sc-crop-weather State South Carolina Crop Weather Release Date, Week Ending Date Week Ending October 30, 2005 Issue SC-CW1436 Agricultural Summary Last week was an excellent week for harvesting. Dry, sunny weather was the order of the week and harvesting of peanuts, cotton and soybeans continued at a rapid pace. However, the dry weather caused some delay in planting small grains in the upper regions of the State. Fall temperatures seemed to have settled in and no crop or disease damage was reported last week. Soil moisture was 2% very short, 35% short, 63% adequate. There were 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork. Field Crops Report Forty-five percent of the SOYBEAN crop had matured and 18 percent had been harvested with the crop remaining in fair to good condition. COTTON harvest continued with 98 percent of bolls opened, 45 percent harvested, and the crop holding in fair to mostly good condition. Most of the SORGHUM crop had matured by week's end and 86 percent had been harvested. PEANUTS were 75 percent harvested at the end of the week and remained in fair to mostly good shape. Growers had finished destroying TOBACCO STALKS at week's end. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Report APPLE harvesting was 93 percent completed. PECAN harvesting was 42 percent completed at week's end with the crop in mostly fair condition. Livestock, Pastures and Small Grains Report LIVESTOCK condition remained mostly good, while PASTURES remained in mostly fair condition. Small grain seedings were still behind normal overall with 24 percent of WINTER WHEAT, 27 percent of RYE, 31 percent of OATS, and 26 percent of BARLEY emerged and the crops in mostly fair condition with OATS, faring slightly better, in fair to good shape. WINTER GRAZING was also behind schedule with 60 percent planted, 40 percent emerged and the crop condition deteriorating slightly to fair to good. Crop Progress Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 Yr : 5 Yr Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg :Crop Phase 2005 2004 Avg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Percent-- --Percent-- Apples Harvested 93 95 94 :Sorghum Matured 99 99 99 Barley Planted 37 64 61 :Sorghum Harvested 86 85 87 Barley Emerged 26 48 43 :Soybeans Turning Color 93 94 93 Cotton Open Bolls 98 99 96 :Soybeans Leaves Dropped 65 69 68 Cotton Harvested 45 52 47 :Soybeans Mature 45 46 46 Oats Planted 40 55 53 :Soybeans Harvested 18 18 18 Oats Emerged 31 34 37 :Sweetpotato Harvested 76 80 86 Peanuts Harvested 75 78 81 :Winter Grz. Planted 60 79 72 Pecans Harvested 42 33 33 :Winter Grz. Emerged 40 68 56 Rye Planted 35 58 51 :Winter Wht. Planted 34 44 34 Rye Emerged 27 44 38 :Winter Wht. Emerged 24 34 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crop Condition Table ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very Excel- Very Excel- Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent :Crop Poor Poor Fair Good lent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Percent -- -- Percent-- Barley 0 5 70 25 0 :Peanuts 1 3 34 56 6 Cotton 0 6 36 57 1 :Rye 0 0 88 12 0 Livestock 0 2 27 68 3 :Soybeans 3 13 47 34 3 Oats 0 0 49 51 0 :Sweetpotato 0 0 60 40 0 Pastures 1 18 55 23 3 :Winter Wheat 0 5 70 25 0 Pecans 0 7 67 26 0 :Winter Grz. 1 2 48 49 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Carolina Weekly Weather Summary for the Week Ending October 30, 2005 Rainfall was limited to the immediate coast on Monday. The northern half of the state reported low temperatures near freezing Tuesday morning with scattered frost. With the exception of passing light showers near Florence and Myrtle Beach on Friday, sunny and seasonal weather persisted through the week. Progressively colder mornings peaked Sunday with patchy frost observed across the low country. Light winds and clear skies allowed for moderate afternoon warming to finish the weekend. For the period, the state average temperature was seven degrees below normal. The highest official temperature reported was 74 degrees at Pageland and Givhans on October 30. The lowest official temperature reported was 27 degrees at Cedar Creek on the morning of October 31. The heaviest official 24-hour rainfall reported was 1.39 inches at N. Myrtle Beach on October 24. The average statewide rainfall for the period was 0.1 inches. SOIL: 4-inch depth average soil temperature: Columbia 66 degrees. RIVERS AND SURF: South Carolina river stages were below normal. Surf temperatures at Myrtle Beach and Savannah will average around 65 degrees. Precipitation Weekly Jan 1 Deviation Total Total From Avg Greer 0.00 44.5 2.1 Columbia 0.00 39.0 -2.9 Orangeburg 0.00 35.9 -6.0 Charlotte, NC 0.00 33.6 -3.3 Augusta, GA 0.00 41.6 3.0 Florence 0.06 36.6 -2.1 Myrtle Beach 1.64 38.1 -1.2 Charleston 0.86 39.6 -6.0 Savannah, GA 0.36 40.5 -3.8 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