State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 10/03/04 Issue NH-CW3704 Volume 24, Number 24 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) October 4, 2004 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary Harvest Continues as Weather Permits For the week ending October 3, 2004, there were 6.1 days available for field work across New England. Topsoil moisture was rated 5 percent short, 83 percent adequate, 12 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 6 percent short, 84 percent adequate, 10 percent surplus. Pasture condition was rated 7 percent poor, 38 percent fair, 43 percent good, 12 percent excellent. Another good week for field work across New England. Remnants of hurricane Jeanne moved through the six-state region on Tuesday depositing more than four inches of rain in some areas. Frost was reported in some higher elevations in the northern states. Major farm activities included: applying rye cover on harvested fields; spreading manure; chopping corn; cutting haylage and making dry hay; harvesting corn silage, apples, peaches, pears, small grains, potatoes, sweet corn and other vegetables. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 0 0 0 Short 5 6 3 Adequate 83 84 68 Surplus 12 10 29 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 0 0 0 Short 6 5 4 Adequate 84 87 88 Surplus 10 8 8 --------------------------------------------- -- Field Crops Report Harvest activities continued during the week as weather permitted. In areas that received a minimal amount of rain, producers were busy chopping silage at a fast pace. Potato growers in Maine and Rhode Island had a great week for field work as crop harvest climbed 45 percentage points from the previous week in Maine and harvest was completed in Rhode Island. Small grains remained in good to fair conditions. -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Orchardists made good progress harvesting apples and pears during the week, and finished picking the last of this season's peach crop. Cranberry harvest is in full swing, and growers report this is one of the best crops in several years. Good yields, spectacular color, a very good berry size, and a superb quality all contribute to making this an excellent crop. Herbicide applications and flail mowing has begun on some blueberry fields. VEGETABLES: Sales remained brisk at markets and farm stands as there was still a strong demand for vegetables. There were also plenty of corn stalks, pumpkins and squash available at stands for fall decorating. Growers harvested cabbage, brussel sprouts, winter squash, kale and pumpkins along with the tail end of warm season crops. Sweet corn harvest is winding down. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2004 2003 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Barley, ME 95 95 95 Good Oats, ME 95 95 95 Good/Fair Potatoes: Maine 75 70 60 Good Mass 75 60 70 Good Rhode Isl 100 100 90 Good/Excel Silage Corn 60 65 65 Good Sweet Corn 99 99 99 Good/Excel Dry Hay: Second Cut 95 99 95 Good Third Cut 80 85 80 Good/Excel ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2004 2003 5-yr Avg Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 70 70 65 Good/Excel Peaches 100 99 99 Good/Fair Pears 85 65 65 Good Cranberries,MA 25 20 20 Good/Fair ----------------------------------------------------- -- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, October 3, 2004 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 30 78 54 +3 0.00 0.75 NH 23 79 54 +3 0.00 1.99 VT 30 78 55 +4 0.00 1.63 MA 38 78 59 +3 1.37 8.56 RI 44 78 61 +4 2.63 5.18 CT 40 79 59 +3 2.46 3.54 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table For the Period: Monday September 27, 2004 To: Sunday October 3, 2004 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 31 73 51 -4 1764 -363 567 -223 Allagash 30 74 51 +4 1164 -174 270 -53 Augusta_State_A 40 73 56 +3 2045 -6 726 -20 Bangor_Intl_Arp 35 74 56 +4 1947 +79 690 +68 Barnard 33 74 53 +3 1596 +11 460 +8 Bath 35 75 55 +2 1802 -125 580 -80 Bethel 34 74 54 +2 1844 +7 576 -20 Brassua_Dam 34 75 53 +6 1351 +41 313 +3 Brunswick_ME 40 75 57 +4 2031 +104 705 +45 Caribou_Municip 32 