new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 10/14/01 Issue NH-CW4101 Volume 21, Number 24 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) October 15, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary Warm Temperatures Accompany Harvest For the week ending October 14, 2001, there were 6.6 days available for fieldwork across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 12% very poor, 28% poor, 37% fair, 23% good, 0% excellent. Major farm activities included: liming fields; seeding cover crops; spreading manure; preparing fields for winter; cutting hay and chopping haylage; harvesting the last of the oats, barley, sweet corn and other vegetables; and harvesting silage corn, potatoes, apples, pears, and cranberries. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 11 6 0 Short 49 45 9 Adequate 40 48 81 Surplus 0 1 10 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 31 27 0 Short 35 28 5 Adequate 34 44 90 Surplus 0 1 5 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Killing frost hit many areas of New England last week, ending the growing season for most crops. Snow has fallen in higher elevations. Warm daytime temperatures arrived mid-week, allowing farmers to proceed with harvest and other fieldwork. Maine and Rhode Island potato harvest were close to complete by week's end, with only a small number of fields left to be harvested. Oat and barley harvest in Maine was wrapped up last week. Silage harvest continued to advance well ahead of last year and normal, and the crop remains in good to fair condition. Tobacco growers have started packing their crop in preparation for sale and delivery. The second crop of hay is nearly all cut. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: The harvest of late maturing apple varieties was active during the week. Cool temperatures early in the week were expected to improve apple color and sweetness. Massachusetts' cranberry crop remains in good to fair condition; fruit rot and cranberry weevil damage continue to be discovered. VEGETABLES: Farmers harvested pumpkins, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, winter squash and other vegetables last week. Sweet corn harvest came to an end, right on schedule with last year and normal. Farmers were busy mowing the edge of fields, pulling plastic mulch, preparing equipment for storage and cleaning up harvested fields. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 99 95 95 Good/Excel Mass 90 95 90 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 99 85 85 Good/Excel Oats, ME 100 99 99 Good Barley, ME 100 100 99 Good Silage Corn 95 70 80 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 100 100 100 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 99 100 95 Fair Third Cut 85 90 85 Fair/Poor ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples 90 85 85 Good/Fair Pears 90 70 80 Poor/Fair Cranberries,MA 70 55 60 Good/Fair ----------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, October 14, 2001 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI -- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 22 80 49 +2 0.00 0.24 NH 12 82 49 +1 0.00 2.10 VT 17 78 50 +3 0.00 0.85 MA 22 81 53 +1 0.00 0.04 RI 27 84 54 +0 0.00 0.03 CT 25 78 53 -1 0.00 0.02 ---------------------------------------------- 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 8, 2001 To: Sunday October 14, 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 23 72 48 -4 2104 -55 794 +4 Allagash 22 76 46 +2 1531 +188 451 +128 Augusta_ME 34 74 53 +3 2526 +447 1078 +332 Bangor 27 74 51 +2 2363 +471 952 +330 Barnard 28 74 49 +4 2034 +439 713 +261 Bath 25 78 48 -3 2084 +130 775 +115 Bethel 29 79 51 +3 2111 +254 743 +147 Brassua_Dam 30 73 48 +4 1681 +364 497 +187 Brunswick_ME 26 75 50 +0 2252 +298 881 +221 Caribou 28 72 50 +6 1952 +504 677 +299 Corinna 24 77 49 +2 2210 +451 840 +300 Danforth 24 76 48 +2 1802 +105 609 +84 Dover-Foxcroft 27 70 48 +2 1868 +273 609 +157 Durham 27 73 47 -5 2102 -121 801 -40 East_Hiram 25 74 48 -1 2030 +183 742 +152 Eustis 24 73 46 +2 1505 +228 424 +141 Frenchville 29 71 49 +5 1763 +420 566 +243 Gray 33 74 52 +3 2524 +598 1092 +455 Greenville_ME 30 75 50 +4 1981 +372 704 +241 Guilford 23 71 45 -2 1966 +371 744 +292 Hollis 26 77 49 +2 2197 +437 864 +332 Houlton 22 74 49 +4 1893 +379 664 +240 Kennebunkport 26 69 49 -5 2036 -352 736 -205 