ms-crop-weather Mississippi Weekly Crop Weather Released: Monday, 3PM September 20, 2004 Week Ending September 19, 2004 This report is best viewed with a monospace font. Issue MS-CW3804 Agricultural Summary According to the Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service, there were 4.7 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending September 19, 2004. Hurricane Ivan brought heavy rains into parts of Mississippi, resulting in isolated crop and structural damage. Eastern Mississippi experienced the worst part of the storm with extensive timber damage reported. Damage to row crops appears to be minimal throughout the state as harvesting continues. Cotton continues to be defoliated and harvested with producers reporting good results from the late blooming crop. Soil moisture was rated 1 percent very short, 29 percent short, 49 percent adequate and 21 percent surplus. Item Event This Last 2003 5-Yr Very Week Week Avg Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Corn Harvested 93 87 90 89 -- -- -- -- -- Cotton Open Bolls 84 78 80 92 2 6 23 51 18 Harvested 7 2 15 18 Rice Mature 95 91 92 92 0 1 11 59 29 Harvested 73 57 61 55 Sorghum Mature 100 99 100 100 -- -- -- -- -- Harvested 94 85 90 89 Soybeans Turning Color 98 96 91 90 0 5 15 45 35 Shedding Leaves 91 85 76 76 Harvested 73 65 56 44 Hay Harvested (Warm Season) 86 85 94 92 -- -- -- -- -- Sweetpotatoes Harvested 17 12 39 36 2 9 40 39 10 Cattle 3 5 20 56 16 Pasture 5 9 29 52 5 Other Agricultural Comments and News County Agent Comments "We were very fortunate to miss the rain associated with Ivan. Corn harvest is complete, soybean harvest is nearing completion with some late MG V to be harvested, and cotton harvest is just beginning." -- Robert Martin, Issaquena "Rain is needed all over the county. The soil is very dry." -- Thomas E. Brewer, Jefferson Davis "Marion County was spared from the destruction of Hurricane Ivan. We have received very little rain. We were hoping for some rain following the storm." -- Amanda Woods, Marion "This past week was complicated by Hurricane Ivan. With varying degrees of damage across the county, one good thing that did come from the storm is the amount of rainfall. We definitely needed some moisture on forages, and the rainfall received was an adequate amount." -- Lance Bruce, Lauderdale "Remnants of Hurricane Ivan brought rain and wind to much of the county. The eastern side of the county (east of Hwy 15) suffered more wind damage with many trees either uprooted or blown down. Some structural damage was noted, but for the most part residents were very lucky. Loss of power east of Hwy 15 was minimal. Damage was more severe near the Lauderdale County line and into Meridian. Most of the county received some rain, but no flooding was reported." -- Victor Lee, Newton "All but about 10% of warm season hay has been harvested. There is still corn to be harvested. Seed bed preparation for cool- season forages continue with about 40% already completed. Cattle continue to be in great shape. Hurricane Ivan caused some timber damage. The worst damage occurred in the eastern side of the county next to the state line of Alabama. I will be working with USDA Agencies to assist with damage assessment reports in the next couple of days." -- Allen McReynolds, Wayne "Good harvest conditions have allowed growers to continue harvesting rice. Cotton harvest is in full swing and yields are variable." -- Don Respess, Bolivar "Late soybeans are in need of rain, which isn't likely to happen. Cotton and rice farmers are at full throttle and do not want it to rain." -- Mark Young, Quitman "Producers are harvesting corn and soybeans. Yields vary in range, but overall we should have a good harvest season. Cotton is opening and maturing later than normal." -- Melvin Oatis, Benton "We