State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 05/16/04 Issue NH-CW2004 Volume 23, Number 4 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) May 17, 2004 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary PLANTING PACE PICKS UP For the week ending May 16, 2004, there were 6.1 days available for field work across New England. Topsoil moisture was rated two percent very short, seven percent short, 84% adequate, seven percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated two percent very short, four percent short, 89% adequate, five percent surplus. Pasture condition was rated as 18% fair, 63% good, 19% excellent. Temperatures during the week were warm and mild which allowed growers to make significant progress with crop plantings. Many locations reported adequate precipitation levels which aided planting activities. Garden center sales have been brisk. Farmers kept busy during the week planting early vegetables, sweet corn, and potatoes; spreading manure; applying fertilizer; disking, pruning, plowing and fixing fences, and turning livestock out to pasture. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 2 3 2 Short 7 5 5 Adequate 84 74 75 Surplus 7 18 18 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 2 3 4 Short 4 4 6 Adequate 89 81 81 Surplus 5 12 9 --------------------------------------------- -- Field Crops Report Pasture and hay fields continue to green as farmers lime and fertilize the fields. Planting conditions were favorable for farmers during the week. Silage corn planting advanced to 35 percent, 15 percent ahead of last year and five percent above the five year average. Five percent of the crop has already emerged. Massachusetts and Rhode Island potato farmers made significant gains and have planted 85 percent of the crop. The sunny weather helped warm soil temperatures in Maine as potato planting progressed to 25 percent, ahead of last year and only slightly behind the average. -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: The warmer conditons were favorable for fruit development. Apple development was in the bud stage in Maine, but in the other states, development ranged from early bloom to the petal fall stage from North to South. Peach and pear development ranged from full bloom to petal fall across the six State region. Fruit growers continued with protective sprays on fruit trees. Burning and mowing continued in wild blueberry fields. Fungicides were sprayed to protect against Mummyberry disease. Cranberry bogs have experienced some winter kill however vines are reported in good shape. Growers applied insecticides for fireworm and cranberry weevil. VEGETABLES: Early season vegetables plantings continued. Sweet corn plantings advanced to 25 percent with 10 percent of the crop emerged. Green house and high tunnel tomatoes continue to do well and asparagus and radishes were harvested during the week. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2004 2003 5-yr Avg Percent Condition Emerged ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Planted -- Barley, ME 60 10 40 -- Good Oats, ME 60 10 35 -- Good Potatoes Maine 25 5 30 -- Good Mass 85 75 70 25 Good Rhode Isl 85 65 80 -- Good Silage Corn 35 20 30 5 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 25 30 30 10 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 10 25 10 -- Good/Fair Dry Hay First Cut 0 0 0 Good ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- Fruit Crop Stage Set Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples EB/PF Avg/A. Avg Good/Fair Peaches FB/PF Avg/B. Avg Fair/Good Pears FB/PF Avg/B. Avg Good/Fair Blueberries Highbush Bud/EB Avg Fair/Good Wild EB/FB -- Good/Fair Cranberries,MA Bud -- Fair/Good Strawberries Bud/EB Avg Fair/Good ----------------------------------------------------- EB - Early Bloom, FB - Full Bloom, PF - Petal Fall -- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, May 16, 2004 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 23 92 55 +4 0.10 1.12 NH 28 92 61 +9 0.14 1.23 VT 32 88 62 +9 0.20 1.41 MA 38 91 63 +8 0.06 1.35 RI 42 88 63 +8 0.08 0.49 CT 41 90 65 +9 0.00 0.56 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table Weather Summary For New England Agricultural Statistics Service - Prepared By AWIS, Inc. For the Period: Monday May 10, 2004 To: Sunday May 17, 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 35 89 58 +3 134 +49 34 +31 Allagash 23 81 49 +1 67 +45 9 +9 Augusta_State_A 40 85 59 +5 148 +74 30 +29 Bangor_Intl_Arp 36 85 57 +5 123 +72 23 +23 Barnard 32 87 55 +5 101 +64 23 +23 Bath 34 84 56 +3 90 +43 10 +10 Bethel 38 89 59 +7 150 +93 39 +39 Brassua_Dam 27 78 51 +4 67 +51 8 +8 Brunswick_ME 37 84 59 +7 121 +74 21 +21 Caribou_Municip 27 84 52 +3 89 +53 26 +26 Corinna 35 90 56 +4 125 +72 34 +34 Danforth 30 84 53 +3 86 +52 15 +15 Dover-Foxcroft 30 84 52 +2 80 +43 16 +16 Durham 34 91 58 +4 127 +53 25 +25 East_Hiram 37 88 58 +6 150 +93 40 +40 Eustis 28 82 53 +6 89 +69 21 +21 Frenchville 29 81 50 +2 74 +52 18 +18 Gray 41 89 59 +8 167 +120 40 +40 Greenville_ME 34 88 56 +6 136 +92 40 +40 Guilford 32 84 52 +2 59 +22 7 +7 Hollis 36 90 59 +7 156 +112 42 +42 Houlton 24 86 53 +4 91 +55 20 +20 Kennebunkport 40 75 55 -2 84 -8 5 +5 Livermore_Falls 34 91 59 +9 149 +112 38 +38 Moosehead 27 86 52 +5 78 +62 16 +16 New_Sharon 36 88 58 +7 128 +91 28 +28 Patten 28 85 53 +3 83 +47 21 +21 Portage 29 82 52 +2 80 +44 25 +25 Portland_ME 43 85 58 +6 134 +87 25 +25 Rangeley 31 82 55 +8 87 +68 14 +14 Sebec_Lake 28 90 54 +4 94 +50 21 +21 Vanceboro 30 82 53 +4 80 +51 14 +14 Waterville 35 87 57 +3 117 +32 19 +16 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 36 90 61 +7 180 +93 55 +49 Benton 40 83 62 +9 177 +101 53 +46 Berlin_AG 37 87 60 +9 166 +105 48 +45 Bethlehem 36 86 61 +8 153 +79 42 +35 Concord 41 90 64 +11 284 +197 96 +90 Diamond_Pond 34 81 56 +10 105 +83 15 +15 First_Conn_Lake 32 84 56 +9 75 +53 6 +6 Greenville 40 92 65 +12 251 +170 83 +77 Keene_AP 43 86 64 +8 237 +110 69 +54 Lakeport 45 87 63 +10 196 +127 53 +50 Marlow 36 84 59 +4 146 +42 33 +22 Mount_Washingto 34 61 48 +14 12 +12 0 +0 North_Conway 41 90 62 +9 184 +113 60 +56 Otter_Brook_Lk 41 86 63 +7 198 +71 57 +42 Plymouth 37 87 60 +9 152 +101 37 +37 Rochester 43 92 61 +6 201 +98 63 +54 Weare 41 85 61 +6 193 +89 53 +42 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 41 87 62 +9 185 +110 50 +43 Bethel 36 88 62 +10 189 +125 56 +53 Burlington_Intl 45 85 67 +12 252 +138 97 +83 East_Haven 32 85 60 +11 147 +109 42 +42 Island_Pond 34 82 59 +10 135 +93 33 +33 Montpelier 37 84 63 +10 204 +131 64 +58 Morrisville_AG 33 84 59 +7 138 +74 38 +35 Mount_Mansfield 33 74 56 +12 79 +68 11 +11 Northfield 33 85 61 +10 165 +112 47 +47 Pownal 42 83 63 +11 217 +138 62 +53 Rochester 39 85 62 +10 181 +117 54 +51 Rutland_AG 40 84 62 +6 195 +55 48 +26 Sunderland 38 82 61 +6 187 +54 41 +25 Sutton 39 82 60 +11 134 +96 36 +36 Townshend_Lake 33 87 63 +8 203 +101 59 +48 Union_Vill_Dam 39 87 62 +7 178 +71 55 +44 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 44 87 63 +11 211 +144 58 +58 Boston/Logan_In 46 89 64 +7 293 +149 100 +95 Greenfield 46 89 65 +8 238 +93 69 +56 New_Bedford 38 85 62 +5 208 +61 44 +38 Otis_AFB 41 84 61 +7 166 +97 35 +35 Plymouth 39 86 61 +7 206 +128 52 +52 Walpole 42 89 63 +8 258 +151 70 +65 West_Medway 41 90 64 +9 269 +162 83 +78 Chicopee/Westov 45 88 68 +9 322 +115 115 +90 Worcester 45 86 66 +11 269 +180 87 +84 Worthington 39 86 63 +10 193 +119 45 +41 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 44 87 64 +9 265 +142 70 +67 Woonsocket 42 88 63 +8 258 +155 76 +74 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 42 88 64 +5 227 +36 60 +35 Bridgeport/Siko 50 83 65 +7 259 +103 59 +42 Hartford/Bradle 44 90 67 +9 317 +134 106 +82 Norfolk 43 83 63 +11 216 +146 59 +57 Norwich 45 90 66 +8 251 +91 61 +43 Thomaston_Dam 45 90 68 +12 293 +174 92 +82 Willimantic 44 88 66 +11 288 +171 88 +79 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.94 +0.10 3 2.55 -0.78 13 Allagash 0.39 -0.31 2 1.89 -0.80 9 Augusta_State_A 0.68 -0.16 3 2.51 -1.06 12 Bangor_Intl_Arp 1.12 +0.28 3 2.66 -0.56 11 Barnard 0.32 -0.45 