new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 08/11/02 Issue NH-CW3202 Volume 22, Number 16 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) August 12, 2002 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary STILL NO SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL For the week ending August 11, 2002, there were 6.8 days suitable for field work across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 4% very poor, 14% poor, 31% fair, 41% good, 10% excellent. Throughout most of New England, farmers with irrigation continued to water their crops to give relief from dry conditions. Non-irrigated crops are showing signs of drought stress. Humidity eased up last week to facilitate the making of dry hay. Major farm activities included: harvesting tobacco, potatoes, highbush and lowbush blueberries, apples, peaches and vegetables; weeding, cultivating fields; applying fertilizer; cutting dry hay and chopping haylage; mowing orchards and around fields; irrigating; monitoring for pests and disease; applying fungicides and insecticides. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year ---------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 20 11 38 Short 37 34 37 Adequate 38 50 25 Surplus 5 5 0 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 15 9 27 Short 41 30 36 Adequate 42 59 37 Surplus 2 2 0 ---------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Second and third cuts of dry hay progressed significantly last week, aided by lack of rain and humidity; farmers continue to wrap up the end of the first cut. Corn is tasseling in most areas and some is curling due to lack of moisture. Small grain harvest in Maine should be well underway soon, as should potato harvest. Potato growers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island made good progress with harvest during last week's dry weather. Tobacco harvest in the Connecticut River Valley is full steam ahead; shade and broadleaf harvests both exceeded the half-way point last week. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Apples, highbush and wild blueberries, peaches, and raspberries were harvested last week. Renovation of strawberry fields continued. Pear condition remains very poor in Connecticut and good to fair in other states. Maine wild blueberry fields show uneven ripening, with around ten percent of the crop having yet to turn blue. Cranberry size in Massachusetts was rated average to below average last week, the lack of rain is affecting size and stressing vines. Farmers proceed with irrigation, though water supplies are dwindling. VEGETABLES: Vegetable growers irrigated where possible across New England last week, as crops are showing the effects of the recent dry conditions. Sweet corn harvest progressed to 35 percent complete. Beans, beets, cucumbers, greens, lettuce, melons, peas, peppers, radish, squash, tomatoes and zucchini were also harvested last week. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND -------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2002 2001 5-yrAvg Condition -------------------------------------------------------- Barley, ME -- 5 15 Excellent/Good Oats, ME <5 <5 5 Excellent/Good Potatoes Maine <5 <5 <5 Excellent/Good Mass 15 5 15 Good Rhode Isl 30 20 20 Good/Fair Silage Corn -- -- -- Good/Fair Sweet Corn 35 40 40 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 70 50 60 Good/Fair Broadleaf 65 45 45 Good/Fair Dry Hay First Cut 95 99 95 Good Second Cut 75 80 65 Good Third Cut 30 15 10 Good/Fair --------------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2002 2001 5-yrAvg Condition ---------------------------------------------------------- Apples 5 5 5 Good/Fair Peaches 60 25 35 Good/Fair Pears <5 -- <5 Very Poor Blueberries Highbush 60 50 60 Good Wild, ME 5 25 35 Good/Excellent Cranberries,MA -- -- -- Good/Fair ---------------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, August 11, 2002 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 40 94 66 +0 0.00 1.24 NH 34 96 66 -1 0.00 2.33 VT 40 94 66 -1 0.01 1.32 MA 46 93 71 +1 0.00 1.18 RI 51 93 73 +3 0.00 0.20 CT 48 94 71 -1 0.00 0.16 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Weather