74 54 +7 1492 +51 443 +65 Corinna 35 75 53 +2 1812 +67 599 +59 Danforth 34 73 53 +4 1490 -195 394 -131 Dover-Foxcroft 34 72 52 +3 1501 -84 419 -33 Durham 36 69 53 -3 1775 -416 554 -287 East_Hiram 33 73 53 +1 1731 -98 518 -72 Eustis 30 72 49 +2 1228 -42 262 -21 Frenchville 33 74 54 +6 1379 +41 379 +56 Gray 42 73 57 +4 2122 +221 771 +134 Greenville_ME 39 72 54 +5 1935 +337 690 +227 Guilford 33 71 50 -1 1262 -323 288 -164 Hollis 34 75 54 +3 1849 +104 602 +70 Houlton 30 72 53 +5 1537 +31 485 +61 Kennebunkport 37 78 55 -2 1685 -658 483 -458 Livermore_Falls 31 78 53 +4 1909 +356 665 +236 Moosehead 31 77 52 +4 1335 +25 304 -6 New_Sharon 32 75 53 +4 1751 +198 529 +100 Patten 34 74 54 +6 1429 -77 364 -60 Portage 33 73 54 +7 1439 -2 405 +27 Portland_ME 42 74 58 +5 2035 +134 731 +94 Rangeley 33 74 53 +5 1374 +136 312 +48 Sebec_Lake 35 74 54 +4 1601 +3 466 +3 Vanceboro 36 73 54 +4 1515 -112 418 -60 Waterville 37 74 54 +0 1914 -213 652 -138 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 33 74 53 -1 1919 -132 657 -82 Benton 35 74 54 +3 1751 +73 523 +47 Berlin_AG 34 73 53 +3 1766 +86 543 +46 Bethlehem 31 78 52 +2 1582 -91 454 -22 Concord 38 77 57 +5 2422 +371 989 +250 Diamond_Pond 31 70 50 +3 1133 +22 201 -4 First_Conn_Lake 30 71 49 +2 1193 +82 241 +36 Greenville 40 76 57 +5 2405 +547 966 +381 Keene_AP 39 75 56 +2 2279 -30 860 -56 Lakeport 44 76 57 +6 2300 +396 898 +253 Marlow 35 72 52 -3 1574 -514 417 -330 Mount_Washingto 23 52 42 +8 152 +91 2 +2 North_Conway 37 74 54 +3 2039 +150 729 +96 Otter_Brook_Lk 39 76 56 +2 2135 -174 755 -161 Plymouth 34 77 53 +4 1785 +133 533 +56 Rochester 38 79 58 +3 2152 -62 807 -45 Weare 40 75 54 +0 2085 -3 732 -15 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 35 71 53 +2 1833 +44 545 -6 Bethel 34 74 54 +4 1934 +235 647 +143 Burlington_Intl 39 75 57 +4 2371 +192 968 +127 East_Haven 30 75 53 +5 1660 +274 496 +159 Island_Pond 33 72 53 +5 1621 +243 459 +134 Montpelier 37 75 55 +5 1968 +260 670 +158 Morrisville_AG 34 75 53 +3 1710 +8 546 +30 Mount_Mansfield 32 61 49 +5 788 +72 75 +9 Northfield 35 78 54 +5 1845 +296 592 +170 Pownal 41 74 56 +5 2058 +263 667 +115 Rochester 37 77 56 +5 1952 +253 634 +130 Rutland_AG 38 73 55 +0 2033 -248 694 -202 Sunderland 40 73 55 +2 1888 -295 580 -239 Sutton 34 73 53 +6 1587 +201 429 +92 Townshend_Lake 43 75 56 +3 2096 -66 710 -113 Union_Vill_Dam 37 73 55 +2 2018 -158 717 -112 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 44 75 57 +5 2261 +406 849 +251 Boston/Logan_In 49 77 61 +2 2783 +69 1281 +64 Greenfield 45 78 58 +2 2462 -37 989 -55 New_Bedford 44 77 60 -2 2501 -259 1037 -218 Otis_AFB 45 73 59 +2 2422 +196 1010 +149 Plymouth 46 76 59 +3 2417 +143 1009 +109 Walpole 42 77 57 +3 2578 +307 1098 +207 West_Medway 43 78 59 +4 2590 +319 1099 +208 Chicopee/Westov 41 77 58 -2 2726 -150 1201 -136 Worcester 45 73 58 +4 2456 +335 993 +212 Worthington 40 75 56 +3 1986 +145 638 +63 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 46 77 61 +4 2824 +239 1287 +162 Woonsocket 44 78 59 +5 2554 +318 1079 +233 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 42 72 56 -3 2160 -586 749 -494 Bridgeport/Siko 54 79 64 +4 3076 +272 1498 +188 Hartford/Bradle 46 78 60 +3 2917 +179 1364 +129 Norfolk 43 70 55 +4 2139 +305 745 +172 Norwich 44 78 59 +2 2773 +196 1238 +137 Thomaston_Dam 45 77 59 +4 2729 +501 1191 +352 Willimantic 42 76 59 +4 2640 +364 1126 +254 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.06 -0.71 1 2.40 -0.63 7 Allagash 0.00 -0.77 0 2.50 -0.84 3 Augusta_State_A 0.12 -0.65 3 2.49 -0.46 8 Bangor_Intl_Arp 0.03 -0.73 1 2.28 -0.90 7 Barnard 0.08 -0.79 2 2.21 -1.39 9 Bath 0.26 -0.45 3 3.36 +0.55 7 Bethel 0.05 -0.72 1 2.95 -0.13 6 Brassua_Dam 0.06 -0.73 1 1.41 -1.94 6 Brunswick_ME 0.35 -0.36 3 3.50 +0.69 6 Caribou_Municip 0.04 -0.67 2 1.90 -1.22 7 Corinna 0.10 -0.68 1 2.36 -0.95 6 Danforth 0.05 -0.72 1 2.74 -0.52 8 Dover-Foxcroft 0.05 -0.82 1 2.15 -1.45 6 Durham 0.27 -0.50 3 3.53 +0.66 8 East_Hiram 0.28 -0.49 3 3.65 +0.73 8 Eustis 0.07 -0.63 2 2.27 -0.56 7 Frenchville 0.05 -0.72 2 3.49 +0.15 8 Gray 0.21 -0.56 3 3.36 +0.43 7 Greenville_ME 0.13 -0.74 1 1.95 -1.65 7 Guilford 0.06 -0.81 1 2.44 -1.16 9 Hollis 0.28 -0.49 3 4.35 +1.27 8 Houlton 