ga-crop-weather State Georgia Crop Weather Week Ending Date April 29, 2007 Issue GA-CW1707 Agricultural Summary April 30, 2007 CROP CONDITIONS CONTINUED TO DETERIORATE Drought conditions persisted across the State, according to the USDA, NASS, Georgia Field Office. Average highs were in the 80's and average lows were in the 50's most of the week. There were some scattered showers, mostly in the northern part of the state. Average rainfall was 0.12 inches this week. The average rainfall deficit for the state was 8.48 inches. The extremely dry conditions have wildfires breaking out across the southern part of the state. Soil moisture conditions were rated at 35% very short, 46% short, 19% adequate, and 0% surplus. Crop conditions have declined rapidly over the past month due to the Easter freeze and the worsening drought conditions. Pastures and forage crops have suffered tremendously, causing a critical situation for livestock owners. Most livestock owners were purchasing feed, and some farmers even baled wheat to feed cattle. Little grazing was available and hay was scarce as well. Cattle producers were concerned they may have to begin selling cattle in a few weeks to alleviate the situation. Hay and pastures were being irrigated where water was available. Irrigated crops were faring well, but dryland crops were suffering from the lack of rain. Growers were waiting for moisture to begin planting peanuts and cotton, and in some cases they were irrigating the land in order to begin planting. Other activities included field preparation for peanuts and cotton, fertilizer application to pastures, and the routine care of poultry and livestock. County Extension Agents reported an average of 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork. Crop Progress for Week Ending 04/29/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage : This Week : Prev Week : Prev Year : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn Planted : 90 89 93 91 Corn Emerged : 81 81 83 82 Soybeans Planted : 3 2 5 6 Soybeans Emerged : 1 NA NA NA Sorghum Planted : 12 11 14 15 Cotton Planted : 4 2 22 16 Winter Wheat Headed : 92 87 84 87 Apples Blooming : 99 78 62 82 Onions Harvested : 24 20 26 21 Peanuts Planted : 2 1 4 5 Tobacco Transplanted : 80 66 90 80 Watermelons Planted : 90 88 88 89 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop Condition for Week Ending 04/29/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop :Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good :Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Corn : 9 18 46 25 2 Sorghum : 9 11 57 23 0 Winter Wheat : 10 20 32 34 4 Range and Pasture : 21 37 29 13 0 Apples : 91 8 1 0 0 Hay : 24 34 32 10 0 Onions : 0 18 39 42 1 Peaches : 49 4 39 8 0 Tobacco : 3 23 49 23 2 Watermelons : 8 29 41 20 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soil Moisture for Week Ending 04/29/07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : This Week :Previous Week : 5 Year Avg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : Very Short : 35 21 NA Short : 46 40 NA Adequate : 19 37 NA Surplus : 0 2 NA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soil Moisture for Week Ending 04/29/07, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Short : Short : Adequate : Surplus -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 2 49 48 1 District 2 (NC) : 15 53 32 0 District 3 (NE) : 27 61 12 0 District 4 (WC) : 32 55 13 0 District 5 (C) : 35 47 18 0 District 6 (EC) : 26 52 22 0 District 7 (SW) : 36 46 18 0 District 8 (SC) : 71 19 9 1 District 9 (SE) : 45 53 2 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. Pasture Condition for Week Ending 04/29/07, by District -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- District : Very Poor : Poor : Fair : Good : Excellent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : District 1 (NW) : 7 23 40 30 0 District 2 (NC) : 21 23 34 20 2 District 