new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 10/07/01 Issue NH-CW4001 Volume 21, Number 23 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) October 9, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary HARVEST SEASON WINDING DOWN For the week ending October 7, 2001, there were 6.0 days available for fieldwork across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 11% very poor, 25% poor, 47% fair, 17% good, 0% excellent. Major farm activities included: liming and fertilizing fields; re-seeding pastures and hay fields; spreading manure; cutting hay and chopping haylage; mowing blueberry fields; and harvesting oats, barley, silage corn, potatoes, apples, pears, fall raspberries, cranberries, sweet corn and other vegetables. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 6 8 0 Short 45 48 5 Adequate 48 43 83 Surplus 1 1 12 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 27 33 0 Short 28 26 7 Adequate 44 41 88 Surplus 1 0 5 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Harvest activities are winding down in New England as cool fall temperatures set in. Farmers were busy preparing fields for the winter last week and remained on the lookout for frost. Potato harvest is well underway in the three reporting States, and crop conditions range from fair to excellent. Silage harvest proceeded at a rapid pace due to the dry weather. Tobacco growers reported excellent curing conditions this season, and much of the crop is ready for packing. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: The harvest of late maturing apple varieties was in full swing during the week. Pear harvest was nearing the end, and the crop remains in poor to fair condition. The harvest of Massachusetts' cranberry crop had reached the half-way mark by week's end, well ahead of last year and normal; some instances of fruit rot have been reported. VEGETABLES: Farmers continued their harvest of sweet corn, pumpkins, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, winter squash and other vegetables. Frost hit most mornings last week, putting an end to some vegetable crops. Farmers continued to clean up harvested vegetable fields last week. Roadside stands did well over the holiday weekend. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 90 80 75 Good/Excel Mass 80 90 85 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 95 85 85 Good Oats, ME 99 95 95 Good Barley, ME 99 95 95 Good/Fair Silage Corn 85 55 65 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 99 100 99 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 95 95 95 Fair/Poor Third Cut 80 85 80 Fair/Poor ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 75 75 75 Good/Fair Pears 90 70 75 Poor/Fair Cranberries,MA 50 30 35 Good/Fair ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, October 7, 2001 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI -- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 27 82 54 +5 0.00 0.71 NH 18 82 55 +5 0.00 0.81 VT 26 83 55 +6 0.00 1.26 MA 30 85 60 +5 0.00 1.16 RI 35 85 60 +4 0.23 0.87 CT 32 81 59 +3 0.27 1.88 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Weather Information Table Weather Summary For New England Agricultural Statistics Service Prepared By AWIS, Inc. For the Period: Monday October 1, 2001 To: Sunday October 7, 2001 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 29 79 53 -1 2085 -54 794 +4 Allagash 28 73 49 +3 1516 +175 451 +128 Augusta_ME 34 81 59 +7 2496 +434 1076 +330 Bangor 30 78 56 +4 2340 +463 952 +330 Barnard 31 80 55 +7 2014 +425 713 +261 Bath 30 78 55 +3 2071 +134 774 +114 Bethel 30 80 56 +6 2082 +237 741 +145 Brassua_Dam 33 75 53 +6 1661 +348 497 +187 Brunswick_ME 34 76 57 +5 2232 +295 880 +220 Caribou 33 77 53 +6 1928 +484 675 +297 Corinna 31 81 55 +6 2192 +441 840 +300 Danforth 28 80 52 +4 1787 +97 609 +84 Dover-Foxcroft 32 77 52 +5 1855 +266 609 +157 Durham 31 78 54 +0 2090 -113 801 -40 East_Hiram 31 78 54 +4 2015 +179 742 +152 Eustis 27 77 52 +5 1491 +218 424 +141 Frenchville 32 70 51 +6 1741 +400 562 +239 Gray 38 81 59 +7 2494 +584 1092 +455 Greenville_ME 33 79 55 +7 1958 +355 704 +241 Guilford 27 79 53 +5 1965 +376 744 +292 Hollis 33 81 55 +5 2177 +426 864 +332 Houlton 31 78 53 +6 1870 +361 662 +238 Kennebunkport 37 74 55 -2 2021 -338 736 -205 Livermore_Falls 27 