This report is best viewed with a monospace font. Mississippi Crop Weather Released: Monday, 3PM October 16, 2000 Week Ending October 15, 2000 Issue MS-CW4100 Agricultural Summary According to the Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service, there were 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending October 15, 2000. Since there was virtually no rain in the state last week, farmers made significant crop harvest progress. Soil moisture was rated 52 percent very short, 31 percent short, and 17 percent adequate. Crop Progress Table Item Event This Week Last Week 1999 5-yr Avg. Cotton Harvested 87 76 81 72 Rice Harvested 91 84 95 97 Soybeans Shedding Leaves 98 94 98 92 Harvesting 81 70 78 67 Wheat Planted 21 11 28 33 Emerged 6 2 13 16 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 73 62 71 67 Hay (warm season) Harvested 98 95 97 99 Crop Conditions Item Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Wheat 7 41 34 16 2 Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Item Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Cattle 10 21 36 29 4 Pasture 35 26 28 11 0 Other Agricultural Comments and News "Brief rains provided relief for a few days; however, conditions are still very dry. The cotton harvest will almost certainly prove to be the worst in recent history, and the same will be true of the corn and soybean harvests. Farmers need real help, not more loans, or they will be finished." -- Ernie Flint, Attala County "Dry weather has allowed row crop and forage producers to get what little yields that were in the fields out without rain delays. Hay is in short supply and winter forages aren't coming up to a good stand, or in some cases, they have started dying because of the lack of rain." -- Houston Therrell, Rankin County "Some of the winter grazing is up and growing, but needs additional soil moisture. Soybean harvest is about halfway complete. Group V soybean yields have been very good in spite of the dry weather." -- Mark Mowdy, Franklin County "Very dry soil moisture conditions continue to prevail. We need a lot of rainfall to restore soil moisture to levels which can support acceptable growth of winter grasses. Summer hay production was terrible; we harvested approximately 30 percent of normal yields. Hopefully, this will be a wet and mild winter to allow high performance of cool season forages." -- Lamar Adams, Walthall County "Drought-stricken trees are showing signs of severe distress. Hypoxylon canker, butt rott, and heart rott all are evident on trees in urban settings. Pine beetles continue to plague pine timber." -- Chance McDavid, Harrison County "Winter grazing crops, mostly wheat and ryegrass, are suffering from lack of moisture. A lot has been planted but there hasn't been enough rain to germinate the seeds. Harvest of all row crops is winding down. Non-irrigated crops continue to show very low yields." -- Jimbo Burkhalter, Tallahatchie County "Fall harvest is quickly moving toward completion. Most producers are doing fall tillage with emphases being placed on conservation tillage. Although the soil is hard and dry, farmers are taking nematode and soil samples. Some lime and potash is in the process of being applied." -- Jerry Singleton, Leflore County Weather Information Table Weather Summary from October 9, 2000 to October 15, 2000 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 Clarksdale 65 0.00 -0.58 0 0.54 0.52 Cleveland 85 32 54 0.00 0 0.96 Tunica 84 35 58 64 -6 0.00 -0.66 0 0.29 48 40 43 0.14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 85 32 56 65 -9 0.00 -0.64 0 0.60 48 40 43 0.25 2. North-Central Holly Springs 93 20 49 61 -12 0.00 -0.71 0 0.54 75 54 64 0.12 Memphis 85 36 61 65 -4 0.00 -0.63 0 1.10 Oxford 86 26 55 62 -7 0.00 -0.73 0 0.67 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 93 20 55 63 -8 0.00 -0.69 0 0.77 75 54 64 0.12 3. Northeast Booneville 82 32 54 62 -8 0.00 -0.70 0 0.16 Corinth 81 27 50 63 -13 0.00 -0.66 0 0.52 Iuka 82 26 50 0.00 0 1.59 Pontotoc 82 31 55 63 -8 0.00 -0.70 0 0.95 66 59 62 0.09 Tupelo 85 31 58 64 -6 0.00 -0.71 0 0.96 Verona 84 31 55 0.00 0 0.45 79 53 64 0.17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 85 26 54 63 -9 0.00 -0.70 0 0.77 79 53 63 0.13 4. Lower Delta Belzoni 85 35 58 66 -8 0.00 -0.78 0 1.30 81 62 71 Greenwood 84 27 57 66 -9 0.00 -0.77 0 0.80 Rolling Fork 86 33 59 66 -7 0.00 -0.77 0 0.55 83 57 69 0.15 Stoneville 85 32 57 65 -8 0.00 -0.63 0 1.39 80 52 64 0.16 Yazoo City 82 33 56 67 -11 0.00 -0.84 0 2.33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 86 27 57 66 -9 0.00 -0.77 0 1.27 83 52 68 0.16 5. Central Carthage 82 31 54 65 -11 0.00 -0.70 0 0.27 Jackson 82 37 58 66 -8 0.00 -0.70 0 2.30 Winona 82 28 51 63 -12 0.00 -0.70 0 4.16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 82 28 55 65 -10 0.00 -0.76 0 2.24 6. East-Central Brooksville 79 36 55 0.00 -0.63 0 1.41 74 52 61 Columbus 84 32 57 0.00 0 1.21 State University 82 32 54 65 -11 0.00 -0.72 0 1.73 71 58 64 0.14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 84 32 55 64 -9 0.00 -0.70 0 1.45 74 52 62 0.14 7. Southwest Crystal Springs 84 39 58 0.00 0 2.30 80 50 65 Natchez 83 35 58 69 -11 0.00 -0.84 0 1.67 Oakley 84 35 58 66 -8 0.00 -0.70 0 3.47 82 53 66 Vicksburg 82 35 56 0.00 0 3.73 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 84 35 57 67 -10 0.00 -0.77 0 2.79 82 50 65 8. South-Central Columbia 83 38 57 67 -10 0.00 -0.63 0 2.19 McComb 82 35 61 67 -6 0.00 -0.72 0 1.89 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 83 35 59 67 -8 0.00 -0.70 0 2.04 9. Southeast Beaumont 1.33 1 2.36 Hattiesburg 88 40 58 67 -9 0.00 -0.66 0 1.38 Laurel 83 38 56 67 -11 0.00 -0.63 0 1.44 Meridian 96 36 61 65 -4 0.00 -0.64 0 1.81 Newton 85 30 53 64 -11 0.00 -0.71 0 1.60 72 52 62 0.10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 96 30 57 66 -9 0.00 -0.65 0 1.56 72 52 62 0.10 10. Coastal Bay St Louis 85 36 60 0.00 0 0.30 Biloxi AFB 82 46 62 0.00 0 2.19 Gulfport 77 44 59 71 -12 0.00 -0.73 0 1.35 Pascagoula 82 37 58 0.00 0 1.24 Poplarville 85 42 59 69 -10 0.00 -0.77 0 0.93 84 62 71 0.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extreme/Average 85 36 60 70 -10 0.00 -0.67 0 1.20 84 62 71 0.19 State Averages 96 20 56 66 -10 0.00 -0.70 0 1.59 84 40 63 0.15 DFN = Departure from Normal. 'E' = Estimated Value.