ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date October 30, 2005 Issue GA-CW4305 Agricultural Summary October 30, 2005 TEMPERATURES DROP AS OCTOBER ENDS The last full week of October saw a continued drop in temperature across the state, according to the USDA-NASS Georgia Field Office. Average temperatures statewide ranged from the high 40's to the high 50's, roughly a ten degree drop from the previous week. Some counties reported experiencing the first frost of the year. Due to the lack of rain, conditions have remained dry. However, a few areas in Georgia reported over half an inch of precipitation. Overall, soil moisture conditions were rated 15 percent very short, 51 percent short, 33 percent adequate, and 1 percent surplus. Peanut digging continued this week. Growers continue to have mixed opinions on the yield of this peanut crop. The recent dry weather affected the quality of pecans as well. The cotton harvest continued this week, and some farmers are surprised at this year's cotton yield. Pasture conditions have been reported as troubling. Growth has been hindered due to lack of moisture combined with the temperature drop. In some areas, soil disease has appeared. Though the early frosts limited some hay producers in cutting, others have used the cool weather for late season cutting. The soybean harvest continued, and growers report that the yield may turn out a little better than expected. Other activities included the commercial vineyard harvest, the row crop harvest, and routine care of poultry and livestock. Dry weather continued to delay the fall planting crops. Onion growers expect to begin setting transplants soon. Plant beds continue to grow rapidly. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress Table Oct 30, 2005 Prev Week Prev Year 5 Year Avg Corn, Harvested for Grain 99 97 98 100 Soybeans, Dropping Leaves 94 87 93 92 Soybeans, Harvested 20 9 25 29 Sorghum, Harvested for Grain 56 46 70 72 Cotton, Bolls Open 96 92 98 97 Cotton, Harvested 43 33 55 52 Wheat, Planted 15 9 17 17 Wheat, Emerged 4 1 10 10 Apples, Harvested 85 80 92 92 Peanuts, Dug 93 84 94 96 Peanuts, Combined 80 68 83 88 Pecans, Harvested 10 5 16 16 Rye, Planted 47 36 55 58 Other Small Grains, Planted 42 31 44 46 Crop Condition Table October 30, 2005 Crop Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Soybeans 3 14 47 33 3 Sorghum 2 6 45 44 3 Cotton 2 5 25 54 14 Pasture 6 23 47 23 1 Hay 4 26 46 23 1 Pecans 5 12 44 35 4 Pasture Condition Table - District* Level October 30, 2005 Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent --Percentage-- Dist 1(NW) 8 26 52 14 0 Dist 2(NC) 0 12 50 38 0 Dist 3(NE) 8 17 75 0 0 Dist 4(WC) 5 22 47 26 0 Dist 5(C) 9 29 43 18 1 Dist 6(EC) 3 18 54 22 3 Dist 7(SW) 16 38 29 15 2 Dist 8(SC) 3 20 48 29 0 Dist 9(SE) 0 23 48 28 1 *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 Oct 30, 2005 Prev Year 5 Year Avg --Percentages-- Very Short 15 0 14 Short 51 11 30 Adequate 33 83 49 Surplus 1 6 7 Soil Moisture Table - District Level October 30, 2005 Very Short Short Adequate Surplus --Percentages-- Dist 1(NW) 39 52 9 0 Dist 2(NC) 12 42 46 0 Dist 3(NE) 15 85 0 0 Dist 4(WC) 14 73 13 0 Dist 5(C) 8 61 31 0 Dist 6(EC) 2 46 52 0 Dist 7(SW) 45 46 9 0 Dist 8(SC) 16 65 18 1 Dist 9(SE) 1 14 80 5 Weather Information Table GEORGIA WEATHER SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK ENDING MIDNIGHT, SUNDAY OCTOBER 30, 2005 1/ 2005 Air Temperature Precipitation Totals Extreme Weekly Rain 30 60 Soil Location Max Min AvG Weekly Day Day Day Season Temp ALMA 70 36 53 0.00 0 0.06 1.66 38.64 63 ALPHARETTA 71 33 47 0.02 1 3.85 4.42 55.55 57 ARLINGTON 71 34 52 0.00 0 0.69 1.39 49.22 65 ATTAPULGUS 73 33 53 0.00 0 0.33 1.64 53.01 67 BLAIRSVILLE 71 25 42 0.00 0 1.52 2.33 46.98 59 BOWEN 70 36 52 0.00 0 1.01 1.62 45.51 68 BRUNSWICK 69 42 56 0.38 1 20.05 23.91 69.81 67 BYRON 71 37 51 0.01 1 1.41 1.44 46.57 63 CAIRO 72 36 54 0.00 0 0.21 1.00 49.88 72 CALHOUN 71 27 46 0.00 0 1.28 2.00 43.54 57 CAMILLA 73 34 53 0.00 0 1.07 1.24 45.49 67 CLARKS HILL 70 36 51 0.00 0 4.53 6.29 38.74 61 CORDELE 73 34 52 0.00 0 0.47 0.92 41.97 66 COVINGTON 70 32 49 0.00 0 1.70 2.07 34.16 60 DAHLONEGA 68 30 46 0.00 