sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending October 23, 2005 Issue SC-CW1435 Agricultural Summary A much drier week across the State allowed field work to resume. Cotton harvesting led the way in many areas with yields reportedly fluctuating greatly from field to field. Peanut harvesting was underway with strong yields in most areas. Although some parts of the State received hail on Friday, no crop or disease damage was reported last week. Fall pastures and livestock responded well to the cool nighttime temperatures and sunny days. Small grain planting continued to lag as farmers were said to be growing increasingly concerned about low commodity prices and escalating production costs. Soil moisture was 1% very short, 25% short, 71% adequate and 3% surplus. There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork. Field Crops Report CORN harvesting was completed by week's end. Thirty percent of the SOYBEAN crop had matured and 10 percent had been harvested with the crop remaining in fair to good condition. COTTON harvest continued with 95 percent of bolls opened, 36 percent harvested, and the crop remained in fair to mostly good shape. With seventy-seven percent of the crop harvested and 97 percent matured, SORGHUM remained in good condition at week's end. PEANUT harvest picked up last week and, at 65 percent, was only slightly behind normal. Most TOBACCO STALKS had been destroyed by the end of the week. Fruit, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report APPLE harvesting was 88 percent completed, and the crop was in fair to good condition. PECAN harvesting was 30 percent completed at week's end with the crop in mostly fair shape. Livestock, Pastures and Small Grains Report LIVESTOCK condition remained mostly good, while PASTURES remained in fair condition. Small grain seedings were all behind normal with 15 percent of WINTER WHEAT, 17 percent of RYE, 20 percent of OATS, and 20 percent of BARLEY emerged. WINTER GRAZING was also behind schedule with 50 percent planted, 30 percent emerged and the crop reported in fair to mostly good condition. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Apples Harvested 88 92 90 :Sorghum Matured 97 97 97 Barley Planted 28 54 50 :Sorghum Harvested 77 80 82 Barley Emerged 20 38 35 :Soybeans Turning Color 75 87 87 Corn Harvested 100 100 100 :Soybeans Leaves Dropped 46 53 52 Cotton Open Bolls 95 96 93 :Soybeans Mature 30 33 32 Cotton Harvested 36 43 37 :Soybeans Harvested 10 10 10 Oats Planted 29 37 41 :Sweetpotato Harvested 67 69 74 Oats Emerged 20 27 28 :Tobacco Stalks Dest. 99 98 98 Peanuts Harvested 65 69 70 :Winter Grz. Planted 50 71 64 Pecans Harvested 30 27 25 :Winter Grz. Emerged 30 57 47 Rye Planted 28 47 42 :Winter Wht. Planted 24 38 30 Rye Emerged 17 34 29 :Winter Wht. Emerged 15 27 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Cotton 0 5 34 60 1 :Sorghum 0 3 16 80 1 Livestock 0 1 25 70 4 :Soybeans 4 15 44 35 2 Pastures 1 16 55 24 4 :Sweetpotato 0 0 56 44 0 Peanuts 1 2 36 55 6 :Winter Grz. 0 2 37 61 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 23, 2005 Temperatures near Monday’s sunrise fell to their coolest of the Fall season. Sheltered sites within the Foothills and Piedmont reported minimums in the 30’s. Sunny, clear conditions were observed during the work week. Daily afternoon high temperatures reached well into the 80’s. Scattered thunderstorms developed on Friday with reports of large hail in Lee, Clarendon, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. A cold front brought cooler weather for the weekend. By Sunday evening the expanding cloud canopy from Florida’s Hurricane Wilma was covering South Carolina’s southern coast. For the period, the state average temperature was four degrees above normal. The highest official temperature reported was 90 degrees at Orangeburg on October 19. The lowest official temperature reported was 36 degrees at Lake Bowen on the morning of October 17. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 0.90 inches at Givhans ending at 7:00 a.m. on October 22. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.1 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 71 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were near normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 69 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.00 44.5 2.9 Columbia 0.24 39.0 -2.3 Orangeburg 0.24 35.9 -5.3 Charlotte, NC 0.00 33.6 -2.5 Augusta, GA 0.00 41.6 3.7 Florence 0.15 36.5 -1.5 Myrtle Beach 0.00 36.4 -2.2 Charleston 0.05 38.7 -6.3 Savannah, GA 0.44 40.1 -3.6 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