NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER

Week ending date 10/10/04

Issue                                        
NH-CW3704
Volume 24, Number 25
(issued weekly on the Internet, May - October)
October 10, 2004 - 4 pm

-- Agricultural Summary

First Killing Frost
For the week ending October 10, 2004, there were 6.8 days
available for field work across New England.  Topsoil
moisture was rated 10 percent short, 83 percent adequate,
7 percent surplus.  Subsoil moisture was rated 10 percent
short, 84 percent adequate, 6 percent surplus.  Pasture
condition was rated 1 percent very poor, 15 percent poor,
23 percent  fair, 50 percent good, 11 percent excellent. A
frigid air mass hit the six-State region on Tuesday night
bringing an end to the growing season in most locations.
Despite the cooler evening temperatures, daytime
conditions were sunny and dry allowing operators a chance
to finish up with harvest activities.    Major farm
activities included: applying rye cover on harvested
fields; spreading manure; applying lime; chopping corn;
making dry hay; harvesting apples, pears, cranberries,
potatoes, finished harvest of small grains and sweet corn.

 SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND
---------------------------------------------
                        -- Percent --
Soil Rating    This Week  Last Week  Last Year
---------------------------------------------
Topsoil Moisture
   Very Short      0          0          0
   Short          10          5          2
   Adequate       83         83         73
   Surplus         7         12         25
Subsoil Moisture
   Very Short      0          0          0
   Short          10          6          3
   Adequate       84         84         90
   Surplus         6         10          7
---------------------------------------------

-- Field Crops Report

For the week ending October 10, 2004, there were 6.8 days
available for field work across New England.  Topsoil
moisture was rated 10 percent short, 83 percent adequate,
7 percent surplus.  Subsoil moisture was rated 10 percent
short, 84 percent adequate, 6 percent surplus.  Pasture
condition was rated 1 percent very poor, 15 percent poor,
23 percent  fair, 50 percent good, 11 percent excellent. A
frigid air mass hit the six-State region on Tuesday night
bringing an end to the growing season in most locations.
Despite the cooler evening temperatures, daytime
conditions were sunny and dry allowing operators a chance
to finish up with harvest activities.    Major farm
activities included: applying rye cover on harvested
fields; spreading manure; applying lime; chopping corn;
making dry hay; harvesting apples, pears, cranberries,
potatoes, finished harvest of small grains and sweet corn.

-- Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report

FRUIT: It was a great weekend at orchards for apple
picking. Harvest of tree fruits continued to make gains.
Apple growers were harvesting late maturing varieties like
Red Delicious and Empire. Harvest of fall raspberries
continued in some locations and only 15 percent of the
pear crop remained to be picked. Cranberry harvest reached
the half way point and producers still anticipate an
excellent crop.

VEGETABLES: Frost during the week put an end to warm
season vegetables. However, there are plenty of cool
season vegetables remaining to be harvest such as
broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, chard, lettuce and
kale. Pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks still made a strong
showing at markets and farm stands. Sweet corn harvest is
complete throughout the region.
                                             
          
-- Crop Progress Tables

FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND
----------------------------------------------------
   Crop      2004 2003  5-yr Avg  Condition                
----------------------------------------------------
          -- Percent Harvested --                    
Barley, ME   100   100     99     Excellent    
Oats, ME     100    99     99     Excellent
Potatoes:     
  Maine       95    90     90     Excel/Good   
  Mass        85    70     80       Good     
Silage Corn   80    80     80     Good/Excel   
Sweet Corn   100    99     99     Good/Excel   
Dry Hay:       
  Second Cut  99    99     99     Good/Excel              
  Third Cut   85    85     85     Good/Excel     
-----------------------------------------------------

FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND
-----------------------------------------------------
               -- Percent Harvested --       
  Crop           2004    2003  5-yr Avg     Condition
-----------------------------------------------------
Apples            85      85      80        Good/Excel  
Pears             85      75      75        Good/Fair  
Cranberries,MA    50      65      50        Good/Excel   
-----------------------------------------------------
        
-- Weather Summary

For the week ending Sunday, October 10, 2004
----------------------------------------------
       AIR TEMPERATURES   PRECIPITATION
STATE   LO  HI AVG DFN      LO      HI
----   --- --- --- ---    ----    ----
ME      21  77  49  +1    0.00    0.10
NH      14  80  50  +1    0.00    0.16
VT      20  79  50  +1    0.00    0.32
MA      26  78  54  +0    0.00    0.10
RI      31  76  57  +1    0.00    0.00
CT      28  77  55  +1    0.00    0.02
---------------------------------------------- 
Copyright 2004:  AWIS, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

-- Weather Information Table 

For the Period:     Monday October 4, 2004 
            To:     Sunday October 10, 2004 
 