0 2.54 2.84 50.76 59 DALLAS 70 32 47 0.00 0 1.98 2.34 45.05 58 DAWSON 71 35 52 0.00 0 0.74 1.69 39.18 65 DEARING 72 35 51 0.06 1 4.72 5.72 43.94 65 DEMPSEY 70 33 48 0.00 0 0.85 0.97 47.48 57 DIXIE 73 34 53 0.00 0 1.19 1.94 54.44 69 DUBLIN 70 34 51 0.00 0 3.40 3.40 36.90 63 DULUTH 72 32 47 0.00 0 4.22 4.68 52.99 60 DUNWOODY 69 33 47 0.00 0 2.84 3.20 46.64 58 EATONTON 73 30 49 0.00 0 2.13 2.14 40.25 61 ELLIJAY 70 29 44 0.00 0 0.35 0.36 50.82 58 GAINESVILLE 70 37 50 0.00 0 1.60 2.21 46.20 64 GEORGETOWN 73 33 52 0.00 0 0.66 1.51 54.42 65 GRIFFIN 71 35 49 0.00 0 2.49 2.63 51.37 61 HOMERVILLE 72 33 51 0.34 1 1.80 2.75 44.89 63 JACKSONVILLE 70 33 50 0.00 0 2.70 2.71 40.22 64 JONESBORO 72 34 48 0.00 0 3.40 3.52 48.48 59 LAFAYETTE 71 27 45 0.00 0 1.13 2.57 37.40 58 MCRAE 72 31 50 0.00 0 1.61 2.43 34.89 67 MIDVILLE 72 35 52 0.01 1 7.91 7.92 46.08 63 NAHUNTA 71 35 52 0.47 1 5.93 7.82 46.20 64 NEWTON 74 34 52 0.00 0 1.08 1.10 50.50 65 PINE MOUNTAIN 74 29 49 0.00 0 1.32 1.67 45.21 60 PLAINS 71 36 51 0.00 0 1.02 1.67 49.84 60 ROME 72 29 46 0.00 0 1.26 2.25 27.25 58 SASSER 71 37 52 0.00 0 1.49 2.02 52.02 62 SAVANNAH 70 36 53 0.40 1 8.93 9.98 45.37 63 SHELLMAN 72 37 53 0.00 0 0.47 1.11 42.51 66 SKIDAWAY 66 40 53 0.95 1 8.75 9.11 48.74 61 STATESBORO 70 36 51 0.00 0 5.33 5.35 46.77 64 TIFTON 70 37 54 0.00 0 0.58 0.60 35.92 68 TIGER 71 28 44 0.00 0 3.08 3.49 58.52 57 VALDOSTA 71 39 55 0.00 0 1.15 4.55 52.14 66 VIDALIA 70 35 53 0.00 0 2.00 2.09 27.86 66 WATKINSVILLE 70 35 49 0.00 0 4.35 4.45 51.38 61 WILLIAMSON 71 31 48 0.00 0 1.10 1.15 37.79 59 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 1 - NORTHWEST No comments available. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Commercial vineyard harvest completed - routine care of livestock and poultry this week - some wheat planted. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST No comments available. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Need rain! Drought conditions have basically halted small grain planting and winter grazing growth. Pastures have quit growing due to drought, cool temperatures and scattered frost. Most cattle producers have begun feeding hay. Need soil moisture for small grain/winter grazing planting. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL No rain this week and some light frost several mornings. The temperatures have cooled off and we've received our first coatings of light frost. Scattered frost in the county. Harvesting of peanuts, cotton, and soybeans continued. Planting of winter grazing continued with the need of rain. Dry weather delays winter grazing and fall planting. There were still a few producers baling hay in this cool weather. Cotton was harvested, along with other row crops. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Finishing peanuts, making good progress on high yielding cotton crop. Soybeans may be a little better than expected. Cotton and peanuts yielding very well. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Dry August and September has severely affected the quality of much of this year's pecan crop. No rainfall. Cotton stakes mowed. Grain field preparation. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Light frost and cool days caused peanut growers to dig peanuts this week with some late maturing varieties being dug early. Dry weather again was taking its toll also and soil disease. Cotton yields and quality have been surprising. Excellent harvest weather. Frost caused hay producers to cut their last cutting this week. Planting small grains. Need some rainfall. Had some wild fires break out due to drought and high winds. Need rainfall to continue planting small grains. Cool nights early in week, scattered frost reported. The peanut crop yield has been off from previous three years, but some yields look good while marginal or below average in other situation. Cotton was yielding very well. Dry conditions hampered planting of small grains. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST Onions expected to begin being set in the next week. Plant beds look well and continue to grow rapidly. Contact Information 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