Livermore_Falls 22 77 49 +3 2215 +651 878 +449 Moosehead 25 77 47 +3 1652 +335 494 +184 New_Sharon 30 78 53 +7 2423 +859 998 +569 Patten 26 69 47 +2 1643 +129 490 +66 Portage 30 74 50 +6 1980 +532 702 +324 Portland_ME 28 71 52 +2 2344 +418 951 +314 Rangeley 24 75 47 +3 1564 +320 416 +152 Sebec_Lake 27 74 49 +3 1966 +357 687 +224 Vanceboro 28 72 49 +2 1917 +276 645 +167 Waterville 26 75 51 +0 2364 +205 948 +158 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 30 72 50 +1 2376 +299 988 +249 Benton 26 73 49 +1 1993 +296 688 +212 Berlin_AG 26 77 49 +3 2020 +325 701 +204 Bethlehem 16 75 46 -3 1852 +163 596 +120 Concord 23 78 52 +3 2493 +416 1079 +340 Diamond_Pond 24 69 47 +4 1394 +276 358 +153 First_Conn_Lake 22 71 44 +1 1305 +187 312 +107 Greenville 26 80 52 +3 2152 +268 821 +236 Keene_AP 23 75 52 +1 2508 +161 1063 +147 Lakeport 26 75 52 +5 2652 +727 1180 +535 Marlow 18 75 48 -3 1852 -268 622 -125 Mt_Washington 12 53 36 +4 244 +183 10 +10 North_Conway 27 75 50 +2 2400 +493 987 +354 Otter_Brook_Lk 25 74 50 -2 2258 -89 858 -58 Plymouth 25 77 49 +3 1942 +276 652 +175 Rochester 28 75 50 -2 2467 +216 1062 +210 Weare 30 72 49 -2 2127 +7 777 +30 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 17 73 48 +0 1621 -192 477 -74 Bethel 23 75 49 +2 2175 +454 825 +321 Burlington_VT 28 78 55 +6 2719 +511 1222 +381 East_Haven 20 75 46 +2 1752 +356 535 +198 Island_Pond 24 71 48 +3 1811 +420 581 +256 Montpelier 24 75 52 +5 2068 +340 759 +247 Morrisville_AG 22 76 49 +2 1787 +67 574 +58 Mount_Mansfield 21 62 44 +5 1063 +347 222 +156 Northfield 26 78 51 +6 2035 +471 718 +296 Pownal 25 76 51 +4 2140 +321 755 +203 Rochester 25 77 50 +3 2017 +296 696 +192 Rutland_AG 24 76 50 -2 2141 -180 773 -127 Sunderland 22 75 49 -2 1879 -337 605 -216 Sutton 25 71 48 +4 1881 +485 612 +275 Townshend_Lake 24 74 50 +1 2222 +28 851 +28 Union_Vill_Dam 22 76 49 -2 2136 -69 785 -44 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 30 75 51 +3 2447 +569 1007 +409 Boston 37 77 56 +0 3069 +285 1499 +271 Greenfield 27 78 53 -1 2669 +120 1193 +142 New_Bedford 28 74 53 -5 2763 -75 1233 -35 Otis_AFB 34 73 55 +2 2761 +485 1255 +390 Plymouth 26 74 53 -1 2656 +334 1160 +257 Walpole 28 79 54 +3 2854 +544 1320 +426 West_Medway 25 81 53 +2 2812 +502 1294 +400 Westover 25 75 55 -1 2896 -47 1358 +10 Worcester 31 73 52 +1 2600 +440 1123 +339 Worthington 28 76 51 +1 2051 +180 709 +134 RHODE ISLAND Providence 32 75 53 -2 3040 +394 1463 +329 Woonsocket 27 84 53 +3 2996 +725 1461 +615 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 26 73 50 -5 2392 -410 972 -281 Bridgeport 33 72 55 -3 3190 +307 1575 +250 Hartford_AP 28 77 55 +2 3037 +246 1466 +224 Norfolk 28 72 52 +4 2422 +563 971 +398 Norwich 29 77 53 -2 2990 +357 1413 +304 Thomaston_Dam 25 75 51 -3 2560 +285 1096 +250 Willimantic 28 78 54 +2 2967 +645 1395 +519 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.04 -0.80 2 2.56 -0.59 6 Allagash 0.00 -0.73 0 2.52 -0.62 8 Augusta_ME 0.16 -0.68 2 2.91 -0.21 10 Bangor 0.01 -0.69 1 2.84 -0.14 9 Barnard 0.01 -0.79 1 2.81 -0.65 7 Bath 0.19 -0.60 3 2.45 -0.48 10 Bethel 0.10 -0.74 1 3.64 +0.49 5 Brassua_Dam 0.01 -0.73 1 1.25 -1.93 7 Brunswick_ME 0.24 -0.55 3 3.46 +0.53 10 Caribou 0.06 -0.62 2 2.78 -0.12 12 Corinna 0.05 -0.72 1 2.45 -0.75 6 Danforth 0.16 -0.58 2 2.45 -0.67 9 Dover-Foxcroft 0.06 -0.74 1 2.25 -1.21 7 Durham 0.16 -0.65 2 2.95 -0.06 9 East_Hiram 0.15 -0.71 2 1.96 -1.16 7 Eustis 0.17 -0.51 2 2.23 -0.52 7 Frenchville 0.10 -0.63 1 3.40 +0.26 11 Gray 0.04 -0.78 1 2.95 -0.13 9 Greenville_ME 0.03 -0.77 1 2.48 -0.98 6 Guilford 0.15 -0.65 2 2.63 -0.83 9 Hollis 0.06 -0.78 2 2.06 -1.11 10 Houlton 0.06 -0.64 1 1.71 -1.32 6 Kennebunkport 0.02 -0.81 1 2.79 -0.31 8 Livermore_Falls 0.06 -0.78 1 2.31 -0.95 9 Moosehead 0.07 -0.67 1 1.36 -1.82 6 New_Sharon 0.03 -0.81 1 2.25 -1.01 7 Patten 0.02 -0.68 2 3.82 +0.79 9 Portage 0.13 -0.55 2 3.66 +0.76 12 Portland_ME 0.04 -0.78 3 3.49 +0.41 11 Rangeley 0.12 -0.58 2 1.77 -0.95 9 Sebec_Lake 0.01 -0.79 1 2.77 -0.69 6 Vanceboro 0.05 -0.72 1 2.68 -0.66 8 Waterville 0.06 -0.78 1 1.99 -1.16 7 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.03 -0.67 1 2.83 +0.18 7 Benton 0.17 -0.53 2 3.71 +0.91 9 Berlin_AG 0.21 -0.56 1 2.02 -0.96 8 Bethlehem 0.37 -0.33 1 3.58 +0.78 9 Concord 0.00 -0.70 0 2.41 -0.24 6 Diamond_Pond 0.21 -0.63 1 2.73 -0.70 10 First_Conn_Lake 0.73 -0.11 2 2.86 -0.57 11 Greenville 0.00 -0.78 0 3.66 +0.73 6 