3 (NE) : 7 38 36 19 0 District 4 (WC) : 9 41 39 11 0 District 5 (C) : 22 51 22 5 0 District 6 (EC) : 18 34 37 11 0 District 7 (SW) : 30 42 15 12 1 District 8 (SC) : 38 37 18 7 0 District 9 (SE) : 45 40 15 0 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 Summary for Week Ending 04/29/07, by Station Location ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Temperature : Precipitation : Location :-----------------:---------------------------------------:Soil : Max : Min : Avg :Weekly : Days :30 Day :60 Day : Season :Temp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Albany : 86 53 72 0.01 1 2.67 4.25 13.01 77 Alma : 89 48 71 0.00 0 0.01 1.65 6.17 71 Alpharetta : 83 45 65 0.42 1 2.17 4.69 11.35 65 Arlington : 85 50 69 0.00 0 2.52 5.13 13.06 72 Attapulgus : 86 50 69 0.03 1 0.42 1.21 7.16 80 Blairsville : 80 39 61 0.36 2 2.90 5.29 10.52 62 Williamson : 82 47 66 0.08 1 1.72 4.36 11.57 68 Bowen : 87 49 71 0.02 1 0.71 1.99 7.91 77 Brunswick : 90 54 72 0.01 1 0.69 2.45 7.53 70 Byromville : 85 52 70 0.00 0 3.16 4.49 11.03 71 Byron : 84 49 69 0.00 0 2.05 3.38 10.24 69 Cairo : 86 52 70 0.02 2 0.75 1.61 7.63 68 Calhoun : 83 41 65 0.08 1 1.17 3.52 7.89 65 Pine Mountain : 82 46 66 0.13 1 1.92 5.69 14.32 67 Camilla : 86 52 71 0.10 1 1.56 3.89 11.93 76 Clarks Hill : 86 44 67 0.08 1 0.89 4.50 10.13 68 Cordele : 85 53 71 0.00 0 4.28 5.07 10.97 71 Covington : 82 45 67 0.09 1 1.38 4.04 11.06 68 Dahlonega : 79 44 64 0.41 1 2.61 6.34 13.62 62 Dallas : 83 46 66 0.09 1 1.68 3.90 9.76 65 Dawson : 84 51 69 0.00 0 4.60 5.19 10.50 69 Dearing : 84 51 70 0.17 1 1.89 5.11 10.66 67 Dempsey : 82 47 67 0.08 1 1.38 3.96 10.80 72 Dixie : 87 51 72 0.00 0 0.46 1.45 8.11 78 Dublin : 85 49 69 0.00 0 3.28 4.45 12.29 71 Duluth : 83 44 65 0.57 1 2.20 5.68 12.35 64 Dunwoody : 81 46 66 0.38 1 2.26 5.25 11.60 64 Eatonton : 83 43 67 0.00 0 0.93 3.85 10.90 70 Elberton : 85 47 68 0.03 1 2.98 6.00 13.61 66 Ellijay : 79 40 62 0.21 2 1.95 4.19 10.09 63 Rome : 83 43 65 0.17 2 1.36 2.77 6.83 65 Fort Valley : 84 49 69 0.00 0 1.28 2.27 7.13 74 Gainesville : 82 47 66 0.20 1 1.78 4.24 9.14 65 Georgetown : 83 48 67 0.20 1 5.33 7.75 15.96 73 Griffin : 82 48 67 0.06 2 1.25 3.75 10.69 66 Homerville : 89 44 71 0.01 1 0.06 1.20 7.28 72 Jonesboro : 83 47 66 0.15 2 1.96 4.37 10.37 66 Jacksonville : 83 49 68 0.17 1 2.81 5.29 11.93 70 Lafayette : 81 44 66 1.23 1 4.04 5.88 10.49 63 McRae : 87 43 68 0.20 1 1.94 3.94 10.79 74 Midville : 86 50 71 0.04 1 2.73 4.35 10.36 70 Nahunta : 89 45 70 0.01 1 0.33 2.17 6.85 73 Newton : 86 50 70 0.04 1 2.57 4.09 12.57 73 Plains : 83 44 68 0.00 0 2.39 4.38 11.05 73 Sasser : 84 51 69 0.21 1 5.78 6.52 13.39 71 Savannah : 90 48 70 0.00 0 0.08 2.22 6.99 73 Skidaway : 85 53 70 0.08 5 0.64 2.06 5.86 69 Sneads : 87 57 71 0.00 0 0.00 1.16 7.04 72 Statesboro : 88 52 71 0.00 0 1.33 2.91 9.15 77 Tifton : 84 55 71 0.00 0 0.45 1.97 7.63 70 Tiger : 80 38 61 0.47 2 3.04 8.52 16.77 63 Valdosta : 88 54 73 0.02 1 0.48 1.47 8.04 68 Vidalia : 89 45 71 0.00 0 0.70 1.94 9.34 73 Roopville : 84 42 65 0.08 1 3.39 4.70 11.16 70 Watkinsville : 83 49 68 0.02 1 1.37 4.70 10.75 68 Woodbine : 91 47 70 0.00 0 0.96 2.62 8.23 73 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Weather data are supplied by the 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 at www.georgiaweather.net. DISTRICT COMMENTS April 30, 2007 DISTRICT 1 - NORTHWEST Very Hard Freeze on April 7 and 8th. Lots of damage to fruit crops and early Bermuda grass Hay. DISTRICT 2 - NORTH CENTRAL Many farmers are cutting frost damaged ryegrass to get the salvage value fearing more dry weather. Some ryegrass / small grains appear dead from earlier cold weather. Routine care of livestock and poultry this week. Some fertilizer application to pastures - rain improved moisture situation but more is needed. Peaches all lost. Pastures and forage crops in danger from continued dry spell. Wheat not filling out. DISTRICT 3 - NORTHEAST Conditions are