0.08 -0.68 1 2.03 -1.23 7 Kennebunkport 0.75 -0.02 3 4.61 +1.67 10 Livermore_Falls 0.04 -0.74 1 2.42 -0.84 7 Moosehead 0.06 -0.73 1 1.35 -2.00 7 New_Sharon 0.05 -0.73 1 2.44 -0.82 7 Patten 0.08 -0.68 3 2.34 -0.92 11 Portage 0.02 -0.69 1 2.32 -0.80 7 Portland_ME 0.37 -0.40 3 3.46 +0.53 7 Rangeley 0.05 -0.58 2 2.32 -0.46 8 Sebec_Lake 0.04 -0.83 2 2.08 -1.52 8 Vanceboro 0.05 -0.76 1 2.32 -1.22 8 Waterville 0.04 -0.73 1 4.34 +1.31 8 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.41 -0.25 4 4.92 +2.33 9 Benton 0.01 -0.69 1 2.30 -0.58 5 Berlin_AG 0.00 -0.75 0 2.67 -0.33 7 Bethlehem 0.04 -0.66 1 3.26 +0.38 8 Concord 0.66 +0.00 3 6.16 +3.57 8 Diamond_Pond 0.17 -0.67 1 2.50 -1.10 8 First_Conn_Lake 0.16 -0.68 1 2.73 -0.87 10 Greenville 1.76 +1.04 4 6.95 +4.08 9 Keene_AP 0.73 +0.06 4 5.09 +2.36 9 Lakeport 0.25 -0.45 3 3.92 +1.18 7 Marlow 0.79 +0.02 3 5.62 +2.54 8 Mount_Washingto 0.15 -1.37 1 6.82 +0.17 8 North_Conway 0.03 -0.81 1 3.85 +0.65 9 Otter_Brook_Lk 1.03 +0.36 3 7.13 +4.40 7 Plymouth 0.15 -0.61 3 2.77 -0.13 7 Rochester 0.56 -0.25 3 5.65 +2.62 7 Weare 1.11 +0.34 4 5.92 +2.84 10 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 1.26 +0.42 6 6.90 +3.42 11 Bethel 0.04 -0.80 2 3.09 -0.36 6 Burlington_Intl 0.18 -0.50 1 2.63 -0.33 6 East_Haven 0.11 -0.59 2 2.52 -0.52 9 Island_Pond 0.04 -0.66 1 2.97 -0.02 9 Montpelier 0.05 -0.58 3 2.57 -0.02 10 Morrisville_AG 0.06 -0.67 2 2.00 -1.15 10 Mount_Mansfield 0.16 -1.09 1 5.11 -0.40 8 Northfield 0.00 -0.70 0 2.02 -0.90 4 Pownal 1.20 +0.36 5 6.59 +3.11 10 Rochester 0.00 -0.84 0 3.35 -0.10 4 Rutland_AG 0.25 -0.46 2 3.47 +0.29 6 Sunderland 1.43 +0.73 4 4.69 +1.58 9 Sutton 0.05 -0.65 1 2.64 -0.40 7 Townshend_Lake 1.63 +0.93 5 7.34 +4.38 9 Union_Vill_Dam 0.18 -0.58 2 3.39 +0.32 8 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 2.15 +1.45 5 8.31 +5.59 12 Boston/Logan_In 2.74 +2.04 4 7.50 +4.70 10 Greenfield 2.38 +1.61 5 7.63 +4.49 10 New_Bedford 3.28 +2.58 6 5.69 +2.65 10 Otis_AFB 3.60 +2.77 4 6.27 +3.08 9 Plymouth 3.04 +2.13 6 5.98 +2.20 13 Walpole 3.74 +2.90 5 6.98 +3.57 12 West_Medway 3.94 +3.10 3 8.56 +5.15 8 Chicopee/Westov 2.50 +1.72 4 5.76 +2.51 9 Worcester 2.68 +1.73 5 7.64 +3.88 11 Worthington 3.45 +2.62 5 9.54 +6.18 10 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 3.43 +2.66 5 7.03 +3.83 14 Woonsocket 2.63 +1.79 6 6.73 +3.24 13 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 3.35 +2.51 5 9.75 +6.26 12 Bridgeport/Siko 2.77 +2.07 5 7.25 +4.38 12 Hartford/Bradle 3.16 +2.32 6 8.31 +4.82 12 Norfolk 3.08 +2.17 4 9.65 +5.87 9 Norwich 3.21 +2.35 5 10.40 +6.82 11 Thomaston_Dam 2.82 +1.91 5 6.99 +3.29 12 Willimantic 2.46 +1.55 6 7.15 +3.49 13 Summary based on NWS data. DFN = Departure From Normal (Using 1961-90 Normals Period). Precipitation (rain or melted snow/ice) in inches. Precipitation Days = Days with precip of 0.01 inch or more. Air Temperatures in Degrees Fahrenheit. Copyright 2004: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. For detailed ag weather forecasts and data visit the AWIS home page at www.awis.com or call toll free at 1-888-798-9955. -- Other Agricultural Comments and News CONNECTICUT - Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Harvest of vegetables, field corn as silage, and tree fruit came to a halt with up to four inches of rain on Tuesday into Wednesday as remnants of tropical storm Jeanne skirted the coast. Attempts to continue harvest on Thursday sent farmers looking for dry fields with little success. Numerous reports of pumpkins breaking down in the field and at road side stands due to disease caused by the wet conditions. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Another four inches plus of rain with windy conditions, took two days out of harvesting; some damage. Corn chopping continues, pick your own apples and pumpkins popular, mum sales doing well, some hay went in. Karen Vozarik (FSA), New Haven: Warm days and cool nights. Still chopping corn. Apples are good, pears are fair. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Great weather for growers to harvest. They have been in the fields everyday. Some growers have completed harvest and have begun fall tillage, rock picking etc. Most growers who are still harvesting are processor growers who plant late maturing varieties. Soil getting quite dry. