sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending May 22, 2005 Issue SC-CW1412 Agricultural Summary Adequate rainfall coupled with near normal temperatures improved the condition of primary crops last week. Many producers received good rains on Friday and resumed field activities at full speed this week. There were 5.5 days suitable for field work last week. Planting wrapped up for corn, cucumbers and tomatoes while small grain harvest is set to begin next week in southern counties. Strawberry harvest was half completed in Greenville county. Harvest of early maturing peaches has begun in Allendale county. Soil moisture was 1 % very short, 19 % short, 76 % adequate and 4 % surplus. Field Crops Report Thirty-five percent of the State's SOYBEANS had been planted by the end of the week. CORN condition remained mostly good as producers continued applying nitrogen. Seventy percent of the COTTON crop and 65 percent of the SORGHUM crop were reported planted by week's end. PEANUT planting was 65 percent complete. TOBACCO transplanting was completed with significant improvement in crop condition. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report CANTALOUPE planting was 95 percent complete and WATERMELON planting was 97 percent complete at the end of the week with both crops remaining in mostly fair condition. CUCUMBER planting was completed and SNAP BEAN planting was 98 percent complete with both crops in mostly good condition. Tomato planting ended last week, identical to last season and slightly above the 5 year average. PEACHES and APPLES were in mostly good to excellent condition. Harvest of early maturing peaches began. Small Grains, Pastures and Livestock Report LIVESTOCK and PASTURES remained in fair to mostly good condition. WINTER WHEAT heads were full and producers were gearing up for the start of small grain harvest next week in the southern part of the state. Oats and Rye should be the first small grains harvested. CROP PROGRESS TABLE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Barley Headed 98 97 98 :Rye Headed 99 98 99 Barley Turned Color 62 72 76 :Rye Turned Color 65 81 82 Barley Ripe 6 21 35 :Rye Ripe 10 23 44 Cantaloups Planted 95 95 95 :Snap Beans Planted 98 99 98 Corn Planted 100 100 99 :Sorghum Planted 65 69 65 Corn Emerged 99 99 97 :Soybeans Planted 35 43 32 Cotton Planted 70 80 72 :Soybeans Emerged 10 0 11 Cucumbers Planted 100 100 100 :Sweetpotato Planted 40 48 50 Grain Hay Harvested 80 72 80 :Tomatoes Planted 100 100 99 Oats Headed 99 99 99 :Watermelons Planted 97 96 97 Oats Turned Color 65 87 82 :Winter Wht. Headed 100 99 99 Oats Ripe 8 29 48 :Winter Wht. Turned Color 62 87 86 Peanuts Planted 65 78 75 :Winter Wht. Ripe 6 15 32 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CROP CONDITION TABLE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Apples 0 0 25 25 50 :Peaches 0 0 8 57 35 Barley 0 0 27 59 14 :Peanuts 0 0 30 70 0 Cantaloups 0 5 74 21 0 :Rye 0 0 17 78 5 Corn 0 5 29 63 3 :Snap Beans 0 0 20 70 10 Cotton 0 1 20 78 1 :Sorghum 0 0 2 98 0 Cucumbers 0 0 35 65 0 :Sweetpotato 0 0 80 20 0 Grain Hay 0 3 32 61 4 :Tobacco 0 0 19 80 1 Livestock 0 0 20 74 6 :Tomatoes 0 0 24 76 0 Oats 0 1 23 66 10 :Watermelons 0 5 54 41 0 Pastures 0 2 29 59 10 :Winter Wheat 0 1 25 66 8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending May 22, 2005 An onshore surface wind helped develop thunderstorms on Monday across the central and southern coastal counties. Heavy rains on Tuesday caused flash flooding in Charleston County. Warm weather was observed Thursday and Friday before a frontal boundary passed with strong thunderstorms on Friday afternoon. A wind gust of 73 mph was recorded on Lake Thurmond. Clouds were slow to exit on Saturday and resulted in below normal high temperatures in the 70?s. Sunday morning temperatures fell into the 50?s and later climbed to near 80 degrees under mostly sunny skies. For the period, the state average temperature was two degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 87 degrees at Cades, Chesterfield, Cheraw, Sandhill, and Orangeburg on May 19. The lowest official temperature reported was 44 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of May 16. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.02 inches at Clarks Hill ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 21. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 1.3 inches. SOIL: 4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 73 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 70 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 1.76 17.5 -3.3 Columbia 1.74 15.3 -2.9 Orangeburg 1.30 15.5 -2.6 Charlotte, NC 0.44 15.1 -2.4 Augusta, GA 2.34 19.3 1.1 Florence 1.29 12.9 -3.2 Myrtle Beach 0.25 11.4 -3.7 Charleston 1.33 14.0 -2.3 Savannah, GA 1.98 16.7 0.5 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/