missed Ivan! We had less than a quarter of an inch of rain and the winds peaked at around 30-35 mph. Cotton defoliation is going full swing now. Spittle bugs have killed a couple of hay fields." -- Stephen R. Winters, Grenada "Hurricane Ivan brought wind and rain to the area but had little effect on the crops. Corn and soybean harvests are progressing and cotton defoliation has been initiated." -- Jay Phelps, Pontotoc "Harvest continues to move forward. Some producers have completed soybean and/or rice harvests with good results. Cotton harvest is now moving at "full speed ahead"." -- Jerry Singleton, Leflore "Cotton harvest is getting underway in the early-maturing varieties. Reports of very good yields have come into our office. Soybean and rice harvests are beginning to get close to completion. Excellent to good yields are reported." -- Tommy Baird, Sunflower "Being missed by Hurricane Ivan was a real break for area farmers; we were out of the field for only about 3 days with little to no damage in the area. Conditions are good for all forms of fieldwork, and cotton producers are defoliating and beginning to harvest some of the earliest planted fields." -- Ernest Flint, Attala "Hurricane Ivan went the other way. Conditions for all fieldwork look good. Defoliating and the beginning of harvest has begun in the early fields." -- Kay Emmons, Montgomery "Corn harvest is nearing completion. Cotton and Group V soybean harvests began this week. We were fortunate with minimal crop damage reported from Hurricane Ivan." -- Charlie Stokes, Monroe "Sustained winds of 54 mph with gusts up to 72 mph caused damage to many buildings and a few grain bins. Rainfall varied from around 3 inches in Noxubee to 5 in portions of Oktibbeha county. Our cotton crop took most of the damage because of the maturity stage it was in when this storm hit east MS. Our pretty, open bolls are either on the ground or stretched out and ready to fall to the ground. The top crop that was more hard-locked and nappy stayed in the boll, but will cause problems when we get back in the field to harvest. We could see visual differences in cotton varieties in their storm tolerance in an on-farm demo." -- Dr. Dennis B. Reginelli, Noxubee "Hurricane Ivan came through on Wednesday and Thursday. Winds gusted above 50 mph, but for the most part damage was limited. There was damage to cotton that was open and some wind throw of timber. At this time, we have no account of human injury. We received about 2-3 inches of rain. Most wind damage occurred in the eastern half of the county. A full assessment has not been made at this time." -- Ed Williams, Oktibbeha "We are still coping with terribly dry soil moisture conditions. Hurricane Ivan tracked well to the east of us, and we did not receive one drop of rain from the storm. Most farmers continue to delay planting their ryegrass and small grains for grazing until we get appreciable levels of rainfall. A small percentage of our total acreage of cool-season pastures have been planted, and will have to be replanted if we do not receive rain immediately to save fledgling seedlings. Fall armyworm pressure continues to be a problem." -- Lamar Adams, Walthall "Hurricane Ivan spared us as we received a glancing blow-just a lot of leaves, limbs and twigs. A few occasional diseased trees cracked over. Some cotton is leaning over due to wind. There was not much rain received; maybe a half inch or so of rain reported. We are very lucky." -- Lee Taylor, Forrest "The wrath of Ivan was not as bad as it could have been. Our cotton crop is in bad shape, but the peanuts seem to have survived pretty well. We are very thankful!" -- Mike Steede George "Cotton, soybeans and corn will be difficult to harvest after the high winds from Ivan. Crops such as pumpkins and fall tomatoes were