sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending October 16, 2005 Issue SC-CW1434 Agricultural Summary After a week of flooding rains, drier weather at the end of last week allowed farmers in many areas to do some limited field work. Cotton was in desperate need of harvest, and peanuts were losing quality in fields where the crop had been dug but the conditions were too wet for combining. Fall pastures and livestock responded well to the much needed moisture and cooler temperatures. However, many growers fear reduced yields in most crops due to the extremely dry conditions during July and August. Also, some growers were not anticipating much winter wheat being planted due to the high seed and fertilizer prices. There were no significant insect or disease problems to report. Soil moisture was 2% very short, 13% short, 78% adequate and 7% surplus. There were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork. Field Crops Report CORN harvesting was nearly completed by week's end. Thirty-five percent of the SOYBEAN crop had dropped its leaves and harvesting had begun. The crop was in fair to good condition. COTTON harvest continued with 26 percent harvested and 90 percent of bolls opened. Sixty-seven percent of the SORGHUM crop was harvested and 93 percent had matured at week's end. PEANUT harvest continued behind the five year average as growers waited for the fields to dry out. Most TOBACCO STALKS had been destroyed by the end of the week. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report APPLE harvesting was 80 percent completed as the crop remained in mostly good condition. PECAN harvesting was 18 percent completed at week's end. Livestock, Pastures and Small Grains Report LIVESTOCK condition remained mostly good. PASTURE conditions improved a bit last week but most remained in only fair shape. WINTER WHEAT, RYE, OATS and BARLEY seedings were all well behind normal with little of the crops emerged. WINTER GRAZING was also far behind schedule. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Apples Harvested 80 87 85 :Sorghum Harvested 67 68 74 Barley Planted 18 44 39 :Soybeans Pods Set 100 100 100 Barley Emerged 10 31 26 :Soybeans Turning Color 63 72 76 Corn Harvested 99 99 99 :Soybeans Leaves Dropped 35 30 36 Cotton Open Bolls 90 93 88 :Soybeans Mature 18 19 19 Cotton Harvested 26 32 27 :Soybeans Harvested 3 6 6 Oats Planted 20 32 31 :Sweetpotato Harvested 57 59 60 Oats Emerged 10 17 19 :Tobacco Stalks Dest. 98 94 95 Peanuts Harvested 50 58 58 :Winter Grz. Planted 40 62 56 Pecans Harvested 18 17 17 :Winter Grz. Emerged 15 45 39 Rye Planted 17 34 32 :Winter Wht. Planted 15 34 25 Rye Emerged 7 24 20 :Winter Wht. Emerged 5 17 14 Sorghum Matured 93 93 94 : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Apples 0 0 40 60 0 :Sorghum 0 1 14 82 3 Cotton 0 5 35 59 1 :Soybeans 5 15 43 35 2 Livestock 0 4 27 66 3 :Sweetpotato 0 0 56 44 0 Pastures 1 17 59 19 4 :Winter Grz. 0 0 34 66 0 Peanuts 0 3 32 59 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 16, 2005 Thundershowers began before sunrise on Monday and continued through the day. Light rain and drizzle was observed Tuesday and Wednesday before clearing Thursday afternoon. Cloudy conditions prevented the mercury from climbing beyond the 60’s upstate. A full day of sun on Friday helped warm high temperatures into the lower 80’s. The weekend’s weather was influenced by a pair of cold fronts which reinforced the drying air mass and brought noticeably cooler mornings. For the period, the state average temperature was three degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 85 degrees at Givhans on October 14. The lowest official temperature reported was 43 degrees at Lake Bowen on the morning of October 16. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 2.43 inches at Cheraw ending at 7:00 a.m. on October 11. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.3 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 0.00 44.5 3.8 Columbia 0.24 39.0 -1.6 Orangeburg 0.74 35.6 -4.9 Charlotte, NC 0.53 33.6 -1.7 Augusta, GA 0.00 41.6 4.4 Florence 0.40 36.4 -1.0 Myrtle Beach 0.61 36.4 -1.5 Charleston 0.83 38.7 -5.7 Savannah, GA 0.01 39.7 -3.3 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