ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 16, 2006 Issue GA-CW1506 Agricultural Summary April 16, 2006 WARM TEMPERATURES Dry conditions prevailed over the State during the past week, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Temperatures during the first part of the week were near normal, while temperatures toward the end of the week and weekend were well above normal. Soil moisture conditions were rated 12 percent very short, 42 percent short, 45 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus. Lack of rain continued to be a concern for growers. Growers were very active in setting out tobacco and treating tobacco transplants in the greenhouse. Small grains were in good condition, while some growers were spraying wheat with fungicides. Corn planting was active. Onion harvesting was in full swing. Corn that has come up was reported in good condition. Feeding of hay was active. Some early soybeans were being planted. The vegetable crop was in good condition. Other activities included preparing land for planting peanuts, cotton and soybeans. Pasture weed control, and routine care of poultry and livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork. CROP PROGRESS Apr 16, Prev Prev 5 Year 2006 Week Year Avg Corn, Planted 82 65 60 75 Corn, Emerged 65 45 46 61 Sorghum, Planted 3 0 10 6 Cotton, Planted 3 1 2 3 Wheat, Jointing 93 85 92 95 Wheat, Boot 77 53 71 80 Wheat, Headed 50 21 48 55 Apples, Blooming 47 18 48 59 Onions, Harvested 10 2 0 4 Peaches, Blooming 98 88 90 97 Tobacco, Transplanted 53 30 23 55 Watermelons, Planted 67 34 55 68 CROP CONDITION April 16, 2006 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Corn 0 3 46 48 3 Sorghum 0 0 75 23 2 Wheat 0 7 35 53 5 Pasture 6 17 41 34 2 Apples 0 8 24 48 20 Hay 4 19 43 32 2 Onions 0 3 10 45 42 Peaches 0 1 48 51 0 Tobacco 0 2 39 59 0 Watermelons 1 4 36 55 4 PASTURE CONDITION - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 16, 2006 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 6 10 52 32 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 2 21 63 14 Dist 3(NE) 0 5 68 27 0 Dist 4(WC) 12 13 32 41 2 Dist 5(C) 4 8 37 51 1 Dist 6(EC) 4 18 54 17 7 Dist 7(SW) 16 42 33 8 1 Dist 8(SC) 6 18 34 42 0 Dist 9(SE) 1 19 34 44 2 *A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga/ctyests/districts.pdf. Soil Moisture Table Apr 16, 2006 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 12 0 4 Short 42 2 17 Adequate 45 60 58 Surplus 1 38 21 SOIL MOISTURE - DISTRICT* LEVEL April 16, 2006 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 0 53 47 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 23 70 7 Dist 3(NE) 1 57 42 0 Dist 4(WC) 7 55 38 0 Dist 5(C) 8 46 46 0 Dist 6(EC) 5 46 49 0 Dist 7(SW) 40 35 24 1 Dist 8(SC) 9 44 48 0 Dist 9(SE) 26 35 39 0 *A list of the counties in each of the nine Georgia Agricultural Statistics Districts is available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga/ctyests/districts.pdf. Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY APRIL 16, 2006 1/ 2006 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALBANY 89 46 68 0.00 0 0.77 4.22 12.96 75 ALMA 88 46 67 0.00 0 1.53 3.93 14.61 67 ALPHARETTA 88 38 65 0.00 0 3.80 7.45 14.45 62 ARLINGTON 88 43 67 0.00 0 0.47 2.73 10.50 72 ATTAPULGUS 89 46 67 0.00 0 0.61 2.01 7.70 76 JACKSONVILLE 89 41 64 0.00 0 1.15 4.35 7.80 66 JONESBORO 89 39 65 0.00 0 2.11 5.58 11.50 64 LAFAYETTE 85 32 67 0.00 0 3.16 4.91 11.06 63 MCRAE 88 36 65 0.01 1 1.12 5.17 13.12 71 MIDVILLE 88 42 67 0.00 0 1.15 3.74 8.40 70 NAHUNTA 90 39 66 0.00 0 0.95 1.86 7.44 69 NEWTON 88 46 67 0.00 0 1.10 2.80 12.52 71 PLAINS 86 44 67 0.00 0 2.64 7.30 13.51 68 ROOPVILLE 88 36 65 0.00 0 2.51 5.97 13.00 67 SAVANNAH 91 41 66 0.00 0 1.78 4.18 10.94 70 SHELLMAN 89 47 68 0.00 0 0.78 3.77 8.55 75 SKIDAWAY 91 48 67 0.03 3 1.31 3.40 8.77 65 SNEADS 84 56 69 0.00 0 0.38 1.96 9.17 70 STATESBORO 89 41 67 0.00 0 1.25 3.01 7.50 72 TIFTON 85 47 68 0.00 0 0.75 2.85 12.67 67 TIGER 86 31 61 0.00 0 3.01 4.52 13.55 62 VALDOSTA 88 49 69 0.00 0 1.78 2.80 10.39 66 VIDALIA 89 44 67 0.00 0 1.40 4.04 8.62 70 WATKINSVILLE 87 38 63 0.00 0 2.35 7.01 14.20 64 WOODBINE 92 44 67 0.00 0 1.01 2.79 7.62 71 1/ Weather data supplied by Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN) and the office of the State Climatologist, University of Georgia. For detailed Georgia weather data visit the AEMN homepage, www.georgiaweather.net. NA - not available. District Highlights These comments are written by the Georgia County Extension Agents, and have been compiled and edited by the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. DISTRICT COMMENTS April 16, 2006 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Very dry for this time of year. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Routine care of livestock and poultry - pasture weed control. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Need rain. Field applications of lime, fertilizer, herbicides being made. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL Sunny and warm! Corn planting continues. Rain last weekend was very welcome. Small grains looking good. Heavy hay feeding continues for livestock, but pastures and hayfields are beginning to green up some. It's been relatively dry. We need rainfall without the high winds. Need rain! We are still dry in north central Georgia. The rains that came last weekend barely wet the dust and only amounted to a 1/2 inch of rain. We need rain! DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Will start planting cotton this coming week. Some early soybeans planted this week. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Moisture shortage getting critical. We received 2.12 inches of rainfall. Crops in good condition. Dry! DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL We got about 1.5 inches of rain average in the county. Setting out tobacco as hard as they can go. Treating tobacco transplants in the greenhouse. Spraying some wheat with fungicides. Burning down weeds or cover crop to prepare for cotton planting using conservation tillage. Need more rainfall next week. Subsoil still dry. Dry, planting delayed do to drought. Vegetables look good. Pastures in poor condition, all cattle producers feeding hay. We need rain! DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Onion harvesting in full swing. Cotton planting underway. Cabbage crop moving along well. Find agricultural statistics for your county, State, and the Nation at www.usda.gov/nass/. Media Contact: David S. Abbe, Director USDA-NASS Georgia Field Office Phone: 706-546-2236 E-mail: nass-ga@nass.usda.gov Website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ga