sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending May 29, 2005 Issue SC-CW1413 Agricultural Summary General crop condition fell slightly last week due to inadequate rainfall across most of the state. Spots in the Pee Dee and northern coastal counties did receive some precipitation on Tuesday. Cool nighttime temperatures also slowed crop progress last week. Producers had plenty of time for field activities with 6.2 days suitable for field work. Planting of cotton, peanuts and soybeans were some of the main activities. No major insect or disease problems were reported. Soil moisture was 3 % very short, 22 % short, 71 % adequate and 4 % surplus. Field Crops Report Fifty percent of the State's SOYBEANS had been planted by the end of the week. CORN condition remained mostly good. Corn plants in many southern fields were seen with leaves rolling by noon. Rainfall will be needed to maintain crop condition. Ninety percent of the COTTON crop was reported planted by week's end. SORGHUM planting was 70 percent completed with 4 percent headed. PEANUT planting was 84 percent complete. Early peanut stands were reported excellent in Georgetown county. TOBACCO topping was started and was 1 percent completed. Cool nights have held cotton plants back and caused some problems with tobacco suckering early. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report CANTALOUPE and WATERMELON planting were 99 percent complete at the end of the week and should wrap up this week. SNAP BEAN planting was 99 percent completed with the crop in mostly good condition. TOMATO harvest was underway. Tree fruit were in good shape with 3 percent of the PEACH harvest completed at weeks end. Small Grains, Pastures and Livestock Report LIVESTOCK and PASTURES remained in fair to mostly good condition. Most of the small grains have headed out and harvest was underway for WINTER WHEAT, BARLEY, OATS and RYE. Small grain yield reports from Allendale county were satisfactory. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Barley Headed 100 98 100 :Rye Headed 100 99 99 Barley Turned Color 86 78 91 :Rye Turned Color 80 94 93 Barley Ripe 39 52 60 :Rye Ripe 45 61 70 Barley Harvested 6 21 23 :Rye Harvested 13 3 19 Cantaloups Planted 99 96 97 :Snap Beans Planted 99 100 100 Corn Emerged 100 100 98 :Sorghum Planted 70 74 71 Corn Silked 2 6 7 :Sorghum Headed 4 5 6 Cotton Planted 90 90 84 :Soybeans Planted 50 60 44 Cotton Squared 1 0 1 :Soybeans Emerged 19 19 23 Grain Hay Harvested 87 83 88 :Sweetpotato Planted 50 58 58 Oats Headed 100 100 100 :Tobacco Topped 1 NA NA Oats Turned Color 82 97 94 :Tomatoes Harvested 1 2 2 Oats Ripe 39 67 71 :Watermelons Planted 99 98 98 Oats Harvested 4 2 25 :Winter Wht. Turned Color 91 96 95 Peaches Harvested 3 7 7 :Winter Wht. Ripe 35 56 64 Peanuts Planted 84 93 86 :Winter Wht. Harvested 2 4 15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crops Condition Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 7 48 45 Barley 0 0 16 65 19 :Peanuts 0 0 25 75 0 Cantaloups 0 0 55 45 0 :Rye 0 0 16 77 7 Corn 0 4 24 66 6 :Snap Beans 0 0 10 85 5 Cotton 0 3 20 76 1 :Sorghum 0 0 0 100 0 Cucumbers 0 0 45 55 0 :Sweetpotato 0 0 90 10 0 Grain Hay 0 5 22 70 3 :Tobacco 0 3 20 75 2 Livestock 0 0 10 83 7 :Tomatoes 0 0 21 79 0 Oats 0 0 27 62 11 :Watermelons 0 6 44 50 0 Pastures 0 2 21 66 11 :Winter Wheat 0 1 21 69 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending May 29, 2005 On Monday, gusting west winds of between 25 and 30 mph pushed afternoon temperatures to near 90 degrees. Cloudiness and thunderstorms were observed over the Pee Dee and north coastal counties Tuesday. Both Surfside Beach and Pawleys Island reported large hail. Early morning temperatures on Wednesday fell into the 40’s. Slow warming followed into the weekend with sunny 80 degree weather on Saturday. A surface boundary entered the State during the day on Sunday with clouds and passing showers. For the period, the State average temperature was three degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 92 degrees at Conway on May 23. The lowest official temperature reported was 43 degrees at Caesars Head, Walhalla, Chester and Cedar Creek on the morning of May 25. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.56 inches at N. Myrtle Beach ending at 7:00 a.m. on May 25. The average Statewide rainfall for the period was 0.1 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 71 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.03 17.5 -4.0 Columbia 0.05 15.3 -3.4 Orangeburg 0.00 15.5 -3.1 Charlotte, NC 0.01 15.1 -3.2 Augusta, GA 0.02 19.3 0.4 Florence 0.02 13.0 -3.7 Myrtle Beach 0.64 12.1 -3.5 Charleston 0.29 14.3 -2.8 Savannah, GA 0.07 16.8 0.0 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/