State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 5/01/05 Issue NH-CW3704 Volume 25, Number 1 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) May 2, 2005 - 4 pm -- Agricultural Summary Continuous Rain Saturates Fields For the week ending May 1, 2005, there were 2.9 days available for field work across New England. Topsoil moisture was rated 38% adequate, 62% surplus. Subsoil moisture was rated 2% short, 54% adequate, 44% surplus. Pasture condition was rated as 10% very poor, 19% poor, 24% fair, 43% good, 4% excellent. Rain throughout the week in most of New England limited farmers from working the fields. Heavy rain in Maine, caused flood warnings throughout the week and in Northern Maine, snow and wintry conditions hit on Friday. Temperatures during the week were below average to average in the six states. Major farm activities included: planting sweet corn, early vegetables, and potatoes, spreading manure, fertilizer and lime, plowing and harrowing fields, pruning trees, fertilizing orchards, working in the greenhouses and fencing. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 0 -- 2 Short 0 -- 6 Adequate 38 -- 70 Surplus 62 -- 22 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 0 -- 3 Short 2 -- 4 Adequate 54 -- 81 Surplus 44 -- 17 --------------------------------------------- -- Field Crops Report Excessive rain limited farmers from preparing fields for plantings. However, when weather permitted or field conditions allowed farmers were spreading manure, fertilizer and lime. In parts of New England, farmers plowed, disced and harrowed fields that drained well from all the rain. Farmers were busy removing debris in fields that were flooded along rivers and streams in parts of Maine. Pastures were progressing but still too wet. In Connecticut tobacco seedlings were in beds. Massachusetts potato planting progress was slightly ahead of last year but behind normal. Maine potato growers were cutting seed potatoes and waiting for soils become drier. -- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Orchard producers were pruning trees and spraying fertilizer and fungicides. Apple trees were budding but some concerns of scabbing. Also, reports of some problems with peach trees. Blueberry growers burned fields for pruning, applied fungicides to blueberry fields to protect against mummy berry and monilinia blight. Growers were busy planting strawberries and raspberries. Cranberry vines looked good but some black-headed fireworm larvae detected. VEGETABLES: Growers prepared fields by subsoiling, plowing, discing, and spreading lime. Cool season vegetables were being planted: cabbage, carrots, lettuce, parsnips, peas, potatoes and spinach. Sweet corn was planted under plastic. Also, greenhouse growers were busy planting vegetables. -- Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- Crop 2005 2004 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Barley, ME 0 0 0 -- Oats, ME 0 0 0 -- Potatoes Maine 0 0 0 -- Mass 0 10 30 Good Rhode Isl 20 20 20 Good Silage Corn 0 0 0 -- Sweet Corn 5 10 10 Good Tobacco Shade 0 0 0 -- Broadleaf 0 0 0 -- Dry Hay First Cut 0 0 0 -- ---------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ----------------------------------------------------- Crop Stage Fruit Set Condition ----------------------------------------------------- Apples D/Bud Avg Good Peaches D/EB Avg Fair/Good Pears Bud/EB Avg Good Blueberries Highbush D/Bud Avg Good Wild, ME D/Bud -- Good Cranberries,MA D/Bud -- Good Strawberries D/Bud Avg Good/Excel ----------------------------------------------------- D - Dormant, EB - Early Bud -- Weather Summary For the week ending Sunday, May 1, 2005 ---------------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ---- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 27 67 45 +0 2.26 6.67 NH 18 70 46 +0 0.96 4.67 VT 25 71 48 +1 0.57 2.57 MA 30 72 51 +1 0.69 3.56 RI 36 68 51 +1 1.87 2.10 CT 31 71 51 -1 0.86 2.66 ---------------------------------------------- Copyright 2004: AWIS, Inc. All Rights Reserved. -- Weather Information Table For the Period: Monday April 25, 2005 To: Sunday May 1, 2005 AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 30 65 46 -3 16 +0 0 +0 Allagash 28 65 43 +2 0 +0 0 +0 