sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending June 19, 2005 Issue SC-CW1416 Agricultural Summary Drier weather last week allowed farmers to clean up their weedy fields. Wheat was being harvested, and soybeans were being planted behind the wheat. Contact spraying for tobacco started up last week. Growers were gearing up for watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomato harvest. Soil moisture was 1% very short, 5% short, 78% adequate and 16% surplus. 5.6 days were available for field work. Field Crops Report SOYBEANS were in mostly good condition with seventy-three percent of the State's crop planted, sixty-one percent emerged and one percent bloomed at week's end. Sixty percent of the State's CORN crop, which remained in mostly good condition, had tasseled and eight percent had reached the dough stage. COTTON planting was mostly completed, and the crop was reported in good shape with twenty percent squared by the end of the week. SORGHUM was ninety-one percent planted, thirty- five percent headed, two percent turning color and remained in good condition. PEANUT planting was ninety-nine percent completed with seventeen percent of the crop pegged and the crop was in mostly good condition. TOBACCO topping was twenty percent completed and the crop was in fair to mostly good shape. SWEET POTATOES were eighty-six percent planted and in fair condition. Fruit, Vegetables and Specialty Crops WATERMELONS remained in fair to good shape with ten percent of the crop harvested. CANTALOUPES, which were in mostly fair to good condition, were fifteen percent harvested by weeks' end. Half of the SNAP BEAN crop had been harvested and the crop remained in good condition. TOMATO harvest was twenty- eight percent completed with that crop in good shape. Sixteen percent of the PEACH crop was harvested by week's end with the crop in good condition. APPLE condition remained fair to excellent. Small Grains, Pastures and Livestock Report LIVESTOCK and PASTURES remained in mostly good condition. Small grain conditions were fair to good overall. Farmers were rapidly harvesting WINTER WHEAT, BARLEY, OATS and RYE while the weather held. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Barley Ripe 85 94 95 :Rye Ripe 85 97 98 Barley Harvested 61 72 73 :Rye Harvested 55 75 80 Cantaloups Harvested 15 19 25 :Snap Beans Harvested 50 62 65 Corn Silked 60 66 64 :Sorghum Planted 91 94 90 Corn Dough Stage 8 8 12 :Sorghum Headed 35 43 38 Cotton Planted 99 100 98 :Sorghum Turned Color 2 4 4 Cotton Squared 20 33 24 :Soybeans Planted 73 92 84 Cucumbers Harvested 64 80 79 :Soybeans Emerged 61 78 68 Grain Hay Harvested 96 98 99 :Soybeans Bloomed 1 2 2 Oats Ripe 92 95 97 :Sweetpotato Planted 86 84 86 Oats Harvested 52 83 82 :Tobacco Topped 20 16 20 Peaches Harvested 16 20 23 :Tomatoes Harvested 28 26 34 Peanuts Planted 99 99 99 :Watermelons Harvested 10 10 15 Peanuts Pegged 12 17 12 :Winter Wht. Ripe 92 98 98 Rye Turned Color 98 99 100 :Winter Wht. Harvested 58 85 83 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 35 40 :Peanuts 0 1 12 78 9 Barley 0 0 30 50 20 :Rye 0 0 25 73 2 Cantaloups 0 5 59 36 0 :Snap Beans 0 0 1 99 0 Corn 0 1 17 66 16 :Sorghum 0 0 0 100 0 Cotton 0 3 18 73 6 :Soybeans 0 2 25 65 8 Cucumbers 0 0 38 62 0 :Sweetpotato 0 0 91 9 0 Grain Hay 0 2 26 64 8 :Tobacco 0 3 28 64 5 Livestock 0 0 22 68 10 :Tomatoes 0 0 20 70 10 Oats 0 2 44 40 14 :Watermelons 0 3 43 50 4 Pastures 0 1 18 67 14 :Winter Wheat 0 3 35 52 10 Peaches 0 0 2 74 24 : ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending June 19, 2005 Drying west winds and high temperatures were reported during the first half of the week. The afternoon heat peaked in the upper 90’s from the midlands eastward over to the coast. A cooler air mass dropped southeast on Friday lowering South Carolina temperatures by ten to fifteen degrees. Morning lows across the mountains fell into the 50’s. Scattered thunderstorms producing large hail were observed on both Saturday and Sunday. Gaston and Swansea in Lexington County reported damaging hail Saturday that covered the ground. For the period, the state average temperature was two degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 99 degrees at Orangeburg on June 15. The lowest official temperature reported was 52 degrees at Caesars Head on the morning of June 18. The heaviest 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.45 inches at Greenwood AP ending at 7:00 a.m. on June 18. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.2 inches. SOIL: 4 inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 79 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near to above normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 77 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.39 21.4 -3.2 Columbia 0.10 18.9 -3.3 Orangeburg 0.04 19.4 -2.2 Charlotte, NC 1.23 20.3 -0.4 Augusta, GA 0.00 25.3 3.4 Florence 0.00 16.8 -3.0 Myrtle Beach 0.00 13.8 -4.5 Charleston 0.14 17.6 -3.6 Savannah, GA 0.36 20.7 -0.1 Weekly rainfall totals this period ending midnight Sunday. Contact Information Robert A. Graham, Director Jean Besco, IT Specialist Phone: 803-765-5333 E-mail: nass-sc@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/sc