evening left variable amounts of rainfall, but gravel roads were dusty by Monday. Reports of light frost over the weekend. Some farms started chopping corn last week. Major change in the weather from hot to almost cold. Still need a lot more rain to rebuild ground reserves of water before the ground freezes. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Rain on Friday has helped ease dry conditions. Several farmers are out of water. Most of them are drilling new wells. Corn harvest has started. Corn looks good. Ear development is also good. Third cut hay harvest in progress. Yields are low due to dry conditions. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: We got about 1.50 inches of rain over the weekend that was just a tease. Alfalfa crops are showing the dry condition now. Summer veggie crops are just about through, and farmers are looking for water for their fall crops. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Started corn silage harvest. Fields with stalks dry from drought and lower fields are mostly not mature yet - still in milk stage. Third cut haylage is mostly cleanup of alfalfa patches. Fourth cut on better managed fields and second growth on newly seeded hayfields looks very good. No frost yet. Pasture grasses show yellow from rust, very slow regrowth. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: Well, we got some rain - over 3 inches in Franklin county. Good, but not enough to replenish the ground water need. But all rain is greatly appreciated. Hopefully not too much, farmers don't like chopping corn and trying to spread manure in the mud. Time will tell. Corn that's being chopped has shortages of ears, from what I'm hearing. Third cut is short. Good quality on alfalfa, but grass is sparse. Vegetable season winding down, time to harvest. Looks like this week will be cloudy with showers. We'll see! Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Received an inch of welcome rain last week. Prediction is for more today. Some have started chopping corn for silage. Starting to feel like Fall. Grass beginning to grow. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: All early crops, early corn, peas, etc., have been mulched and winter rye has been seeded to a third of our gardens. Picking a nice crop of mid-season sweet corn. Still picking squash, cucumbers and a lot of beans. Big flocks of geese are coming to the mulched fields of early corn for the scattered corn; they do not bother the seeded rye. A great sight - great to watch. A short 0.25 inches of rain last week. A really dry summer. But over all most crops have done well. So perhaps the old saying, 'A dry year will scare you, but a wet year will starve you,' might still apply. 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 ***********************