sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending May 9, 2005 Issue SC-CW1410 Agricultural Summary Weather patterns continued much like what was seen last week. Unseasonably cool temperatures to start the week with normal temperatures returning by the weekend to most of the state. Producers made good use of their time with field activities including planting, applying fertilizer and thinning orchards. Coastal counties received some much needed rain Thursday and part of Friday that helped to improve crop conditions significantly. There were 5.7 days suitable for field work. Vegetable planting was nearly complete and should start to wrap up next week. Soil moisture was 19 % short, 79 % adequate and 2 % surplus. Field Crops Report Fifteen percent of the State's SOYBEANS had been planted by the end of the week. CORN was in fair to mostly good condition with planting almost complete and 91 percent of the crop emerged. Thirty-four percent of the COTTON crop and 52 percent of the SORGHUM crop were reported planted by week's end. PEANUT planting was 30 percent complete. TOBACCO transplanting was 98 percent complete at the end of last week. Sweet Potato planting started to pick up speed and was 24 percent completed. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report CANTALOUPE planting was 87 percent complete and WATERMELON planting was 91 percent complete at the end of the week with both crops remaining in mostly fair condition. CUCUMBER planting was 98 percent complete and SNAP BEAN planting was percent 92 complete with both crops in mostly good condition. Ninety-seven percent of the TOMATO crop was planted and was in fair to good shape with 24 percent in excellent condition. PEACHES were in mostly good to excellent condition. Early maturing varieties were starting to be thinned. Small Grains, Pastures and Livestock Report LIVESTOCK remained in fair to mostly good condition as did PASTURES. SMALL GRAINS continued to develop under mostly good condition with some reported to be in the soft dough stage. Some additional precipitation will be needed for heads to fill out. Ninety-six percent of WINTER WHEAT, 87 percent of BARLEY, 96 percent of RYE, and 94 percent of OATS had headed by week's end, with 24 percent, 23 percent, 35 percent and 31 percent turning color respectively. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Barley Headed 87 84 92 :Rye Turned Color 35 41 44 Barley Turned Color 23 33 35 :Snap Beans Planted 92 95 94 Cantaloups Planted 87 89 88 :Sorghum Planted 52 54 51 Corn Planted 99 99 97 :Soybeans Planted 15 16 14 Corn Emerged 91 94 90 :Soybeans Emerged 1 NA NA Cotton Planted 34 35 31 :Sweetpotato Planted 24 19 27 Cucumbers Planted 98 98 99 :Tobacco Planted 98 98 98 Grain Hay Harvested 50 56 56 :Tomatoes Planted 97 99 98 Oats Headed 94 92 95 :Watermelons Planted 91 92 94 Oats Turned Color 31 37 42 :Winter Wht. Headed 96 96 97 Peanuts Planted 30 33 34 :Winter Wht. Turned Color 24 26 40 Rye Headed 96 93 95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Apples 0 0 20 20 60 :Peaches 0 0 2 54 44 Barley 0 0 29 52 19 :Rye 0 0 18 80 2 Cantaloups 0 2 82 13 3 :Snap Beans 0 0 6 60 34 Corn 0 7 25 63 5 :Tobacco 0 0 20 79 1 Cucumbers 0 0 37 53 10 :Tomatoes 0 0 28 48 24 Livestock 0 1 25 63 11 :Watermelons 0 5 67 27 1 Oats 0 1 28 65 6 :Winter Wheat 0 1 24 67 8 Pastures 0 2 29 57 12 : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending May 8, 2005 The unseasonable pattern of cool weather continued for most of the week. Early morning fog was observed on Monday. Upstate sites awoke to temperatures in the upper 30's and lower 40's. A cyclonic feature formed over the Gulf of Mexico during midweek and passed offshore Friday. Cold northeast winds and blowing rain were reported along coastal locations. High pressure quickly replaced the exiting system over the weekend and by Sunday afternoon high temperatures were in the 80's statewide. For the period, the state average temperature was six degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 89 degrees at Johnston on May 8. The lowest official temperature reported was 38 degrees at Walhalla on the morning of May 2. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.00 inches at N. Myrtle Beach AP ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 6. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.3 inches. SOIL: 4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 70 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near to below normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 67 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.08 14.0 -4.6 Columbia 0.01 13.1 -3.7 Orangeburg 0.23 13.0 -3.7 Charlotte, NC 0.07 13.2 -2.6 Augusta, GA 0.03 16.4 -0.5 Florence 0.42 11.2 -3.5 Myrtle Beach 2.00 11.1 -2.6 Charleston 1.16 12.0 -2.7 Savannah, GA 1.26 14.7 0.1 Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday. Contact Information Robert A. Graham, Director Jim Johnson, Agricultural Statistician Phone: 803-765-5333 E-mail: nass-sc@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/