82 54 +6 2192 +635 878 +449 Moosehead 29 80 52 +5 1634 +321 494 +184 New_Sharon 29 82 57 +9 2388 +831 996 +567 Patten 29 70 51 +4 1634 +125 490 +66 Portage 30 76 51 +5 1953 +509 701 +323 Portland_ME 38 80 59 +7 2319 +409 951 +314 Rangeley 28 76 52 +6 1545 +304 416 +152 Sebec_Lake 31 80 54 +6 1948 +345 687 +224 Vanceboro 31 76 54 +5 1898 +265 645 +167 Waterville 33 81 56 +4 2333 +194 948 +158 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 35 78 56 +4 2352 +291 988 +249 Benton 29 77 55 +5 1963 +278 687 +211 Berlin_AG 31 78 54 +6 1993 +307 700 +203 Bethlehem 22 78 54 +5 1830 +151 596 +120 Concord 33 82 58 +7 2464 +403 1078 +339 Diamond_Pond 30 73 52 +7 1376 +262 358 +153 First_Conn_Lake 27 73 52 +6 1292 +178 312 +107 Greenville 34 80 56 +5 2121 +254 822 +237 Keene_AP 32 81 58 +5 2472 +149 1059 +143 Lakeport 40 80 59 +9 2614 +702 1178 +533 Marlow 27 77 53 -1 1826 -274 622 -125 Mt_Washington 18 53 41 +7 244 +183 10 +10 North_Conway 34 79 55 +5 2376 +480 987 +354 Otter_Brook_Lk 35 78 56 +3 2231 -92 858 -58 Plymouth 26 81 54 +5 1920 +262 652 +175 Rochester 35 79 57 +3 2444 +217 1062 +210 Weare 32 77 55 +3 2105 +5 777 +30 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 27 78 52 +2 1600 -198 480 -71 Bethel 33 78 55 +6 2150 +442 822 +318 Burlington_VT 36 79 59 +8 2665 +475 1210 +369 East_Haven 28 79 53 +7 1734 +345 535 +198 Island_Pond 31 76 54 +7 1787 +403 581 +256 Montpelier 34 76 56 +7 2028 +312 755 +243 Morrisville_AG 29 77 54 +5 1758 +49 571 +55 Mount_Mansfield 26 74 47 +5 1050 +334 222 +156 Northfield 33 79 56 +8 1999 +444 713 +291 Pownal 35 79 57 +7 2100 +296 750 +198 Rochester 32 78 57 +7 1983 +275 692 +188 Rutland_AG 33 77 56 +2 2113 -183 768 -131 Sunderland 35 78 55 +3 1849 -346 603 -218 Sutton 31 79 55 +9 1855 +466 612 +275 Townshend_Lake 35 78 57 +5 2193 +19 849 +26 Union_Vill_Dam 31 83 55 +4 2112 -75 787 -42 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 35 80 57 +7 2416 +552 1005 +407 Boston 45 83 64 +6 3020 +282 1488 +267 Greenfield 35 85 59 +3 2630 +113 1190 +143 New_Bedford 38 77 61 +2 2725 -62 1229 -32 Otis_AFB 41 75 62 +6 2715 +471 1248 +384 Plymouth 36 80 61 +6 2616 +325 1153 +250 Walpole 36 82 59 +6 2809 +524 1311 +417 West_Medway 33 83 58 +5 2770 +485 1286 +392 Westover 34 81 59 +2 2845 -54 1347 +6 Worcester 37 78 60 +6 2564 +429 1119 +335 Worthington 33 78 56 +5 2017 +165 707 +132 RHODE ISLAND Providence 41 80 61 +4 3003 +397 1460 +332 Woonsocket 35 85 59 +6 2956 +707 1453 +607 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 32 76 55 -2 2362 -404 971 -275 Bridgeport 44 78 62 +3 3141 +310 1569 +253 Hartford_AP 38 81 60 +4 2986 +229 1455 +217 Norfolk 37 75 58 +8 2388 +545 971 +398 Norwich 39 80 58 +2 2949 +352 1407 +303 Thomaston_Dam 32 77 56 +1 2528 +284 1092 +250 Willimantic 36 81 59 +4 2921 +629 1386 +511 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.01 -0.79 1 2.53 -0.53 5 Allagash 0.55 -0.22 3 2.78 -0.50 9 Augusta_ME 0.03 -0.74 1 2.76 -0.22 9 Bangor 0.09 -0.64 1 2.85 -0.27 9 Barnard 0.21 -0.63 1 2.83 -0.74 7 Bath 0.05 -0.69 1 2.31 -0.53 9 Bethel 0.00 -0.77 0 3.57 +0.49 7 Brassua_Dam 0.11 -0.66 1 1.50 -1.79 9 Brunswick_ME 0.02 -0.72 1 3.29 +0.45 9 Caribou 0.34 -0.36 3 3.37 +0.31 11 Corinna 0.07 -0.70 1 2.40 -0.87 5 Danforth 0.34 -0.43 1 2.64 -0.58 8 Dover-Foxcroft 0.15 -0.69 1 2.19 -1.38 6 Durham 0.05 -0.72 1 2.92 +0.02 10 East_Hiram 0.01 -0.79 1 2.16 -0.80 8 Eustis 0.25 -0.42 1 2.18 -0.59 7 Frenchville 0.71 -0.06 3 3.46 +0.18 12 Gray 0.05 -0.72 1 2.97 +0.01 10 Greenville_ME 0.00 -0.84 0 2.53 -1.04 6 Guilford 0.13 -0.71 1 2.57 -1.00 8 Hollis 0.04 -0.75 1 2.11 -0.99 11 Houlton 0.22 -0.51 1 1.69 -1.48 6 Kennebunkport 0.04 -0.73 1 2.81 -0.16 8 Livermore_Falls 0.11 -0.70 1 2.26 -1.00 9 Moosehead 0.21 -0.56 1 1.45 -1.84 8 New_Sharon 0.12 -0.69 1 2.22 -1.04 6 Patten 0.29 -0.44 2 3.88 +0.71 8 Portage 0.36 -0.34 3 3.82 +0.76 12 Portland_ME 0.06 -0.71 1 3.50 +0.54 10 Rangeley 0.24 -0.41 1 2.09 -0.65 8 Sebec_Lake 0.18 -0.66 1 2.81 -0.76 6 Vanceboro 0.23 -0.55 1 2.79 -0.69 8 Waterville 0.04 -0.76 1 1.93 -1.13 6 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.10 -0.58 1 3.15 +0.56 9 Benton 0.12 -0.58 1 3.70 +0.85 9 Berlin_AG 0.15 -0.61 1 2.13 -0.85 8 Bethlehem 0.24 -0.46 1 4.01 +1.17 9 Concord 0.04 -0.64 1 2.94 +0.35 9 Diamond_Pond 0.36 -0.48 2 2.72 -0.82 10 First_Conn_Lake 0.55 -0.29 1 2.36 -1.18 