fl-crop-weather
State
Florida Crop Weather

Week Ending/Released Dates
Week ending March 27, 2005
Released 4:00 P.M. March 28, 2005

Report Code 
FL-CW1305

Weather Summary Report
Significant rainfall over the northern and most of the
central Peninsula as well as the Panhandle region helped elevate soil
moisture supplies during the week of March 21 through 27. Rainfall totaled
from less than a tenth inch at Ft. Lauderdale to nearly six inches in
Pierson. Most southern Peninsula localities rainfall totaled from under a
tenth inch to nearly one inch with some areas still needing more
precipitation. Several areas throughout the northern and central Peninsula
received rains that ranged from over of an inch to almost four inches of
rainfall with a few localities reporting under an inch of precipitation.
Scattered areas of the Panhandle also received substantial showers with Jay
reporting over three inches and Jackson County reporting five inches of
rainfall. Temperatures for the week in the major cities averaged from two
to five degrees above normal. Daytime highs were in the 70s and 80s. Miami
recorded at least one high in the 90s. Nighttime lows were in 50s, 60s and
70s with some localities reporting at least one low in the 40s.

Field Crops Report
In the Panhandle and northern Peninsula, plowing and discing
of land for peanut and cotton planting was very active between showers.
Some field corn germinated well and was reported to be in good condition in
Jackson County. Sugarcane harvesting slowed seasonally with activity
expected to be completed this week. Ample rains over the northern Peninsula
and most of the central Peninsula and Panhandle kept soil moisture supplies
mostly adequate to surplus. Lesser amounts of rain in some central
Peninsula areas and most of the southern Peninsula kept some soils dry and
in need of moisture. Hernando and Washington counties reported some spots
of short soil moisture while several counties along the southeastern coast
continued to report very short to short soil moisture. Statewide, soil
moisture supplies were rated mostly adequate to surplus.

Soil Moisture Chart
                            Topsoil                     Subsoil
     Moisture
     Rating         This      Last     Last      This     Last      Last
                    week     week      year     week      week     Year
                                           Percent
       Very short        1        1         4        1         1        2
            Short        4        4        33        4        10       32
         Adequate       65       79        62       75        74       65
          Surplus       30       16         1       20        15        1

Vegetable Report
Most southern Peninsula vegetable areas escaped the frequent
showers this week with planting and harvesting on schedule. Potato
harvesting around the Hastings area is expected to begin in one to two
weeks. Some potato fields are saturated around the Hastings region with
fields draining nicely and no significant water damage expected. The low
carb and other types of potatoes from Southern Peninsula areas are
currently being marketed. Blueberry harvesting got underway with very light
amounts available. Other vegetables and non citrus marketed during the week
included snap beans, cabbage, celery, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes,
radishes, squash, sweet corn, strawberries and tomatoes. Light supplies of
endive, escarole, eggplant and lettuce were also available.

Livestock Report
In the Panhandle, permanent pasture is greening up
following rain and warmer temperatures. In the north, winter forages are
growing well. Some pasture is drying out from the weekend rains. In the
south, pastures are greening up and cattle condition improved somewhat.
Statewide, the condition of cattle is fair to good.

Livestock Condition Chart
                                 Range                    Cattle
       Condition            This         Last        This         Last
                           week         week         week         week
                                              Percent
 Very poor                        5            5           5            0
 Poor                            10           10          10            5
 Fair                            40           25          35           20
 Good                            45           60          50           75
 Excellent                        0            0           0            0

Fruit Report
Citrus: Warmer weather prevailed during most of the week in all citrus
producing counties with rainfall levels between one tenth of an inch in
Ona, to over three inches in Tavares. Oranges are in full bloom with some
petal drop in the northern, western and southern counties. Bloom
progression is still two to three weeks behind in some of the eastern
counties, primarily due to the cooler temperatures earlier in the month.
Cultural practices include applying herbicides, fertilizing, aerial
spraying and post harvest hedging. Early and mid orange harvesting is
almost complete with increasing amounts of late oranges (Valencias) being
picked mostly for processing. White and colored grapefruit are being picked
for both fresh and processing. Tangelo and Temple harvesting is decreasing,
with Honey tangerine harvest remaining steady, primarily for the fresh
market.

                    Estimated boxes harvested week ended
                      Crop      Mar 13         Mar 20          Mar 27
                                  In thousands of 1-3/5 bushel boxes
        Early & Mid oranges           1,064            360              91
              Late oranges            1,609          2,183           3,523
                 Grapefruit             517            503             418
                   Tangelos              15              5               5
           Honey tangerines             128            115             118
                    Temples              36              8               8

Comments/Contact Information
  To receive this report via e-mail, log onto
http://www.usda.gov/nass/sso-rpts.htm Then click on Subscribe (upper
right part of screen), then select Florida Crop-Weather, enter your name
and your e-mail address, then click on Subscribe. The report will be sent
automatically to your e-mail address each week.