4 1.85 -1.44 12 Bath 0.64 -0.20 2 2.66 -0.87 8 Bethel 0.48 -0.33 2 2.53 -0.78 10 Brassua_Dam 0.13 -0.64 3 1.62 -1.43 11 Brunswick_ME 0.42 -0.42 2 2.94 -0.59 9 Caribou_Municip 0.16 -0.54 3 2.11 -0.49 12 Corinna 1.12 +0.35 3 2.69 -0.59 7 Danforth 0.39 -0.45 3 2.43 -0.87 9 Dover-Foxcroft 0.62 -0.15 4 2.05 -1.24 11 Durham 0.67 -0.15 2 2.42 -1.04 9 East_Hiram 0.57 -0.27 2 2.53 -1.02 9 Eustis 0.17 -0.57 3 1.44 -1.47 9 Frenchville 0.43 -0.27 4 2.09 -0.60 13 Gray 0.58 -0.26 2 2.42 -1.14 8 Greenville_ME 0.10 -0.67 4 0.78 -2.51 11 Guilford 0.44 -0.33 4 1.88 -1.41 12 Hollis 1.00 +0.16 3 3.32 -0.34 9 Houlton 0.22 -0.55 3 2.59 -0.24 11 Kennebunkport 0.71 -0.20 2 3.38 -0.35 11 Livermore_Falls 0.61 -0.23 2 2.63 -0.85 10 Moosehead 0.12 -0.65 4 1.50 -1.55 12 New_Sharon 0.48 -0.36 2 2.18 -1.30 8 Patten 0.40 -0.37 3 2.43 -0.40 11 Portage 0.26 -0.44 1 1.98 -0.62 9 Portland_ME 0.78 -0.06 2 2.72 -0.84 9 Rangeley 0.24 -0.46 3 1.72 -0.91 10 Sebec_Lake 0.29 -0.48 5 1.84 -1.45 12 Vanceboro 0.43 -0.41 4 2.35 -1.01 11 Waterville 0.93 +0.09 2 2.71 -0.62 12 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.75 +0.05 2 3.73 +0.93 12 Benton 0.58 -0.19 1 2.86 -0.01 9 Berlin_AG 0.90 +0.13 1 3.82 +0.65 10 Bethlehem 0.91 +0.19 3 3.37 +0.55 17 Concord 0.48 -0.22 2 3.27 +0.47 8 Diamond_Pond 0.37 -0.50 2 3.15 -0.08 16 First_Conn_Lake 0.43 -0.44 3 2.45 -0.78 16 Greenville 0.14 -0.70 2 2.54 -0.82 9 Keene_AP 0.42 -0.42 2 2.58 -0.67 8 Lakeport 0.34 -0.47 2 2.90 -0.25 10 Marlow 0.92 -0.02 3 3.60 -0.07 12 Mount_Washingto 1.21 -0.47 3 5.16 -1.84 16 North_Conway 0.43 -0.48 1 2.53 -1.21 10 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.46 -0.38 3 3.76 +0.51 12 Plymouth 0.38 -0.53 2 2.85 -0.60 8 Rochester 0.67 -0.23 2 3.61 -0.17 7 Weare 0.18 -0.76 2 2.86 -0.81 8 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 1.15 +0.12 3 2.96 -1.18 12 Bethel 1.05 +0.07 3 2.33 -1.50 13 Burlington_Intl 0.54 -0.16 2 2.05 -0.70 14 East_Haven 0.55 -0.24 2 2.14 -0.83 14 Island_Pond 0.49 -0.33 3 2.34 -0.61 16 Montpelier 0.55 -0.17 3 1.84 -0.78 14 Morrisville_AG 0.68 -0.12 2 2.30 -0.81 16 Mount_Mansfield 1.22 +0.01 4 5.30 +0.32 17 Northfield 0.20 -0.61 2 1.65 -1.38 12 Pownal 0.80 -0.23 2 3.64 -0.50 12 Rochester 0.93 -0.05 3 2.24 -1.59 12 Rutland_AG 1.41 +0.64 3 2.91 +0.02 12 Sunderland 1.01 +0.22 4 3.34 +0.34 15 Sutton 0.36 -0.43 3 2.61 -0.36 18 Townshend_Lake 0.78 -0.06 4 2.39 -0.82 14 Union_Vill_Dam 0.68 -0.13 2 2.74 -0.30 13 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.62 -0.15 3 3.55 +0.38 11 Boston/Logan_In 0.21 -0.53 2 3.28 +0.12 10 Greenfield 0.79 -0.06 3 3.74 +0.28 11 New_Bedford 0.08 -0.76 1 1.90 -1.61 9 Otis_AFB 0.10 -0.74 1 2.54 -0.97 8 Plymouth 0.29 -0.62 3 2.25 -1.55 12 Walpole 0.51 -0.26 3 3.91 +0.47 11 West_Medway 0.44 -0.33 2 3.84 +0.40 9 Chicopee/Westov 0.44 -0.47 4 2.56 -1.08 11 Worcester 0.39 -0.59 2 3.46 -0.36 11 Worthington 0.35 -0.70 3 3.17 -0.95 13 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 0.08 -0.76 1 2.68 -0.89 9 Woonsocket 0.49 -0.42 2 3.51 -0.29 9 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 0.49 -0.47 3 3.08 -0.61 10 Bridgeport/Siko 0.46 -0.45 5 3.16 -0.48 14 Hartford/Bradle 0.56 -0.40 3 3.10 -0.59 10 Norfolk 0.37 -0.63 3 2.48 -1.66 13 Norwich 0.07 -0.98 2 3.13 -1.13 9 Thomaston_Dam 0.51 -0.49 3 2.96 -1.14 12 Willimantic 0.16 -0.82 2 3.32 -0.60 11 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 - Howard Rood (FSA), Fairfield/Litchfield: Most farmers spent the week planting field corn. Some farmers have started chopping grass. Crops look good. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Planting of field corn continued at a fast pace. More planting of sweet corn and snap beans. Laying plastic mulch and drip irrigation for squash and pepper plants. A bit early for tomatoes. A heavy bloom for apples. Mowing grass for silage. Marsha Jette (FSA), New London: Busy planting silage corn, sweet corn and other vegetables. Beginning first cut of hay in the dryer fields. Greenhouse sales have been very good. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Petal fall on most fruits. No frost. Good moisture. Hot weather pushing things. Too early to tell on pollination. Peach crop light due to lack of buds. Still pruning, mowing, mulching blueberries. Getting ready to plant vegetables. Blueberries not in full bloom yet. Corn planting just beginning. Fields in good condition, not too wet, not too dry in most areas. Karen Vozarik (FSA), New Haven: Hay looks good. Warm and humid weather for the past week has brought up the silage corn. We have had showers during the night. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Orchard grass is in full flower. Timothy is showing a few flowers. Grass in general is short. Temperatures that jumped from late winter to mid summer seem to have hastened flowering at the expense of height for the grass. A number of fields are still too wet for corn to get planted. Grass harvest is also going to have to wait for ground to dry. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: This past week has been a beehive of activity with all growers in the fields; planting potatoes, small grains, etc. Lime being applied. Cool weather with gusty winds made it somewhat uncomfortable on open machinery. Soils, although somewhat cold, appear to be working up real well. No emergence of any crop as of yet. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Farmers are planting grains. Some field work has begun to plant potatoes. This past weekend soil temperatures are warmer because of the sunny weather. If this warm weather continues, farmers will be planting all week. Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Producers are planting when weather is good. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Farmers are still spreading manure. Livestock are starting to graze. A lot of tilling is going on. A heavy shower Saturday seemed to bring out the wild cherry blossoms and some apple blossoms by Sunday. Janet King (FSA), Somerset: Corn ground being limed and fertilized. Some corn is being planted. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Nice rain on Saturday night helped with the dry soil conditions. A lot of field work was done last week and the corn planters are out. Apples are blooming and the early strawberries are now flowering. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Bees have been set out on blueberry fields. Salad greens are available. Summer weather on Saturday was great news for flowering plant and vegetable seedling sales. An inch of rain Saturday night was a mixed blessing - some fields were getting dry, others hadn't dried out since spring. Dr. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild blueberries: Fields being pruned by mowing and burning. Crop fields being sprayed with Indar fungicide to protect them from Mummyberry disease. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: Greenhouses have been busy. Trees, shrubs and seedlings now available. Soil moisture is good. Farmers fixing pasture fences. Pastures not quite ready for grazing. Manure spreading continues. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Growing season is about five days ahead of schedule here. Peas are doing well. Sweet corn under plastic up four to five inches. Oats and Barley planted. Strawberries under special cover have berries setting already. Field conditions are excellent. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Grass is getting green and the soil is getting prepared for planting. Peas and sweet corn (under cover) are being planted. Many producers are mending fences after winter storms and spreading manure. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Everybody is planting field and sweet corn. Some spraying for weed control. Orchards are misting spray on the trees. Forage seeding is about all done. Crop conditions appear to be good. One inch of rain Saturday night into Sunday morning. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Conditions are greatly improved, weather was normal and growers got a lot of planting completed. Cranberry bogs have some winter kill but in general vines and buds are average. Growers are applying insecticides for fireworm and cranberry weevil. Growers also continue to apply fertilizer. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Growers are applying pre-emergence herbicides, first insecticides and fungicides (for root rot control). Several beds have exceeded thresholds for cranberry weevil, black-headed fireworn, and cutworm. Unfortunately, it looks like its going to be another bad year for insects. No frost nights this week. Winter injury still looks horrid on some beds. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: A great week for field work, a lot of planting being done. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant all being planted now. Beets, beans and cucumbers all up and looking good. Apples, and strawberries in full bloom. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: It was a dry and very warm week. Everyone is planting. Growers are planting field corn, sweet corn, potatoes, cucumbers, winter squash, cabbage, etc. We are a week ahead of schedule in planting crops. Early potatoes are emerging and sweet corn under plastic is 10 to 12 inches tall. The seed onion crop looks good. Harvesting hay, spinach, asparagus and rhubarb. Orchardists are mowing and applying a fungicide spray. More rain is needed and some vegetable growers are irrigating already. Gary Guida, Worcester: Great week for farm work. Fields being plowed and fitted. Herbicide on corn fields being applied. Corn planted May 2, finally up. Retail sales of flowers strong with consumers willing to pay slightly higher price for quality plants and products, than at "box" stores. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Amy Ouellette (Ext), Belknap: Farmers are very busy with field prep including liming, fertilizing, seeding, laying plastic, planting corn and transplanting. Fruit growers are monitoring pests, spraying, fertilizing and finishing up pruning winter damage out of blueberries. Hayfields and pastures are looking good. Garden center sales are brisk. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Plenty of warm sunshine all week - great conditions for field work. Corn planting preceding at a furious pace, some is just starting to emerge. Grass and pastures continue to look great, a couple of producers have started first cutting baleage. Orchard grass starting to head out. Vegetable growers continuing to lay plastic and put out transplants. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Corn planting has begun. Most fields now worked up for seeding. Manure fertilizer spreading continues throughout week. Nice weather for field work with some rain over weekend. Grass meadows now growing well, pastures looking good. Some winter damage being seen on blueberries. Garden centers doing an active trade. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn planting continues as weather permits. Some early planted corn is just emerging. Dry soils were helped by rain late in the week but wet soils are now too wet to work. Grass hay and pasture growing well. Alfalfa growing slowly. New seeds are emerging and added moisture should help. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruits: Peaches were in petal fall stage. Apples and pear were at full bloom at the beginning of week and petal fall by end of week. Some orchardists concerned about the hot weather that occurred during week, where bloom went by quickly and possibility of fire blight infection. Planting fruit trees, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Orchardists making sure to have protective fungicide sprays applied. Vegetables: Successive plantings of sweet corn and trying to finish potato planting. Growers were plowing, discing fertilizing and laying down plastic mulch and drip irrigation tape. Some growers are gambling by transplanting field tomatoes. Weed spraying on planted sweet corn fields. Harvesting asparagus on weekend. Field Crops: Farmers spreading manure, plowing, discing, fertilizing and planting corn on fields. Grasses and forage crops growing quickly. First hayfield being mowed. John Porter (Ext), Merrimack: Good conditions for planting corn. Farmers were waiting for the weekend rain to apply herbicides, because conditions have been too windy, dry, and dusty. New grass and alfalfa seeds are starting to look green. Mid May applications of fertilizer on high bush blueberries should be timed around rain and stage of fruit development. Great rotational pasture conditions so far. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Busy week preparing and planting vegetable field. Picking rocks. Strawberries and raspberries are in full bloom and bees are active. Apples are mainly at petal fall stage. Spraying protective fungicides and insecticides for plum curculio in orchards. Mowing grass. Rain and thundershowers occurred on late Saturday afternoon. Pastures and hay fields look good. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: A good week for field work. Showers mainly coming in the evening. Some first cut of alfalfa has begun in the valley. Silage corn planting has been moving right along with good weather. First crop of dry hay looks to be good quality. Most vegetable gardens and fields have been planted and early vegetables have been emerging and look real healthy. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: In general it was a good week to work the fields. However, the weekend was overcast, rains and thunderstorm. Grass in hay fields and pastures is growing well. Farmers busy planting corn. Vegetable growers busy planting sweet corn and laying plastic mulch for other vegetable crops. Greenhouse and high tunnel tomatoes are growing very well. Fruit growers busy monitoring diseases and spraying protective sprays against scab. Greenhouses and garden centers continue to experience increased plant sales. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Lots of field activity. Planting sweet and field corn, planting potatoes, harvesting some lettuce and early vegetables, especially those under row cover. Spraying for insect and disease control on Christmas Trees. Roadside stands and garden centers are steamy with activity, the weather is cool and sunny, great field weather. Catching up time. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Bright sunny weather has the farmers out plowing and harrowing. The warm sunshine has brought fruit trees well into bloom and the maple trees are fully leafed out. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Many farmers worked hard at corn planting last week. Others are still spreading manure and preparing fields for planting. Warmer temperatures and a weekend rain was very beneficial for grass growth. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: It was a good week for planting corn. Top soil has dried enough to till and seed almost everywhere. Most cows and heifers are out on pasture now. First crop hay is growing well. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: This past week was hot dry and most of the corn is planted. Germination rate looks good with little insect damage. Sunday I saw my first haylage being cut for 2004. The local sweet corn producer reported that his corn is five to six leaves tall. Cutting spinach and harvesting radishes. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Planting corn, new seeding hay. Tilling soil for planting. Fertilizing hay fields, spray weed control on planted corn. Pasture growth good, Dandelions and Lilacs in full bloom. Soil moisture good at field capacity in most cases. Some fields still very wet in lower areas. Chris Benedict (Ext), Chittenden: At week's end apples (McIntosh) reached full bloom. Pest management concerns will take a week off, but thinning thoughts have begun. With good moisture last week, the trees are ready for warmer weather. 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: Dianne Johnson Stat Assistant: Wayne Colpitt Deputy: Joe Sampson 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 ***********************