Keene_AP 0.00 -0.70 0 1.84 -0.88 6 Lakeport 0.00 -0.77 0 2.47 -0.34 6 Marlow 0.00 -0.82 0 2.43 -0.70 8 Mt_Washington 2.10 +0.61 2 8.73 +2.50 11 North_Conway 0.03 -0.86 1 2.96 -0.35 9 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.15 -0.55 2 2.78 +0.06 12 Plymouth 0.02 -0.78 1 3.32 +0.33 7 Rochester 0.01 -0.90 1 2.22 -1.07 7 Weare 0.00 -0.82 0 3.22 +0.09 6 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.04 -0.80 1 3.88 +0.52 8 Bethel 0.02 -0.82 1 3.07 -0.29 8 Burlington_VT 0.04 -0.59 1 0.92 -1.80 7 East_Haven 0.54 -0.23 3 3.26 +0.31 12 Island_Pond 0.23 -0.47 1 2.85 +0.02 8 Montpelier 0.10 -0.53 2 3.03 +0.51 13 Morrisville_AG 0.22 -0.52 1 2.92 -0.06 7 Mount_Mansfield 0.85 -0.34 2 5.92 +0.84 9 Northfield 0.10 -0.60 1 2.65 -0.17 7 Pownal 0.00 -0.84 0 3.48 +0.12 6 Rochester 0.10 -0.74 1 3.22 -0.14 8 Rutland_AG 0.00 -0.64 0 2.10 -0.79 4 Sunderland 0.05 -0.58 1 2.94 +0.10 7 Sutton 0.27 -0.50 3 2.37 -0.58 9 Townshend_Lake 0.21 -0.49 3 7.92 +5.07 15 Union_Vill_Dam 0.14 -0.58 1 3.55 +0.56 8 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.01 -0.69 1 2.86 +0.14 8 Boston 0.02 -0.68 2 1.73 -1.07 7 Greenfield 0.00 -0.77 0 2.33 -0.75 7 New_Bedford 0.03 -0.74 1 3.03 +0.06 11 Otis_AFB 0.00 -0.84 0 1.57 -1.72 6 Plymouth 0.04 -0.82 2 2.72 -0.91 9 Walpole 0.01 -0.83 1 1.38 -1.98 6 West_Medway 0.02 -0.82 1 1.21 -2.15 6 Westover 0.00 -0.77 0 1.92 -1.23 6 Worcester 0.02 -0.96 1 2.39 -1.47 8 Worthington 0.03 -0.78 1 4.98 +1.69 7 RHODE ISLAND Providence 0.00 -0.80 0 3.92 +0.79 8 Woonsocket 0.01 -0.90 1 1.48 -1.98 8 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.00 -0.77 0 3.77 +0.46 8 Bridgeport 0.00 -0.66 0 2.66 -0.09 7 Hartford_AP 0.00 -0.77 0 2.11 -1.20 7 Norfolk 0.00 -0.84 0 5.08 +1.50 7 Norwich 0.00 -0.91 0 4.39 +0.84 8 Thomaston_Dam 0.00 -0.84 0 4.34 +0.79 9 Willimantic 0.00 -0.91 0 3.55 -0.11 8 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 - Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Chopping grass and corn silage. Ears of corn vary from six to ten inches long. Later planted corn has the better production. Still very dry. Hauling water for cows. Feeding heifers on pasture. Apple harvest is 75% done. Hard frost ended most vegetable production. Days are getting shorter. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: A warm week for producers to finish up field work. Broccoli and cauliflower are being harvested, along with the fall favorites of apples, pears and pumpkins. Two heavy frosts have hit the area, sweetening the apples. Joyce Meader (Ext), Windham: Beautiful weather for pumpkin pickin' and hay rides. Traffic jams occurred along orchard highways and draft horses attracted apple buyers. Dry corn is blowing out of corn trucks on the highways - this could be a problem when packing to prevent molds. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Most potato growers have finished harvesting. Busy with fall tillage, lime spreading, picking rocks and starting to market potato crops. Weather is great for fall work. Potato crop is practically all in storage and from all reports is keeping well. Dee Potter (Ext), Northern Aroostook: Potato and small grain harvest are pretty well wrapped up. Rock picking and fall plowing are field activities. Little fall grazing left for cattle (crop residues). Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Harvesting of potatoes has almost been completed. A few farmers have only a couple days left. This fall weather has been excellent. Crop quality is very good. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Potato harvest went well this year and the crop looks very good. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Cover crops have been planted. Harvesting is about finished. Livestock are still grazing where good pasture management kept forage growing. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: Corn being harvested - almost complete. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Crops are harvested. Pumpkins and cornstalks at roadside stands for fall decorating. Fall foliage is at its peak. The coast has had its first frost. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: The harvest is winding down. A few apples are still hanging on the trees, waiting for a warm hand to pluck them away. The apple crop looks good for the year. Other farmers are preparing fields for the winter months. All the manure is being spread for the last time this year to help next year's crop. Another year is coming to a close. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: The first major frost, with temps in the 20's, signaled the end of harvest for most crops. Still picking apples and cutting corn. Time to think about preparing for winter. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Time to get ready for winter. Soybeans are being harvested. Grain corn to go. Still need ground water. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Warm fall days have been the norm for the past week. Producers are busy completing maintenance duties before cold weather arrives. Farm stands are a beautiful array of fall colors with displays of pumpkins, squash and apples. Apple producers are busy finishing harvest. It appears that the apple harvest is an abundant one this year, with production ahead of last year. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Good weather for harvesting corn. Everybody making silage and hay and harvesting their vegetable crops. First good killing frost this week. Some shelled corn moisture down to 22% - good for this time of year. Lawns are still growing well. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Cranberry growers are finding poor quality fruit, and some areas are finding yields much lower than expected. Vegetable growers are applying a winter cover crop to their fields and shellfish growers are preparing their beds for winter. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: Nearing the end of the season. Frost hit many parts of the county. Hay is just about finished. Corn - very little still standing. Apple harvest still in full scale. Heavy apple drop due to rains. Raspberries, blueberries and small fruits ending. Great time to pick your own apples. Harvesting most vegetables. Finishing tomatoes and peppers. Preparing for more frost. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Harvesting continues. Early Black quality was very good, Stevens and Ben Lear were poor. It is too early to determine how the Howes will fare. Some beds (including the Cranberry Station's State Bog) was ravaged by cranberry weevil and the crop was drastically reduced. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: Farmers busy chopping corn and cleaning up fields. Farm stands continue to sell fall crops, but for the most part the season is over. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Following a chilly start, Indian summer continues in Franklin County. This has been an excellent week to harvest third cut hay. The crop seems to have rebounded after getting some moisture. Field tobacco is being packed into bundles and readied for sale and delivery. High moisture corn harvest started this past weekend. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: The week began with a killing frost which ended the crop year for all summer crops. Still harvesting apples, hay, corn grain, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Heavy frost on a few mornings resulted in a good tobacco damp for farmers to take down. Gary Guida, Worcester: Putting farms to rest, winterizing and repairing equipment. Third cut hay in process, but rain on 10/15 will definitely lower quality. Pumpkin sales still ongoing, but volume is starting to drop off. Season for retail and farming coming to a close. Next up - Christmas trees! Taking some much deserved time off to enjoy fall foliage. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn silage harvest finishing up. Fall application of manure continues. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: Apple harvest winding down. Finishing Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Rome and other late maturing apple varieties. Cleaning up apple drops and putting away orchard equipment. Pear harvest is done. Vegetables: Finished harvesting pumpkins and squash with threats of cold weather. Most warm season vegetables and sweet corn are past, due to recent hard freeze. A few warm season vegetables in protected locations still being harvested. Farmers kept busy mowing edges of fields, pulling plastic mulch & tomato stakes, disking fields, cleaning up fields, planting cover crops and putting away equipment. Field Crops: Winding down corn silage cutting and seeding cover crops on harvested fields. Some manure spreading and incorporating in soil is taking place. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Some sweet corn still being harvested. Late maturing apples are being harvested during favorable weather. Windy conditions causing fruit drop. Good pumpkin sales. A hard frost in most locations. Some root crops being harvested. Farmers are cleaning up fields and finishing winter rye seedings. Last cut of alfalfa made in early October. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: The last of the haylage is being harvested. Fields are being readied for the winter. Apple picking and pumpkin harvesting are still ongoing. Applications of winter rye are coming up strong. Sullivan County is awash with brilliant colors. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: Soil moisture conditions are still very low. We did not have any rain last week. The leaves are beginning to fall off the trees. Falling leaves will reduce the demand on the soil for moisture. Soils are very dry. Some scattered, last-minute haying is still going on. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Chopping field corn and some haying being done. Cover crops being seeded, some emerging. Weather's been good for field work, some light rain. Still getting some corn from late seedings. Farm stands busy with mums and fall decorations. Farmers' markets still going strong. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Winter cover crops were planted in former vegetable plots. Apple harvest is winding down with drops being harvested for holiday cider making. A rainy Sunday hurt the roadside stand traffic this weekend. Corn silage continues to be harvested. There was a widespread overnight frost on October 9th, which was our first one since last May. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Corn silage harvest pretty much over. Quite a bit of third cut hay was harvested last week. Still very dry, with many needing to haul water. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Most all of the corn and third crop hay has been harvested. Most farms have enough feed for the winter. No rain during the past week has not helped the dry conditions. Most rivers are as low as they have been in many years. Some landowners are hoping for a wet fall to replenish their springs for the winter. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: Fall foliage in Windham is at its peak this week, but rain on 10/15 will do us in. The corn season is over for another year, and even with the drought we had an average productive year. Most farmers will have enough feed for the winter feeding season. George Cook (Ext), Lamoille: Another dry week, with excellent outside working conditions. Need some meaningful rainfall. Good corn cutting weather. Fall field work should be pretty much on schedule. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Finished corn silage harvest - higher than expected yields, good maturity, some left for high moisture shell corn harvest. Hay harvest complete, overall OK yields. Pasture growth very slow. Very dry soil still common. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: What a beautiful week for all types of field work! Tillage work, lime and manure spreading, and combining corn were all being accomplished this week. Water tables are very low! Franklin County had only 0.50 in. of rain early on 10/15. Some farmers aren't barned up for winter and they're hauling water for their herds already! Looks like a long, dry winter if we don't get rain soon! Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Chopping corn about done. Yields varied with soil moisture, but in general were down 10-20%. Woke up to snow on the ground early in the week. Additional shallow wells drying up. Farmers finishing up harvesting and lots of manure being spread. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Finished sweet corn harvest on 10/9. Had sweet corn on market 84 days without a miss; very good season. Last of potatoes came out 9/30; excellent crop. Majority of cropland seeded back to rye. One-quarter inch of rain last week. Only crops left to harvest are one-half acre of pop corn, winter cabbage and turnips. All and all, a fine season. 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 Stat Assistant: Wayne Colpitt 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 ***********************