11 Greenville 0.11 -0.64 1 4.26 +1.39 9 Keene_AP 0.13 -0.56 1 2.46 -0.26 9 Lakeport 0.05 -0.65 1 2.80 +0.06 8 Marlow 0.12 -0.65 1 3.20 +0.12 11 Mt_Washington 0.81 -0.68 1 7.21 +0.71 11 North_Conway 0.06 -0.78 1 3.04 -0.16 10 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.22 -0.47 3 3.75 +1.03 13 Plymouth 0.03 -0.74 1 3.50 +0.60 8 Rochester 0.13 -0.71 1 2.33 -0.75 8 Weare 0.05 -0.72 1 3.66 +0.58 9 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.14 -0.68 1 4.72 +1.29 10 Bethel 0.13 -0.71 1 3.29 -0.13 9 Burlington_VT 0.22 -0.43 1 0.88 -1.99 6 East_Haven 0.20 -0.50 1 3.19 +0.21 10 Island_Pond 0.30 -0.40 2 2.72 -0.21 8 Montpelier 0.14 -0.49 2 2.99 +0.43 12 Morrisville_AG 0.18 -0.53 1 2.82 -0.25 7 Mount_Mansfield 1.26 +0.04 2 5.19 -0.17 8 Northfield 0.00 -0.70 0 2.68 -0.21 8 Pownal 0.15 -0.67 1 4.33 +0.90 8 Rochester 0.30 -0.54 1 3.45 +0.03 9 Rutland_AG 0.15 -0.55 1 2.62 -0.47 6 Sunderland 0.22 -0.48 1 3.46 +0.41 9 Sutton 0.30 -0.40 1 2.24 -0.74 8 Townshend_Lake 0.90 +0.20 3 8.28 +5.36 15 Union_Vill_Dam 0.15 -0.58 1 3.69 +0.65 9 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.11 -0.59 1 3.51 +0.79 10 Boston 0.05 -0.65 1 2.22 -0.58 7 Greenfield 0.14 -0.63 1 3.65 +0.54 10 New_Bedford 0.42 -0.29 4 3.08 +0.09 11 Otis_AFB 0.12 -0.71 2 1.72 -1.50 8 Plymouth 0.08 -0.83 2 2.76 -0.99 8 Walpole 0.28 -0.56 2 1.98 -1.40 7 West_Medway 0.20 -0.64 2 1.84 -1.54 7 Westover 0.25 -0.53 2 2.74 -0.48 9 Worcester 0.14 -0.81 2 3.29 -0.50 10 Worthington 0.25 -0.55 1 6.48 +3.16 9 RHODE ISLAND Providence 0.31 -0.46 3 4.12 +0.95 9 Woonsocket 0.23 -0.61 3 2.14 -1.32 10 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.59 -0.24 3 5.81 +2.36 11 Bridgeport 1.05 +0.36 3 2.70 -0.14 9 Hartford_AP 0.27 -0.56 3 3.26 -0.19 10 Norfolk 0.48 -0.40 2 6.23 +2.51 10 Norwich 1.50 +0.64 3 4.78 +1.23 11 Thomaston_Dam 0.75 -0.14 3 5.57 +1.92 12 Willimantic 0.89 -0.02 4 4.38 +0.72 12 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 2001: 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 - Howard Rood (FSA), Fairfield/Litchfield: Field corn harvest is progressing well. Heavy frosts hit at the end of the week. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Killing frost over the holiday weekend finished many crops. Good week for making dry hay. Silage harvest should be complete this next week for most. Pulling plastic mulch from fields and sowing cover crop. Apple harvest continues. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Cold air has moved in and hues of gold, brown and red are cascading across the green landscape. Corn harvest still in a frenzied pace. Apple harvest in full swing with many holiday weekend activities. Vegetables limited to fall squash, pumpkins and such. Cover crop is growing well in early harvested fields. Busy time of year. Lots to do before winter's quiet slips over the fields. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: Weather conditions have been extreme. Severe winds and downpours on Saturday. Frost has hit and hurt some pumpkin fields. Most silage corn has been harvested. Farmers harvesting broccoli, cauliflower and winter squash. Everything looks good. Joyce Meader (Ext), Windham: The alfalfa is being cut for the fourth time; great year for deep rooted legumes. Frost last night will not be good for unharvested corn that was drying down too much already. Could use some additional moisture in the piles. Harvest operations were held up in September when overnight delivery of chopper parts was eliminated. Still trying to catch up?? MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potato harvest starting to wind down, with news of certain growers finishing every day. Some frosty mornings and rain showers did little to slow harvesting progress. Ground was so dry that rain did not create any soft spots in fields. Late varieties of potatoes continue to yield better than expected. Lime being applied to fields. Dee Potter (Ext), Northern Aroostook: Many farms are finishing potato harvest. Other field activities include rock picking and contour plowing. Frosts most mornings. Limited pastures for grazing. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Harvesting of potatoes continues. This should be complete by the end of the week if weather cooperates. We've had some frosty mornings lately. Ground tillage is being done. Crops looking good. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Weather has been pretty good. Getting some frost that is delaying harvest by a couple hours each morning. No killing frost yet. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: Silage corn is still being harvested. Apples, pumpkins and squash are finishing up for the year. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Corn harvest is almost complete. Apple harvest is also nearing the end. One day of rain, but soil and subsoil are still powder dry. Some fall tillage has made for very dusty conditions! We are about 10 inches below normal for rainfall. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Mowing has begun on blueberry fields. Only a trace of rain fell during the week. Burning of blueberry fields by some growers is on hold due to the extreme drought conditions and fire danger. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: The season is winding down. The cold weather is creeping in; soon the deep frost will take care of any remaining crops. The year has been a difficult one: armyworms, drought. Farmers just keep going. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Fall harvest is winding down. Slight frost has been reported, with more predicted for the weekend. The foliage might be at its peak in this area. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Fall is upon us. Grain, corn and soybeans left to harvest here. Time to spread manure to clean out storage for winter. We still need more ground water. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Chopping silage and making hay. Waiting for a good killing frost. Has gotten down to 29 degrees five times. Some fruit seems to be a little small. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Cranberry harvest is in full swing with average yields and poor quality. Many growers are having truck loads of fruit rejected because of poor quality. Growers start harvesting their late varieties this week. Vegetable harvest is complete, and growers are cleaning up fields and planting cover crops. Shellfish harvest is winding down as water temperatures decline. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Peak two weeks of harvest. Good weather for dry harvesting. Busy week for fresh fruit packing for the Canadian Thanksgiving. Some reported instances of fruit rot at the handlers. Should be a vicious night for frost 10/8. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: A mostly sunny week allowed corn chopping to continue at a fast pace. Farm stands did a good business over the long weekend. Some second and third cutting hay made. Freezing conditions on the nights of 10/7 and 10/8 (28 degrees) have finished off summer vegetables. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: There's frost on the pumpkins this morning (10/9), with temperatures in the mid-20's. The major activities this week have been rye seeding and manure spreading. The potato harvest is winding down, with good yields reported on most farms. Much of the broadleaf and shade tobacco is cured and ready for the final packing process. Dry conditions persist with wells and ponds drying up on some farms in Franklin County. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Harvesting apples, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Cover crop applied to many harvested fields. Dairy farmers are applying manure to harvested corn silage fields. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bruce Clement (Ext), Cheshire: Hard frost on the evening of 10/8 ended the growing season. Silage harvest winding down. Some hay and haylage harvesting going on. Apple harvest continues; crop is very good. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn harvest finishing. Spotty frosts, but still very little rain. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: Apple harvest is in full swing with most growers concentrating on strip picking McIntosh and Cortland. Continued harvesting late maturing varieties like Red Delicious, Macoun, Empire, etc. Fruit size is excellent, but bruising can be a problem. Fall raspberries are complete where frost killed off canes, and pear harvest is winding down. Pick-your-own apple operations had a wonderful weekend. Vegetables: Harvesting wide array of vegetables, including warm season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, etc. Some have been completed because a killing frost occurred over the weekend in several locations. Harvesting Winter squash and pumpkins. Good demand for all vegetables continues. Farmers kept busy by starting to pull plastic mulch and tomato stakes, discing fields, cleaning up fields and planting cover crops. Field Crops: Field corn harvest in full swing. Cover crops were being planted in harvested fields. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Some alfalfa hay cut. Cortland and Delicious apples being harvested. Fall raspberries are almost finished. Late hay land seedings being made. Winter rye being seeded. Squash and pumpkin harvest continues. Some rain, but not enough. Most field corn has been harvested. Silage corn moisture is low and overall yield is low due to lack of rain. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Winter rye being applied to harvested fields. Silage corn harvest about 85% done. Apple harvesting starting to wind down. Winter squash and pumpkins are still being harvested. Late cutting of hay still going on. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: Drought conditions still persist. Less than a tenth of an inch of rain was received last week. Crops are pretty much done. We have had a good frost. RHODE ISLAND - Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Farm stands were very busy with hardy mum sales going strong, as well as the symbols of the season: cider, pumpkins, corn stalks, gourds and apples. Corn chopping continues. Corn mazes and pumpkin "scary nights" are extremely popular at the farms. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Conditions for corn silage harvest have been excellent so far. Many were busy harvesting third cut grass silage. Manure being spread to make space for winter. Rain on weekend was helpful, but not enough to replenish shallow water supplies. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: Corn silage crop was harvested with hardly any frost damage. However, that changed this a.m. with a cold blast and snow flurries. Still receiving reports of water shortages on dairy farms with new wells being driven. Some farms already know they don't have enough feed for the winter and are looking without much success. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Most all crop harvest is complete. Landowners are applying manure. Orleans County received a trace to up to 12" of snow on Sunday night. Corn yields reported so far indicate a normal year of 18-22 tons/acre. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: Apple season is coming to an end with just a few late varieties left to pick. Corn harvesting will be done this week with only a few acres of picking corn still standing. Fall manure spreading and liming going on. Winter rye cover crop started quickly with last week's warm temperatures. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: Boy, what a wild weekend for weather in Franklin County; it rained .50 to .75 in., snowed 1 to 6 in., and Tuesday morning (10/9) we woke to a killing frost! Crops are almost all harvested, corn is being combined, much tillage work is being done, and some 4th crop has been taken on some farms. Ground is extremely dry and hard to do tillage work. Tillage tools have difficulty staying in the ground on some soils! We need some moisture before winter because ground water is very low! Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Less than a quarter-inch of rain this week. Additional homes continue to run out of water. Many farms are hauling water. One farmer who relies on pastures said that in a normal year, pasture supplies the equivalent of 4 full months of pasture on his farm; this year the pasture supplied only 2 full months. He purchases forages, so he has an unusual set of data. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service Agency(FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals. Contact Information To receive this report every Monday evening, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statisticians: Emily McAllister, Robin Helrich, Suzanne Adams Deputy: David Luckenbach 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 ***********************