Information Table Weather Summary For New England Agricultural Statistics Service Prepared By AWIS, Inc. For the Period: Monday August 5, 2002 To: Sunday August 11, 2002 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 45 87 66 -5 1187 -281 424 -151 Allagash 41 82 61 -3 819 -168 253 -5 Augusta_ME 56 88 70 +1 1403 -15 596 +51 Bangor 53 88 69 +2 1313 +25 532 +77 Barnard 51 86 67 +1 1095 -31 374 +29 Bath 49 86 67 -2 1174 -130 425 -51 Bethel 47 86 66 -2 1223 -68 451 +3 Brassua_Dam 49 82 65 +2 938 +2 296 +58 Brunswick_ME 53 85 70 +2 1314 +10 536 +60 Caribou 44 81 64 -1 1008 -56 336 +33 Corinna 50 87 67 -1 1204 -45 434 +17 Danforth 42 83 64 -4 974 -238 299 -111 Dover-Foxcroft 48 84 66 -1 977 -149 308 -37 Durham 49 88 68 -4 1276 -227 499 -120 East_Hiram 46 89 67 -1 1253 -34 464 +18 Eustis 42 81 62 -2 892 -23 250 +31 Frenchville 44 78 63 -2 908 -79 293 +35 Gray 51 91 71 +2 1450 +166 631 +172 Greenville_ME 49 80 65 -2 1060 -77 363 +10 Guilford 47 86 65 -2 962 -164 289 -56 Hollis 46 91 68 +2 1367 +141 555 +148 Houlton 40 83 64 -2 1049 -57 356 +22 Kennebunkport 50 89 67 -5 1203 -379 447 -222 Livermore_Falls 43 94 67 +2 1283 +169 514 +182 Moosehead 44 81 63 -1 922 -14 266 +28 New_Sharon 50 90 67 +2 1419 +305 600 +268 Patten 48 85 67 +2 995 -111 329 -5 Portage 49 81 66 +2 1031 -33 357 +54 Portland_ME 53 90 70 +2 1390 +106 574 +115 Rangeley 42 83 62 -1 910 +31 261 +61 Sebec_Lake 47 87 66 +0 1087 -50 361 +8 Vanceboro 47 82 65 -2 1031 -103 335 -21 Waterville 49 89 68 -2 1297 -171 521 -54 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 49 90 69 +0 1499 +57 632 +75 Benton 47 87 66 +0 1248 +44 473 +106 Berlin_AG 45 86 64 -3 1187 -25 421 +34 Bethlehem 44 85 63 -4 1109 -95 380 +12 Concord 46 91 70 +2 1626 +184 744 +187 Diamond_Pond 45 81 60 -3 805 -9 219 +65 First_Conn_Lake 42 80 61 -2 801 -13 208 +54 Greenville 48 96 68 +2 1416 +112 582 +142 Keene_AP 45 90 68 -3 1604 -7 708 +32 Lakeport 54 92 71 +4 1592 +236 713 +215 Marlow 41 85 63 -6 1238 -224 471 -86 Mt_Washington 34 65 47 -2 156 +113 4 +4 North_Conway 52 90 69 +2 1475 +126 647 +158 Otter_Brook_Lk 47 89 68 -3 1485 -126 628 -48 Plymouth 46 91 66 +0 1246 +57 461 +88 Rochester 51 95 71 +1 1563 +31 682 +58 Weare 51 90 68 -1 1439 -23 593 +36 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 44 90 67 +1 1393 +138 563 +152 Bethel 46 91 66 +0 1449 +258 614 +239 Burlington_VT 51 88 70 +1 1652 +98 762 +122 East_Haven 41 85 65 +2 1123 +116 392 +128 Island_Pond 45 85 64 +0 1108 +119 380 +131 Montpelier 45 86 65 -2 1317 +94 510 +116 Morrisville_AG 43 86 63 -4 1146 -67 401 +6 Mount_Mansfield 40 74 57 -2 672 +145 155 +100 Northfield 46 91 66 +2 1336 +226 518 +193 Pownal 48 84 65 -3 1375 +114 538 +124 Rochester 46 89 65 -1 1285 +94 493 +118 Rutland_AG 46 87 66 -5 1393 -208 560 -102 Sunderland 43 88 65 -5 1305 -234 488 -123 Sutton 47 86 64 +1 1150 +143 403 +139 Townshend_Lake 48 91 68 -2 1519 +9 647 +38 Union_Vill_Dam 45 94 67 -3 1402 -122 582 -33 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 50 90 69 +2 1564 +256 680 +222 Boston 63 93 76 +4 2016 +205 1031 +197 Greenfield 49 92 70 -2 1756 +36 823 +68 New_Bedford 52 90 72 -2 1802 -4 826 -2 Otis_AFB 55 90 72 +2 1688 +231 756 +169 Plymouth 50 92 72 +2 1720 +200 795 +160 Walpole 52 92 72 +2 1804 +238 866 +217 West_Medway 49 93 71 +1 1826 +260 871 +222 Westover 48 90 71 -4 1962 -6 983 +41 Worcester 56 87 70 +1 1659 +203 761 +194 Worthington 47 88 66 -1 1425 +151 588 +165 RHODE ISLAND Providence 59 93 75 +4 2026 +307 1036 +265 Woonsocket 51 92 72 +2 1798 +258 856 +238 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 51 90 69 -5 1670 -235 756 -144 Bridgeport 61 89 74 +1 2085 +245 1072 +203 Hartford_AP 51 92 72 -2 2078 +180 1070 +173 Norfolk 50 91 66 -2 1622 +342 720 +290 Norwich 54 94 72 -1 1922 +173 952 +177 Thomaston_Dam 48 91 69 -2 1821 +298 863 +264 Willimantic 50 88 70 +0 1837 +286 878 +254 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.02 -0.82 2 1.36 -1.92 11 Allagash 0.10 -0.81 1 1.12 -2.47 8 Augusta_ME 0.09 -0.68 1 0.91 -2.04 8 Bangor 0.01 -0.74 1 1.27 -1.66 7 Barnard 0.21 -0.60 2 1.68 -1.47 11 Bath 0.22 -0.50 1 1.95 -0.75 9 Bethel 0.18 -0.73 1 1.77 -1.59 10 Brassua_Dam 0.02 -0.82 1 2.12 -1.43 10 Brunswick_ME 1.24 +0.52 3 2.87 +0.17 10 Caribou 0.19 -0.73 1 1.93 -1.85 14 Corinna 0.13 -0.71 2 1.50 -1.68 8 Danforth 0.96 +0.03 1 4.83 +1.17 11 Dover-Foxcroft 0.15 -0.66 1 1.58 -1.57 9 Durham 0.20 -0.53 2 0.64 -2.37 8 East_Hiram 0.12 -0.76 2 1.66 -1.69 9 Eustis 0.00 -0.77 0 1.77 -1.48 6 Frenchville 0.02 -0.89 2 1.60 -1.99 14 Gray 0.05 -0.58 2 0.70 -1.92 6 Greenville_ME 0.09 -0.72 1 2.23 -0.92 11 Guilford 0.24 -0.57 2 1.71 -1.44 11 Hollis 0.02 -0.68 1 1.91 -0.91 9 Houlton 0.79 -0.12 3 3.76 +0.21 15 Kennebunkport 0.61 -0.09 1 2.72 -0.06 9 Livermore_Falls 0.06 -0.85 1 1.22 -2.06 9 Moosehead 0.08 -0.76 1 1.73 -1.82 10 New_Sharon 0.24 -0.67 1 1.36 -1.92 7 Patten 0.24 -0.67 1 3.10 -0.45 9 Portage 0.07 -0.85 2 2.66 -1.12 11 Portland_ME 0.05 -0.58 1 2.77 +0.15 9 Rangeley 0.10 -0.81 2 1.28 -2.12 8 Sebec_Lake 0.18 -0.63 2 1.71 -1.44 10 Vanceboro 0.49 -0.21 2 3.14 +0.19 11 Waterville 0.05 -0.79 1 0.90 -2.38 10 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.17 -0.60 2 1.76 -1.27 11 Benton 0.07 -0.84 1 1.22 -2.13 8 Berlin_AG 0.28 -0.70 2 3.42 -0.19 12 Bethlehem 1.42 +0.37 4 4.88 +1.06 13 Concord 0.01 -0.76 1 1.22 -1.81 9 Diamond_Pond 0.50 -0.67 1 2.70 -1.68 12 First_Conn_Lake 0.93 -0.24 3 3.67 -0.71 10 Greenville 0.00 -0.94 0 1.38 -2.20 7 Keene_AP 0.00 -0.91 0 2.17 -1.28 6 Lakeport 0.04 -0.80 2 0.63 -2.73 8 Marlow 0.03 -0.81 1 1.66 -1.52 5 Mt_Washington 2.33 +0.49 3 6.58 -0.13 11 North_Conway 0.03 -0.88 3 1.28 -2.21 15 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.00 -0.91 0 1.30 -2.15 5 Plymouth 0.27 -0.64 3 0.81 -2.82 10 Rochester 0.00 -0.84 0 0.66 -2.58 3 Weare 0.00 -0.84 0 1.77 -1.41 5 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.04 -0.94 1 1.49 -2.22 6 Bethel 0.39 -0.66 2 1.80 -1.99 10 Burlington_VT 0.13 -0.78 3 1.21 -2.27 8 East_Haven 0.39 -0.71 3 2.98 -1.11 11 Island_Pond 0.59 -0.53 3 2.71 -1.44 13 Montpelier 0.37 -0.49 3 1.99 -1.08 12 Morrisville_AG 0.66 -0.45 3 3.16 -0.91 10 Mount_Mansfield 1.32 -0.35 4 3.80 -2.39 12 Northfield 0.79 -0.06 2 1.95 -1.33 6 Pownal 0.16 -0.82 2 4.16 +0.45 10 Rochester 0.46 -0.59 3 2.46 -1.33 10 Rutland_AG 0.10 -0.85 2 3.22 -0.44 8 Sunderland 0.02 -0.82 1 3.23 +0.22 7 Sutton 0.76 -0.34 3 3.22 -0.87 12 Townshend_Lake 0.03 -0.88 1 1.00 -2.32 5 Union_Vill_Dam 0.08 -0.72 2 1.20 -1.91 9 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.05 -0.79 1 2.68 -0.64 8 Boston 0.00 -0.70 0 0.91 -1.75 7 Greenfield 0.00 -0.84 0 4.19 +0.83 8 New_Bedford 0.12 -0.81 1 0.55 -2.62 5 Otis_AFB 0.10 -0.67 1 0.75 -2.01 4 Plymouth 0.00 -0.86 0 0.58 -2.63 5 Walpole 0.00 -0.85 0 1.80 -1.41 6 West_Medway 0.00 -0.85 0 1.99 -1.22 5 Westover 0.01 -0.76 1 2.67 -0.45 8 Worcester 0.53 -0.31 1 2.87 -0.49 10 Worthington 0.01 -0.97 1 4.86 +0.94 9 RHODE ISLAND Providence 0.00 -0.79 0 0.96 -2.04 4 Woonsocket 0.01 -0.90 1 1.36 -2.21 6 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.16 -0.61 2 5.19 +2.26 7 Bridgeport 0.00 -0.77 0 1.99 -1.29 4 Hartford_AP 0.01 -0.76 1 2.82 -0.11 6 Norfolk 0.02 -0.97 1 3.07 -0.76 7 Norwich 0.00 -0.85 0 2.08 -1.33 5 Thomaston_Dam 0.05 -0.88 2 2.50 -1.29 7 Willimantic 0.00 -0.91 0 3.34 -0.39 6 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 2002: 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: Weather has been extremely hot and humid. Field corn looks good. Some vegetable crops need water. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Sweet corn blocks maturing rapidly with hot days. Haying continues. Peaches, blueberries, early apples, tomatoes, and various vegetables being harvested and sold at local farm stands and markets. Field corn has grown by feet with heat and is tasseling. Local organic farmers getting ready for the Garlic Festival. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: This week was cool and dry, nights went down into the 50's. Crops are struggling. The ground is so hard that water and fertilizer are not working. Peaches that survived the late frost are good size, sweet and juicy. Sweet corn, depending on the area, is immature. Animals have gotten into producers' crops, wiping out a planting. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Weeds are the only things left green and growing in some areas. Poisonous weeds are a particular problem this time of year as animals look for green forage in brown pastures. Some farms have lost animals to poisonous plants. Check your pastures now! Corn has tasseled - now will it be able to find enough water to ear up? Only time will tell. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes: Growers continue to apply fungicides and insecticides. Imidaclorpid applied at planting time continues to be effective. Growers who did not apply are spraying for Colorado potato beetles. Those who are able have been irrigating. Northern Aroostook is in a drought situation. Early maturing varieties of potatoes are badly stressed. This could have an effect on yields. Rainfall is badly needed. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Early new potatoes being harvested for table stock. Fungicides are still being applied, mostly 5 - 7 day spray schedule. Grain crop is looking excellent. Harvesting of grains should start soon. All crops are looking excellent. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Potato crop is looking very good, no disease pressure or insect pressure. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Second crop hay harvested along with the first crop in some instances due to the frequent showers through the summer. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: It's been hot and dry. Farmers with irrigation are watering their crops. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Dry weather for two weeks has started to show on the corn crop. Great weather for making dry hay. Pastures are drying up. No rain in sight for this week. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Harvesting is in full swing for most vegetables. Most crop conditions are good, but crops are in need of water. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild Blueberries: Fruit is approximately 90% blue, but ripening is very uneven. Crop development is a week or more behind normal. Harvest began on the blueberry barrens on 8/4/02. Fruit quality is good and the blue fruit is very large. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: The dry weather hasn't let up and some are concerned that we may be slipping back into a drought situation. More farmers are reporting that the corn crop is curling. Whoever has irrigation has had it working full tilt. Plenty of manure has been spread; most of it on the fields. Market gardens are doing fine and the apples look really good. Folks who bale hay have had a great run. We'll keep looking for the raindrops. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Irrigated crops are doing well, crops without irrigation are showing the signs of drought. Harvesting hay, sweet corn, blueberries, and all summer vegetables. We need rain! Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Crops are still better off than last year because of early season moisture. We need rain. Good weather is bringing in some third crop hay early this year. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Producers are busy cutting hay and harvesting vegetables. Sweet corn appearing at farm stands along with ripe tomatoes and cukes. Soil conditions are very dry and crops are showing signs of stress. Need rain. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Lots of haying. Up to third cutting. Not bad quality. Don't know of any problems concerning crop condition. Very hot! Little rain and the ground is really drying up. All corn is hurting from dryness. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: The drought continues! All crops are affected by the ongoing hot, dry conditions. Cranberries are not sizing despite the efforts of growers to irrigate every other day. Many growers are noticing fruit worm damage which may also be a result of the weather conditions. Vegetable growers are irrigating 24 hours a day in an effort to save some crops, however, the quality and yields are poor. The second cutting of hay is terrible and there will be no third cutting. Shellfish growers are not able to harvest product because demand has dropped of since July 4. This is a concern to growers as the peak demand for shellfish is normally through Labor Day. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: Rainfall has been sufficient in most areas. Some vegetable farmers are having to irrigate. The corn crop is looking good. Fungicides applied during week. Overall the crops are doing well. Most berry crops have been completely harvested. Vegetable stands are in full swing. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Vines continue to be under stress, with irrigation essential every 3-4 days. Water supplies are dwindling rapidly for some growers who wonder whether there will be any water left for frost protection or water harvest. Lack of rain will result in smaller berries. As if the cranberry industry needed any more depression. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Dry conditions persist in Franklin County. A cool and dry week has allowed the tobacco harvest to continue in high gear. Many farms are planning to finish early this year. Dairy farmers have been taking advantage of the nice weather by cutting either second or third cut hay. They're also very pleased with this year's silage crop, yields should be above normal. Vegetable producers have had to split their time between irrigating and harvesting. A rainy day or two would really be welcome news. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: It's dry again and very hot. Farmers are irrigating their late summer and fall crops. Harvesting of all summer crops continues along with cultivating fall crops and scouting for pests and diseases. Gary Guida, Worcester: Corn curling. All crops showing heat/water stress. Local produce selling well with corn main seller. Mare Meadow Reservoir (Fitchburg) has stumps showing in middle (how low is that?!). Perennials still selling well, much to my surprise, and annuals sold out. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: Some relief from the humidity, but still no rain in sight. Irrigated crops doing well if the water holds up. Non-irrigated vegetables fading fast. Plenty of good days to cut and dry hay, if there is any growth to cut! Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Generally dry conditions for the whole week. Good drying conditions for hay. Second cutting hay is going strong, and some have started third cutting. Third cutting haylage is in full swing. Silage corn is maturing nicely - the earliest should be at blister stage before too long. Apples are doing well - harvest of early Macs to start soon. Blueberry harvest still going strong. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Field corn now starting to tassel, late for us. Sweet corn just starting to ripen. Somewhat cooler this week with some rain; still a little first cut hay to be harvested. Nice supply of well-sized highbush blueberries being picked. Good supply of tomatoes becoming available for growers using high tunnels, which have helped with other crops grown this way as well. Difficult year for field grown cucurbits, affected by both cool, wet weather and cucumber beetle feeding. Seeing some bacterial wilt in cucumbers and Japanese beetles are present in fair numbers in many parts of the county, especially noticeable in raspberries. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn showing effects of drought. No significant rain in several weeks combined with hot weather. Critical time for moisture with respect to pollination of corn. Third cutting continues. Summer seedings in progress. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Vegetables: Irrigation ponds' water levels are going down. Farmers kept busy cultivating, hoeing weeds, monitoring pest pressures and spraying pesticides for insect and disease control where needed. Harvesting an array of vegetables: beans, beets, cole crops, cucumbers, greens, melons, peas, potatoes, radishes, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini, and other vegetables. Fruit: Orchardists harvesting early season apple varieties, peaches, and blueberries. Summer raspberry harvest winding down. Started harvesting the early season apple variety Paula red. Orchardists busy irrigating apples, blueberries, peaches and raspberries; renovating strawberry beds; monitoring for pests - spraying if needed; mowing orchard floors and started moving bins into orchards. Field Crops: Hay cutting continued at a rapid pace during the week with the second cut being made. Silage corn put on rapid growth this past week. Most silage corn is in silking stage. Many hay and silage corn fields showing drought stress. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Drought conditions prevail. Vegetable and fruit crops irrigated. Blossom-end rot on tomatoes. Field corn wilting. Some fields were plowed under. Sweet corn and other warm season vegetables harvested. Highbush blueberry and raspberry harvest near finish. A few early apples harvested. Most second cut hay harvested. High humidity contributing to powdery mildew incidence in vine crop foliage. Nursery and turf farms continually irrigating. Weeds controlled on renovated strawberry beds. Rainfall needed. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: A good soaking rain is needed. Pasture, vegetables, small fruits, tree fruits are showing signs of drought stress. Size of peaches, apples, sweet corn harvested from non-irrigated fields are smaller in size. Irrigating small fruits, vegetables, etc. Monitoring for pests, weeding and cultivating. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: We continued to experience very dry weather in Strafford County. Growers continued to irrigate where possible. Harvesting of peaches and different kinds of vegetables continued. Nurseries and greenhouse businesses slowed down due to dry and hot weather. RHODE ISLAND - Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Hot, humid weather has crops ripening and growing despite lack of rain. Irrigation being used where possible. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: There was quite a frenzy of haying over the weekend as we are in the midst of the best stretch of drying weather we've seen yet this summer. Hot weather has been ideal for corn crop to catch up after a cold, wet June. Small grain harvest is over in this area. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Dry conditions this past week have allowed farmers to catch up on their hay harvest. Land has dried out a lot. Fields are not getting marked up by equipment. Corn has tasseled in most fields. Quality of corn crop is still quite varied. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: Another dusty week in Windham County. Field corn is starting to show heavy damage from drought. Manure spreading on fields after second cut has been harvested. Pastures are about all dried up with only spotty areas of green and poor feed value. George Cook (Ext), Lamoille: Drier week. As dry as many parts of the reporting area are, the North Central region of Vermont fairing very well. Some hay fields still wet enough to get stuck in, without care. Folks haying, chopping, top-dressing. Wide variation in corn quality. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Dry hay harvest. Cleaning up fields. Grass regrowth slow; very dry soil. Alfalfa regrowth good. Corn showing drought stress, little ear development. Some summer seeding of hay crops where spring seeding failed or was not possible. Richard Noel, Grand Isle/Franklin: A lot of field work going on this week. Haying, seeding down, manure spreading, etc. Sweet corn being harvested, blueberries real nice. Most crops seem to be 3-4 weeks behind. But grass is doing very well. We've had a lot of moisture up here, some crops made out well and some didn't. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Hot week. Some places got heavy afternoon showers a couple of times, some places had a dry week. Corn on lighter soils had curling leaves. Tassels on most silage corn now. Busy week of haying, hot weather and low humidity allowed it to dry fast. Some reports of an abundance of grasshoppers, though not obviously damaging crops. Fog in the valley in the morning. Spreading manure after that second cut of hay. Observed extreme variability of corn in a field - low spots have no plants or stunted plants, higher spots that were not underwater are OK. Maria Garcia/Chris Benedict (Ext), Chittenden: Cool and comfortable last week. Started picking early season 'Pristine' apples. 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 ***********************