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Silage corn and potato harvest are in full swing. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: Had a very hard frost last night. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Lots of beautiful fall weather and corn harvest is in full swing. Good haymaking weather has helped get those last cuttings in the barn. Frost is predicted for most everybody on Tuesday night. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Herbicide application on weeds in blueberry fields underway. Corn stalks, pumpkins and squash at farm stands. Flail mowing underway on blueberry fields, but too early for burning. A week of good weather to harvest silage corn and do outdoor work. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: Silage corn growers are spending their days in fields chopping, chopping, chopping. Grass producers were cutting, tethering and baling as fast as the equipment would let them. It's harvest time. We've seen the pumpkin, squash and corn stalks line the walls of the market gardens. Many of the farmers are awaiting that first frost. It's coming. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: There's frost on them there pumpkins!!! Some hay still coming in but very difficult to get it dried now. Lots of corn being chopped. Soybeans took advantage of the extended good weather. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Corn fields are very wet for harvesting; few are done harvesting their silage. Standing corn is drying down slowly. Most farmers are chopping and not doing much haying. All squash growers reporting that size is bigger than normal and good yields. Pumpkin crop has done real well in size, quality and yield. Some reporting of a disease in pumpkins that sprayer did not prevent. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Harvest for all crops is underway. Cranberries are on target good quality and yield. Field corn is well dented and ready to be chopped. Vegetables and sweet corn harvest is winding down with a very good season. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Harvesting is in full swing with nothing but positives so far - good yields, very good berry size, spectacular color, superb quality. Most growers are pretty happy, as this is our first good crop in several years. We had four inches rain last Wednesday from Jeanne. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: Good week for harvesting. Pumpkins, winter squash, and fall decorations are in demand. Weekend weather was perfect for farm stand sales.John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Another beautiful week allowed the fall harvest to conclude on most farms. Many farms are in the home stretch with vegetable and forage harvesting. Pumpkins and hard squash continue to be harvested, but producers have contacted our office to report substantial crop break-down. Apple growers are reporting a heavy crop with excellent yield, size and color. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Lots of rain this week. Four plus inches fell on the valley this week. Farmers are harvesting apples, corn silage, potatoes, cabbage, pumpkins, and winter squash. Many broadleaf tobacco growers started to take down tobacco on September 21 due to a excellent tobacco damp. Growers continue to apply rye cover on harvested fields. Gary Guida, Worcester: Oct 3rd and still no frost! Finished picking last section of sweet corn. Most summer crops have had it. Pumpkins and apples selling well at area farm stands. Starting to winterize farm equipment and removal of plastic from fields has begun. NEW HAMPSHIRE -Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: Corn silage harvest wrapping up, the season is winding down rapidly. Pumpkins and mums are selling briskly. This year's pumpkins look great; apples are ripening and about ready to go. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Generally sunny and pleasant, with a few brief rainy periods. Corn chopping continues. Days are getting too short to make dry hay, but producers are still mowing grass and alfalfa for a late third/early fourth cutting for baleage or haylage. Beautiful weather for PYO apples. Farm stands full of pumpkins, squash, greens, cole crops, and mums. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Weather continued fairly warm and dry during the day, dropping to high 30's-40's at night. This allowed for many farms to catch up with fieldwork; a little more hay as possible, manure spreading, etc. Field corn harvest intensive as more silage corn reaching chopping stage maturity, thanks to a warm September we've been lucky. Fall crops, mums, sweet corn, pumpkins, winter squash, corn stalks readily available, apples too, including the increasingly popular Honey crisp. Brilliant Autumn colors this year, about peak in some parts of Coos county. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn harvest continuing at a fast pace. Corn grain drying down but stalks still green. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: I had a chance to do some yield plots during the last few days, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the corn was far better than I had expected. The yields were nearly the same as last year, and the ears have dried down far more than I had expected. The warm weather that we had in September made a big difference. A few fields that went in late May still need some time to mature. We had a touch of frost in the higher elevations on Saturday night. The river bottoms have not had a frost yet. The Pumpkin and winter squash crops look good. There are plenty of both, and the quality is good. The grass is still growing. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: Pick-your-own apple and farm stand operations had a wonderful weekend. Apple harvest is in full swing with most growers concentrating on second or strip picking McIntosh and Gala apples, and working on Cortland and Macoun. Fruit size is excellent. Fall raspberries and pear harvest continues. Vegetables: Great weather and good demand for all vegetable continues. Harvesting wide array of vegetables including; cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts, winter squash and pumpkins along with the tail end of warm season crops. Farmers kept busy disking, cleaning up and planting cover crops on harvested fields. Field Crops: Silage corn harvest in full swing. Cover crops were being planted in harvested fields. John Porter (Ext), Merrimack: With the cool temperatures many are putting the vegetable beds to sleep with a cover crop. The week brought some good weather to harvest corn and finish cutting hay fields. Cool temperatures are not slowing down apple pickers, PYO stands were packed over the weekend. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: The season is winding down. Lots of silage corn still being cut followed by topdressing and some winter rye planting. Good reports on yields. Apple crop this year is above average with good color. Rain slowed things down a bit this past week. Frost in spots. Final cutting of baled hay is being done. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: A nice week. Sunny with a few days of showers. Corn silage going in. Some late planted corn struggling to mature. Apple harvesting continues. Most vegetable crops have all been harvested, However some late vegetables like broccoli and even some squash being harvested. Pumpkins all harvested. Pumpkin and mum sales very strong at most farm stands. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Field corn being chopped, summer vegetables still going strong. Some cover crop down on potato land. Some third cut hay being done and harvesting of pumpkins, gourds, winter squash and crops for decorative use. Roadside stands are full of seasonal fruits and vegetables. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Last week saw great conditions for harvesting everything. Fields are about as dry as they've been all season. Losses on potatoes have been reported due to excess rain resulting in rot and soil compaction. Pumpkin harvest is winding down with smaller than average pumpkins. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Landowners are busy cutting corn these days. The drier and warmer fall weather has saved a lot of the corn crop. It has also made it easier to harvest. Most reports I have had suggest that the yield and quality are very good. Aside from corn harvest, other landowners are spreading manure and getting ready for the winter. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Corn harvest has been steady with the good weather and producers are reporting an excellent crop. Apples are the best color this year as reported by the producers and quality is exceptional. Most all vegetable have been picked with good production, some sweet corn is still being harvested. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Corn silage harvest in full swing. Ears maturing rapidly with black layer before total plant dry down. No hard frost yet. Finish third harvest hay crop silage. Some manure spread on hay fields, starting on corn stubble. Little fall tillage yet. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Only had a shower of rain on Saturday evening, driest week in a long time. Still no widespread killing frost. Most all farmers either chopping corn or finishing up some hay this week. Manure going on to fields too. Grass growth slowing now. Color in the leaves coming on slowly. Chris Benedict (Ext), Chittenden: McIntosh harvest is coming to an end across the state for most growers. Now growers have to focus on late cultivars and marketing their apples. George Cook, (Ext) LaMoille: Nice fall weather; September ended up driest month since last March, with just under three inches rainfall. Still many water logged fields, though. Fall chores mostly on schedule, though wetness has delayed some activity. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service Agency(FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals. September 2004 Crop Weather Summary: Plenty of rain fell across the six-state region throughout September. Hot, humid temperatures coupled with thunderstorms began the month, followed by remnants from hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne. The precipitation saturated fields in low lying areas and caused overflowing of riverbanks in some locations. Soil moisture levels were rated mostly adequate to surplus the entire month. Second crop hay harvest was nearly complete by month's end and growers cutting a third crop had 30 percent left to harvest. Silage corn remained in mostly good to excellent condition throughout September; as of the 27th, 40 percent of the crop had been chopped. Potato harvest in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were ahead of schedule with last year and normal at the end of the month, while Maine's potato crop was nearly one third complete. Small grain harvest was nearing completion by month's end, and both the oat and barley crops were reported in fair to good condition. Shade tobacco harvest was wrapped up by mid-month, and broadleaf tobacco harvest was finished by the last week of September. Tree fruit harvest was active during the month. Only one percent of the peaches remained to be picked at month's end; one fourth of the pear crop was left for harvest; and apples had surpassed the half way point at 60 percent completed. Massachusetts cranberry growers had their first water harvest at the end of September. Specialist were anticipating an excellent crop both in quantity and quality. The last of Maine's 2004 wild blueberries were harvested by the first week in September and highbush blueberries were finished roughly one week later. -- Contact Information To receive this report, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statistician: Dianne Johnson Stat Assistant: Lynne Arsenault Deputy Director: Joe Samson New England Agricultural Statistics Service National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Department of Agriculture Aubrey R. Davis, Director 22 Bridge St, 3rd Floor PO Box 1444 Concord, NH 03302-1444 Phone: (603) 224-9639 Fax: (603) 225-1434 Internet: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ E-Mail: nass.nh@nass.usda.gov ****************** end of report ***********************