declining rapidly. We missed a good chance at rain on Thursday. Less than 1/10 inch. Some parts of county got no rain. DISTRICT 4 - WEST CENTRAL Pastures and hayfields are trying to come on, but lack of moisture is holding them back. Cool season grasses have had growth and a slim cutting of hay beginning to put down. Some new pastures planted, but the outlook for moisture to help them isn't promising. Wheat hurt badly by the freeze. DISTRICT 5 - CENTRAL STILL NO RAIN!!! EXTREMELY DRY!!! Pastures, hayfields, and crops needing rain. Conditions of all continue to decline due to the drought. Corn planting nearing completion. Hay feeding continues for livestock due to very poor pasture conditions. Scattered showers have not been adequate to keep crop conditions from getting worse in our area. Winter annual hay & silage crop yields are around 60% of what they should be. The forage quality of these crops will be much lower as well. Bermuda grass was killed back by the Easter freeze and has not had the moisture to really come back like what is needed. We need rainfall plain and simple. Small grain injury showing up more this past week. 2 fields showed 80 to 90 percent damage. Most all fields have some damage, but are limited to 5 to 10 percent. Lack of rain is biggest issue. Small grains need water to fill out the kernels. Corn is yellowing due to lack of water and nitrogen. Producers running out of hay. Afraid some may have to sell due to low hay reserves and poor grazing on summer pastures. Planting of cotton and other crops simply stopped for now. Irrigation systems running to keep up with water demand. After surveying wheat fields after the Easter weekend frost, there appears to be 20 to 60% damage depending on how cold it got in particular areas. Pecan trees that were damaged have not refoliated at this time. About 90% of the early blueberry varieties were damaged. Extreme drought conditions persist. Even if it rains today it would be too late to help the wheat, oats and rye crops. Cattlemen are having to feed a lot of purchased feed. There is very little grazing available. Winter grazing fields have dried up and spring pasture has been severely hurt by the drought and freeze Easter weekend. Most cattle, horse, and goat owners have no hay or any source locally to buy from. DISTRICT 6 - EAST CENTRAL Replanted 1/3 corn crop, wheat damage from freeze still showing up, pecan damage may be back into '05 wood making trees barren next year too. Just started planting cotton. DISTRICT 7 - SOUTHWEST Corn recovering from slight frost damage. Replanting frost damaged greenbeans. Wheat in good condition; one field damaged from frost. Field prep for peanuts and cotton. DISTRICT 8 - SOUTH CENTRAL Dry! Between freeze, drought, and wind, we have taken a triple hit and concern for forest fires is extreme. Irrigated crops look okay but dryland is being hammered. Farmers are baling wheat to feed to cattle. Hay is very short, almost exhausted, and no grazing. Cattle producers are facing a serious challenge on how to feed them. In a few weeks, we may be selling cattle. If we got rain today, we would still be 4 weeks off from cutting hay or getting substantial grazing. Some early planted corn, young pecan trees and blueberries were hit the hardest with the freeze on April 8 and the wind damage the week following has affected some vegetables and tobacco. Growers are waiting for moisture to begin peanut and cotton planting. We are starting off on the wrong foot and worst I have ever seen in my career. Growers are going to have to irrigate to begin planting cotton and peanuts. Rainfall is critically needed for dryland crops. Extremely dry, no row crop soil preparation or planting being done by farmers. Hay and pastures being irrigated where water is available. DISTRICT 9 - SOUTHEAST The crops are terrible. Cold has damaged the crops and it is so dry. It is about as bad as it can get. Please help.