Augusta_State_A 31 62 47 -2 31 +18 1 +1 Bangor_Intl_Arp 31 67 49 +3 35 +28 0 +0 Barnard 29 63 46 +2 11 +6 0 +0 Bath 31 60 46 -2 13 +7 0 +0 Bethel 28 65 44 -4 10 +3 0 +0 Brassua_Dam 28 60 42 +2 0 +0 0 +0 Brunswick_ME 33 58 46 -2 22 +16 0 +0 Caribou_Municip 32 64 46 +3 14 +9 0 +0 Corinna 30 65 47 +2 21 +14 0 +0 Danforth 32 61 45 +2 6 +2 0 +0 Dover-Foxcroft 27 62 44 +0 6 +1 0 +0 Durham 30 63 45 -5 11 -2 0 +0 East_Hiram 32 67 45 -2 12 +5 0 +0 Eustis 28 59 41 -1 0 +0 0 +0 Frenchville 32 62 44 +3 5 +5 0 +0 Gray 35 63 47 -1 35 +29 4 +4 Greenville_ME 31 58 45 +0 10 +4 0 +0 Guilford 30 63 45 +2 5 +0 0 +0 Hollis 28 66 45 -2 14 +8 0 +0 Houlton 30 65 47 +4 26 +21 0 +0 Kennebunkport 30 62 47 -4 17 +0 1 +1 Livermore_Falls 27 65 45 +0 11 +6 0 +0 Moosehead 30 58 42 +2 1 +1 0 +0 New_Sharon 27 64 45 +1 14 +9 0 +0 Patten 32 63 44 +2 1 -4 0 +0 Portage 32 64 45 +2 4 -1 0 +0 Portland_ME 32 62 47 +0 32 +26 4 +4 Rangeley 28 61 40 -2 0 +0 0 +0 Sebec_Lake 29 67 46 +2 6 +0 0 +0 Vanceboro 32 62 46 +2 7 +4 0 +0 Waterville 30 65 46 -3 12 -4 0 +0 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 27 70 46 -3 25 +7 0 +0 Benton 34 64 46 -1 11 -7 0 +0 Berlin_AG 32 64 45 -2 7 -6 0 +0 Bethlehem 33 66 47 +1 7 -9 0 +0 Concord 33 69 50 +2 49 +31 6 +6 Diamond_Pond 31 63 45 +5 0 -1 0 +0 First_Conn_Lake 29 59 41 +0 3 +2 0 +0 Greenville 36 70 49 +2 61 +44 6 +6 Keene_AP 32 66 50 -1 50 +19 1 +1 Lakeport 36 67 48 +2 31 +18 0 +0 Marlow 31 63 46 -4 14 -8 0 +0 Mount_Washingto 18 39 29 +2 0 +0 0 +0 North_Conway 32 67 46 -2 11 -2 0 +0 Otter_Brook_Lk 32 67 48 -3 25 -6 1 +1 Plymouth 32 66 46 -1 9 +2 0 +0 Rochester 29 67 47 -3 43 +20 6 +6 Weare 36 67 48 -2 27 +5 1 +1 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 31 66 47 +0 10 -6 0 +0 Bethel 33 69 48 +3 13 +0 0 +0 Burlington_Intl 40 68 52 +4 58 +29 9 +9 East_Haven 31 67 46 +3 13 +8 0 +0 Island_Pond 30 63 45 +2 5 -3 0 +0 Montpelier 36 66 49 +3 39 +23 8 +8 Morrisville_AG 32 66 47 +1 3 -10 0 +0 Mount_Mansfield 25 54 38 +1 0 +0 0 +0 Northfield 34 67 48 +4 12 +2 0 +0 Pownal 34 67 48 +2 31 +12 0 +0 Rochester 36 67 48 +3 14 +1 0 +0 Rutland_AG 36 68 49 -2 19 -22 0 -2 Sunderland 33 68 48 -3 24 -19 0 +0 Sutton 32 62 44 +1 6 +1 0 +0 Townshend_Lake 34 68 48 -2 23 -2 1 +1 Union_Vill_Dam 29 71 47 -2 17 -9 0 +0 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 34 68 50 +3 42 +29 2 +2 Boston/Logan_In 41 68 52 +0 80 +37 9 +9 Greenfield 35 69 50 -2 49 +9 6 +6 New_Bedford 33 65 51 -2 62 +16 3 +3 Otis_AFB 43 68 54 +6 93 +78 9 +9 Plymouth 34 66 50 +2 56 +40 3 +3 Walpole 35 70 51 +2 78 +51 4 +4 West_Medway 36 67 50 +0 52 +25 3 +3 Chicopee/Westov 37 72 53 -3 100 +26 11 +9 Worcester 36 66 50 +2 79 +60 8 +8 Worthington 30 68 47 -1 27 +10 1 +1 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 38 68 53 +2 84 +50 6 +6 Woonsocket 36 68 52 +2 80 +57 6 +6 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 31 70 48 -6 45 -20 5 +3 Bridgeport/Siko 42 66 53 +1 102 +54 8 +8 Hartford/Bradle 35 71 53 -1 114 +55 14 +12 Norfolk 33 68 48 +1 48 +34 4 +4 Norwich 37 67 51 -3 61 +11 6 +6 Thomaston_Dam 36 67 50 -2 61 +29 5 +5 Willimantic 33 67 51 +1 83 +54 7 +7 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 4.86 +4.03 6 13.29 +6.49 22 Allagash 2.71 +2.07 6 8.64 +3.74 25 Augusta_State_A 4.65 +3.74 5 11.88 +4.71 20 Bangor_Intl_Arp 3.68 +2.89 5 8.15 +1.49 17 Barnard 5.37 +4.53 6 13.30 +6.59 26 Bath 5.13 +4.22 5 14.52 +6.29 19 Bethel 5.04 +4.20 5 14.75 +7.73 18 Brassua_Dam 3.70 +2.93 6 9.45 +3.57 23 Brunswick_ME 6.67 +5.76 4 15.89 +7.66 17 Caribou_Municip 3.46 +2.84 6 8.70 +3.66 28 Corinna 4.50 +3.66 6 11.74 +4.91 19 Danforth 4.53 +3.70 6 11.12 +4.97 25 Dover-Foxcroft 3.40 +2.56 4 8.97 +2.26 18 Durham 5.59 +4.68 5 16.06 +7.71 20 East_Hiram 4.75 +3.84 5 15.11 +7.31 20 Eustis 2.38 +1.62 5 8.74 +2.66 22 Frenchville 2.26 +1.62 6 6.12 +1.22 26 Gray 5.82 +4.91 4 15.89 +7.89 18 Greenville_ME 4.97 +4.13 6 11.80 +5.09 26 Guilford 4.98 +4.14 5 13.37 +6.66 22 Hollis 4.77 +3.80 5 16.06 +7.93 22 Houlton 3.22 +2.54 6 8.29 +3.26 26 Kennebunkport 4.59 +3.64 5 14.41 +6.42 20 Livermore_Falls 4.23 +3.32 5 12.92 +5.37 20 Moosehead 3.47 +2.70 6 9.59 +3.71 25 New_Sharon 4.52 +3.61 4 14.05 +6.50 19 Patten 5.93 +5.25 7 12.49 +7.46 25 Portage 4.30 +3.68 6 11.00 +5.96 26 Portland_ME 4.79 +3.88 4 13.03 +5.03 21 Rangeley 