destroyed. Repair to poultry houses and other farm structures, including fences, are well underway. County wide timber loss estimates are in the 5% to 7% range." -- Mark Gillie, Greene "There was damage to crops from Hurricane Ivan, but the rainfall did improve soil moisture. Armyworms are a problem in some areas of the county at this time. Producers are gearing up to make final preparations for planting ryegrass in fall and winter pastures." -- Florieda K. Mason, Perry "Stone County did not get much rain from Ivan. Ponds are still low with some drying up. There was mostly limb and tree damage, but no structure damage, and the cleaning up process has begun. No reported livestock losses from the hurricane." -- Judy Breland, Stone Weather Information Table Weather Summary from September 13, 2004 to September 19, 2004 for Mississippi Air Precipitation 4 Inch Soil Avg Temperature Weekly Rn Four Temperature Pan Max Min Avg Nrm DFN Total DFN Ds Weeks Max Min Avg Evap --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Upper Delta Charleston 74 0.00 -0.77 0 3.10 Cleveland 91 57 77 74 +3 0.04 -0.64 1 1.60 Tunica 74 0.52 -0.11 2 1.73 0.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 91 57 77 74 +3 0.19 -0.56 1 2.14 0.19 2. North-Central Hickory Flat 89 52 73 72 +1 0.56 -0.38 2 1.54 Calhoun City 87 53 73 73 0 0.63 -0.21 3 2.44 Independence 88 51 73 73 0 0.00 -0.84 0 2.69 Oxford 88 54 75 73 +2 0.20 -0.70 1 2.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 89 51 74 73 +1 0.35 -0.49 2 2.22 3. Northeast Booneville 86 57 73 72 +1 1.15 +0.26 4 3.29 Iuka 70 4.90 +3.90 4 12.44 Ripley 87 53 72 72 0 0.64 -0.27 3 1.54 Tupelo 89 58 76 1.80 4 3.82 Verona 91 59 76 74 +2 3.14 +2.16 4 5.13 0.27 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 91 53 74 73 +1 1.68 +0.70 4 3.45 0.27 4. Lower Delta Moorhead 94 61 79 76 +3 0.00 -0.84 0 1.27 Rolling Fork 93 57 79 75 +4 0.00 -0.70 0 1.11 97 78 88 Stoneville 93 57 79 75 +4 0.00 -0.78 0 1.23 97 76 86 1.85 Yazoo City 92 58 78 76 +2 0.00 -0.64 0 0.79 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 94 57 79 76 +3 0.00 -0.72 0 1.10 97 76 87 1.85 5. Central Canton 91 55 77 76 +1 0.01 -0.69 1 1.68 Carthage 88 56 75 75 0 0.02 -0.82 1 4.49 Lexington 89 54 75 74 +1 0.00 -0.70 0 1.62 Eupora 90 56 75 73 +2 0.78 -0.13 3 3.31 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 91 54 75 75 0 0.20 -0.64 1 2.78 6. East-Central Aberdeen 88 60 76 74 +2 2.03 +1.12 3 3.88 0.16 Houston 88 52 73 72 +1 1.06 +0.08 3 2.22 Louisville 73 2.15 +1.24 2 4.82 State University 90 56 74 74 0 4.79 +3.95 4 8.27 82 75 78 0.17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 90 52 74 75 -1 2.51 +1.62 3 4.80 82 75 78 0.17 7. Southwest Crystal Springs 92 60 78 76 +2 0.00 -1.06 0 1.70 96 78 86 Natchez 91 57 78 77 +1 0.00 -0.85 0 1.33 Oakley 91 59 76 75 +1 0.00 -0.70 0 0.71 91 79 86 Vicksburg 91 59 77 0.00 0 2.10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 92 57 77 76 +1 0.00 -0.91 0 1.46 96 78 86 8. South-Central Collins 92 56 77 75 +2 0.38 -0.60 3 1.43 Columbia 94 57 79 76 +3 0.25 -0.73 1 1.41 Tylertown 93 60 78 77 +1 1.29 +0.34 2 4.10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 94 56 78 76 +2 0.64 -0.34 2 2.31 9. Southeast Beaumont 95 55 78 1.75 2 4.86 Hattiesburg 93 64 79 77 +2 1.57 +0.55 2 3.28 Laurel 91 58 78 76 +2 0.92 -0.13 2 3.38 Newton 75 1.66 +0.82 2 4.91 84 70 75 0.15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 95 55 78 76 +2 1.48 +0.50 2 4.11 84 70 75 0.15 10. Coastal Bay St Louis 96 63 79 78 +1 0.89 -0.40 2 3.39 Gulfport 79 2.75 +1.23 3 4.67 Poplarville 88 68 77 77 0 0.93 -0.07 3 4.15 88 71 79 0.24 Waveland 94 64 79 77 +2 2.52 +0.93 2 4.20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 96 63 78 78 0 1.45 +0.06 2 3.91 88 71 79 0.24 State Averages 96 51 76 75 +1 0.84 -0.08 2 2.85 97 70 81 0.47 DFN = Departure from Normal.