3.18 +2.55 6 9.58 +4.57 27 Sebec_Lake 5.36 +4.52 6 13.90 +7.19 25 Vanceboro 4.43 +3.59 6 10.93 +3.76 25 Waterville 4.99 +4.16 5 13.63 +6.83 16 NEW_HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 1.79 +1.09 7 10.91 +5.09 25 Benton 1.06 +0.36 6 7.14 +1.86 24 Berlin_AG 2.26 +1.45 5 9.42 +3.02 19 Bethlehem 1.03 +0.33 5 5.85 +0.29 23 Concord 1.62 +0.92 4 9.12 +3.30 23 Diamond_Pond 2.95 +2.18 6 11.64 +5.63 34 First_Conn_Lake 2.43 +1.66 6 8.07 +2.06 28 Greenville 1.43 +0.59 5 10.19 +2.93 19 Keene_AP 2.10 +1.32 4 10.78 +4.50 22 Lakeport 1.41 +0.61 5 9.69 +3.16 22 Marlow 1.07 +0.16 4 9.80 +2.08 23 Mount_Washingto 4.67 +2.87 5 17.62 -0.08 30 North_Conway 3.59 +2.63 6 11.06 +3.01 24 Otter_Brook_Lk 0.96 +0.18 4 9.01 +2.73 22 Plymouth 1.35 +0.51 4 8.53 +1.73 18 Rochester 3.09 +2.11 5 13.21 +4.85 20 Weare 2.49 +1.58 5 12.32 +4.60 23 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 2.03 +0.98 4 9.34 +0.89 21 Bethel 1.56 +0.62 5 8.84 +1.72 22 Burlington_Intl 1.01 +0.32 5 5.12 -0.02 22 East_Haven 1.54 +0.84 6 6.89 +1.07 30 Island_Pond 1.66 +0.96 6 6.70 +1.49 27 Montpelier 1.64 +1.01 5 7.12 +2.21 26 Morrisville_AG 1.74 +0.97 6 7.89 +1.59 27 Mount_Mansfield 2.57 +1.31 6 12.68 +1.71 35 Northfield 1.77 +1.04 4 8.32 +2.77 22 Pownal 1.12 +0.07 5 9.25 +0.80 25 Rochester 1.85 +0.91 5 9.60 +2.48 22 Rutland_AG 0.57 -0.13 6 6.08 +0.96 24 Sunderland 1.48 +0.76 6 9.30 +3.68 28 Sutton 1.72 +1.02 6 8.03 +2.21 32 Townshend_Lake 1.84 +1.07 5 8.90 +2.29 24 Union_Vill_Dam 1.23 +0.49 5 8.02 +2.29 24 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 1.66 +0.84 6 11.47 +4.67 26 Boston/Logan_In 0.80 -0.03 4 6.74 -0.79 22 Greenfield 1.79 +0.88 5 10.08 +2.98 22 New_Bedford 2.30 +1.39 6 10.49 +1.95 26 Otis_AFB 2.99 +2.08 5 11.23 +3.56 25 Plymouth 2.41 +1.43 5 10.84 +2.36 23 Walpole 1.36 +0.43 4 9.96 +1.80 21 West_Medway 1.81 +0.88 5 10.27 +2.11 24 Chicopee/Westov 1.19 +0.28 5 8.71 +1.09 25 Worcester 1.70 +0.77 5 10.15 +2.02 23 Worthington 1.50 +0.48 6 11.67 +4.19 28 RHODE_ISLAND Providence 1.95 +1.04 6 9.76 +1.34 23 Woonsocket 1.96 +0.99 6 12.65 +4.45 24 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.17 +0.26 5 10.80 +3.07 26 Bridgeport/Siko 1.35 +0.44 6 7.55 -0.19 24 Hartford/Bradle 1.26 +0.35 5 8.69 +0.96 24 Norfolk 1.11 +0.06 5 9.90 +1.00 26 Norwich 2.29 +1.18 5 10.86 +1.56 23 Thomaston_Dam 0.91 -0.14 6 9.39 +0.98 24 Willimantic 1.14 +0.16 5 9.16 +0.93 26 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: It has been a wet week. Most hayland has been fertilized. Planting has not yet started. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Spreading manure and fertilizer. Some plowing but many fields have wet spots or are under water. Frost in outlying areas this morning. Early sweet corn emerged under row cover. Plants at green houses slow to bloom for Mothers Day. Tobacco seedlings in beds and greenhouses doing okay. Frank Himmelstein (Ext), New London: Rainfall during the week slowed field preparation and warming of the soils. Some discing of drier fields occurred. Fields disced prior to rains this week went from dry to very saturated with water in wet areas. Jude Boucher (Ext), Tolland: There were more rainy days than fair weather days this past week, with scattered hail on Thursday evening. Field conditions were wet, allowing for a couple of days of field work on well drained soils only. Lorriane Los, (Univ of C)t: Apple scab is of primary concern on apples, with at least three apple scab infections so far. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Cold, and heavy showers. Spreading manure, harrowing fields, finishing pruning, and emerald green hay. Karen Vozarik (FSA), New Haven: Excessive moisture has made it difficult to work in fields. Some producers reporting problems with peach trees. Most fields have already been tilled and some planted. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Spring started out well then became too hot and dry too early. Now April rains are keeping things cold and wet. Farmers are doing what field work they can between rains but progress is slow. Spreading manure is the primary task although some sweet corn went in under row covers already. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Spring is slow getting to Northern Aroostook. Snowed 4-6 inches on April 29. Growers hauling seed home and getting planting equipment ready. Will take several days for ground to be ready for tillage and planting. Dee Potter (Ext) Aroostook : There has been no field activity yet in the northern part of the County. Received eight to ten inches of wet heavy snow late last week. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Wet snow, cut seed potatoes and cold temperatures. Steve London, Southern Aroostook: Potatoes and small grains: Nothing happening yet. Gray Gleason (Ext) Penobscot: Rain nearly every day soil extremely wet. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Bottom lands were flooded to some extent. All fields were extremely wet. Some fencing is being done. The report from one fertilizer dealer in regard to availability of nitrogen is that "there is all kinds, but is expensive." Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: No field operations due to the high amount of rain received in the last week. Some fields did experience flooding. Water levels are now dropping, but more rain is expected next week. Kathy Hopkins (Ext),Somerset: Too much rain and standing water for field work. Janet King (FSA), Somerset: Its been a cold and wet spring for the farmers and getting ready for planting. Donald Burke (FSA), Waldo: Few outdoor farming activities were conducted during the week, after receiving over six inches of rain. Fungicide application on blueberry fields for Monilinia blight has been on going. Vegetable and flower seedlings are growing in greenhouses. Some burning of blueberry fields remains to be done. A few early crops have been planted outdoors under floating row covers. Pastures are green but wet. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Wet weather has held up outdoor farming activities. Fungicide application on blueberry fields for Monilinia blight, will be important this year. Dr. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild blueberries: Fields being burned for pruning and pre-emergence herbicides being applied. Fungicides being sprayed in mid-coast fields to protect against mummy berry disease infection. Wet weather has been conducive to infection. Sandy Truslow (FSA), Cumberland/York: Farmers are getting anxious, but fields need to dry out before planting can start. Only excessively drained fields can be driven on at this point. Orchardists can now see how many trees were killed from the winter damage of 2004. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Field work is at a stand still because of excessive surface moisture. Fields adjacent to rivers and streams have flooded three times. There is a lot of debris to clean up. Grass should take off with a little sunshine. Marcia Hall (FSA), Oxford: Oxford County has received several inches of rain in the last week. The water levels in the rivers and streams are above normal. Hayland and pastures are looking good but in need of warm and sunny days. Guy Piper (FSA), Kennebec: Everything is water logged. Some fields are mostly underwater. Walk on soil is like walking on sponges. Too wet to even plow, harrow or anything right now. Streams are starting to recede a little bit, most were overflowing with the amount of rain over the past weekend. Even too wet to spread manure. May dry out starting today, but too wet to get on the land right now. May have one or two who have tried it, but for the most part it is too wet. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Uncovering strawberries, spreading manure and fertilizer on mostly corn fields. Starting to plow. Planted sweet corn under plastic. Vegetable farmers are hard at work with greenhouse produce. Some fence repairing from winter damage. Corn fields are wet in areas, (but no cracks in ground). The county has had nearly one inch of rain on top of last week two and a quarter. This week's weather has been cool and damp in the low 30 degrees. Breeze nearly everyday. Grass getting green. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Vines look very good coming out of the winter, much better than 2004 when there was severe windburn damage. Some beds have isolated spots of leaf drop, primarily where the snow cover lasted the longest. Buds look good at this point. Some early sweep netting has detected some black-headed fireworm larvae. The biggest question is whether the extremely high populations of winter moth larvae will feed on cranberry buds, as cranberries are one of this pest's favorite hosts. Growers are applying pre-emergent herbicides, cleaning out ditches, finishing renovations to beds prior to planting, sweeping for insects, and applying fungicides in root rot areas. Jason Otto (FSA), Bristol: With some early heavy rains and weekly showers some fields are very wet. Plowing and harrowing has started. Strawberry plants are being planted. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Cool and wet conditions over the weekend slowed progress made earlier in the week. Field conditions are somewhat wet but manageable. Farm activities include manure and fertilizer spreading, tillage and early planting. Commercial fertilizer supplies are readily available at this time although unit prices have increased dramatically. Organic fertilizer prices are also higher due to increases in trucking costs. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: Field conditions are very wet due to recent rains. Dairy farms are spreading manure, lime, repairing fences and seeding new hay fields. Vegetable growers are subsoiling, plowing and spreading lime. They are also planting peas, sweet corn, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, spinach, parsnips and strawberry plants. Sweet corn is up under plastic 5-6 inches. Spinach and fiddleheads are being harvested. Orchardists are applying fertilizer and a protective fungicide spray. Gary Guida, Worcester: Soil too wet to try to plow. Greenhouse and farm stand operations getting busy for Mother's Day. Retail sales of perennials good when weather is. Hello everyone, hope you had a great winter. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Amy Ouellette (Ext), Belknap: Cool, cloudy, wet week. Received 1.2 inches of rain locally. Only driest fields can be worked. Some corn planted under Remay and plastic. Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: Snowy winter, rainy April, water levels high, some rivers at flood stage. Pastures greening and growing well, fertilizer and lime applications getting done as conditions permit. Fruit trees at green tip stage, sprays for Scab and Mummyberry being applied. Looks like everything came through the winter well. Let's hope for a dryer spring than last year. Plant sales would be helped by a sunny weekend. Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Seems to be a cooler than normal spring so far, with some much-needed rain over the past week. Dairy farms spreading manure and doing some tillage, but the big push to plant corn has yet to begin. Some are seeing a fair amount of winterkill in alfalfa. Vegetable growers finishing tillage and planting cool-season crops. Fruit trees seem to have made it through the winter in great shape, and growers have started spraying. Greenhouses are open for business and are full of colorful bedding plants, hanging baskets, etc. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: A rainy week slows down many field preparation activities, and cornfields too wet to work. Some had spread manure, since they were ready for planting the week before. Fields beginning to green up. High tunnel greenhouse operation nurseries starting up. Getting ready for Mother's Day openings. Temperatures remain cold, dropping to below freezing at night. Frost yet most nights. Not a pest at this point but interesting blister beetle collected here in April eyed by UNH lab. Meloe niger, an uncommon species, earlier and farthest north location found so far. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Growth is very slow due to cool wet weather. Activities include spreading manure and tillage. Some winter kill of alfalfa. Ground is very wet with all the rain we had in April. Steve Schmidt (FSA), Grafton: Two nice days to plant. Subsoil and topsoil were dry, but have become more adequate. Two inches of rain since 20th. No rain from April 1st to 20th. Manure spread, harrowed and plowed. Pastures are starting to green. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Field Crops: Liming and fertilizing hayfields; spreading manure, plowing, discing , fertilizing and getting ready to plant corn. Fixing fences in pasture. Also, getting ready to make new pasture and hayfields seedings. Vegetables: Transplanting tomatoes into high tunnels. Early season vegetable's peas, lettuce and greens are being planted, along with early sweet corn. Liming, fertilizing, plowing, discing and getting ready to plant fields. Cherries are in full bloom, plums are at white bud stage and peaches are at advanced pink stage to bloom. Apples are in pre-pink stage to pink stage. Blueberries at 0.25 green stage to early pink bud stage. Pruning continues in young apple and pear trees, along with pruning blueberry bushes and raspberry patches. Orchardists are chopping brush in orchard or pushing prunings out of the orchards. Fertilizing orchards. Protective fungicide sprays applied on fruit trees between rain showers. Planting fruit trees, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Sadie Puglisi (Ext), Merrimack: Some cool season vegetable crops being planted. Manure is spread. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Preparing, liming, fertilizing vegetable fields. Planting early vegetables will start very soon once the fields become drier. Cool days and nights. Livestock grazing on pastures. Garden Centers are getting busy. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Plenty of rain recently. Could use some dry days to get field activities and planting done. Silage corn planted on dryer fields so far. Many fields being fertilized with manure and harrowed. Cold mornings hopefully will not hurt budding stage on many fruit trees and bushes. Early vegetables have been planted. Orchards busy with pruning and fertilizing. Hay fields have greened up nicely and growing fast with all this rain and sun in between. Geoffrey Njue (Ext), Strafford: A very wet week. Good growing conditions for grass. Pastures and hayfields growing well. It was a difficult week for working the fields. Greenhouses and nursery sales doing well. Gardeners buying plants for early spring gardening. Vegetable growers planting tomato plants in greenhouses and hoop houses. VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Had a nice jumpstart to spring with warm temperatures and sunshine up until last week when things turned wet and cold. Most of the well drained cropland has been harrowed with some manure spreading on many farms. Have not seen any livestock on pasture yet. Terence Bradshaw, UVM: Cool and wet. Apples trees and buds in good condition with excellent potential for apple scab development. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: Drier conditions earlier in April allowed farmers to get a jump on field work, however, the recent rainy weather has slowed progress. Farmers are spreading their stored manure on cropland and chiseling the drier fields. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: New seeding alfalfa is under way with some farmers losing about 30% from winter kill. Fertilizer being spread on pastures and hay fields. Fences are in average repair from winter damage. Some field corn has been planted along with sweet corn. Heavy frost on this second day of May causing some problem with the veggie growers. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Kind of a wet, cool week. Grass beginning to get green. Mid April gave us very dry warm conditions; Many farmers were able to spread a good share of their manure and get some corn ground ready. Our winter had more snow after Christmas and temperatures did not get down to 25 below. Snow melted gradually. Seems like plenty of water in the soil now. Conditions are ready for some real growing the next time we have sun and warmth. Heather Darby (Ext), Franklin: Plentiful rain has recharged soil moisture. Very little field work was completed last week due to rain. Some manure spreading and field preparation were done in earlier weeks. 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, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statistician: Travis Averill Stat Assistant: Lynne Arsenault Deputy Director: Gearld Tillman 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 ***********************