                      AIR           CUM SINCE MAR 1   
                  TEMPERATURE    GROWING DEGREE DAYS  
                  -----------     BASE-50F  BASE-60F  
STATION          LO  HI AVG DFN   TOT  DFN  TOT  DFN  
-------          --  --  --  --   --- ----  --- ----  
MAINE
Albion           25  70  48  -4  1784 -368  567 -223  
Allagash         22  76  47  +3  1184 -159  271  -52  
Augusta_State_A  29  72  52  +1  2074   +1  728  -18  
Bangor_Intl_Arp  26  72  52  +2  1978  +92  693  +71  
Barnard          24  75  49  +2  1616  +23  460   +8  
Bath             26  69  50  -3  1819 -129  580  -80  
Bethel           25  74  50  -1  1863  +10  576  -20  
Brassua_Dam      26  75  48  +2  1367  +50  313   +3  
Brunswick_ME     29  66  51  -2  2055 +107  705  +45  
Caribou_Municip  27  75  50  +5  1520  +72  446  +68  
Corinna          26  75  50  +2  1834  +78  601  +61  
Danforth         25  73  49  +2  1510 -184  394 -131  
Dover-Foxcroft   25  72  49  +3  1516  -77  419  -33  
Durham           27  72  49  -4  1790 -426  554 -287  
East_Hiram       25  73  48  -2  1747  -97  518  -72  
Eustis           23  74  45  -1  1239  -38  262  -21  
Frenchville      28  75  49  +5  1405  +62  382  +59  
Gray             32  72  53  +3  2154 +234  774 +137  
Greenville_ME    28  73  50  +3  1957 +350  692 +229  
Guilford         21  70  44  -4  1267 -326  288 -164  
Hollis           24  75  49  -2  1864 +107  602  +70  
Houlton          24  74  50  +4  1567  +54  490  +66  
Kennebunkport    28  69  48  -7  1694 -683  483 -458  
Livermore_Falls  22  77  49  +2  1927 +366  665 +236  
Moosehead        23  77  46  +0  1347  +30  304   -6  
New_Sharon       23  73  48  +1  1767 +206  529 +100  
Patten           23  73  47  +1  1444  -69  364  -60  
Portage          28  75  49  +4  1461  +13  407  +29  
Portland_ME      29  69  52  +2  2062 +142  733  +96  
Rangeley         24  74  47  +2  1385 +141  312  +48  
Sebec_Lake       24  74  49  +2  1620  +13  467   +4  
Vanceboro        25  72  49  +2  1535 -103  418  -60  
Waterville       28  73  51  -2  1937 -215  654 -136  
 
NEW_HAMPSHIRE
Barnstead        28  72  49  -3  1931 -140  657  -82  
Benton           25  76  49  +0  1769  +76  523  +47  
Berlin_AG        26  76  49  +1  1782  +90  543  +46  
Bethlehem        25  77  49  +1  1602  -84  454  -22  
Concord          27  77  53  +4  2458 +387  993 +254  
Diamond_Pond     24  74  48  +4  1149  +31  201   -4  
First_Conn_Lake  24  71  48  +4  1212  +94  241  +36  
Greenville       30  80  55  +4  2445 +567  966 +381  
Keene_AP         27  77  52  +0  2310  -28  862  -54  
Lakeport         32  76  54  +5  2337 +417  901 +256  
Marlow           24  74  47  -5  1584 -528  417 -330  
Mount_Washingto  14  72  37  +5   159  +98    2   +2  
North_Conway     26  75  49  +0  2056 +152  729  +96  
Otter_Brook_Lk   28  75  51  -3  2157 -181  755 -161  
Plymouth         24  77  49  +2  1803 +140  533  +56  
Rochester        28  75  51  -2  2176  -66  807  -45  
Weare            29  73  51  -2  2109   -3  732  -15  
 
VERMONT
Ball_Mt_Lake     25  75  49  -2  1848  +41  545   -6  
Bethel           24  76  49  -1  1947 +231  647 +143  
Burlington_Intl  32  76  54  +5  2410 +208  977 +136  
East_Haven       21  77  48  +3  1675 +282  496 +159  
Island_Pond      26  73  49  +3  1641 +253  460 +135  
Montpelier       26  76  51  +3  1993 +269  674 +162  
Morrisville_AG   26  77  49  +2  1729  +12  546  +30  
Mount_Mansfield  20  64  46  +5   800  +84   75   +9  
Northfield       25  79  50  +3  1864 +303  592 +170  
Pownal           30  75  52  +3  2084 +271  667 +115  
Rochester        26  78  51  +2  1974 +258  634 +130  
Rutland_AG       28  75  49  -4  2053 -259  694 -206  
Sunderland       27  76  49  -2  1906 -302  580 -241  
Sutton           25  72  48  +3  1604 +211  429  +92  
Townshend_Lake   29  75  51  +0  2119  -68  710 -113  
Union_Vill_Dam   24  75  49  -2  2035 -164  717 -112  
 
MASSACHUSETTS
Ashburnham       32  75  53  +4  2291 +419  850 +252  
Boston/Logan_In  40  74  58  +1  2842  +76 1293  +68  
Greenfield       31  75  53  -2  2491  -46  989  -62  
New_Bedford      30  71  54  -5  2536 -282 1037 -228  
Otis_AFB         32  72  54  -1  2463 +199 1018 +153  
Plymouth         31  72  55  +0  2460 +150 1015 +112  
Walpole          31  75  55  +3  2619 +318 1104 +210  
West_Medway      29  77  54  +2  2626 +325 1103 +209  
Chicopee/Westov  28  75  55  -3  2768 -158 1209 -136  
Worcester        33  73  55  +3  2499 +348  999 +215  
Worthington      27  76  51  -1  2007 +143  638  +63  
 
RHODE_ISLAND
Providence       35  72  56  +1  2874 +243 1294 +162  
Woonsocket       31  76  55  +3  2595 +332 1083 +237  
 
CONNECTICUT
Bakersville      29  71  51  -5  2179 -609  749 -501  
Bridgeport/Siko  41  74  61  +3  3154 +292 1520 +198  
Hartford/Bradle  31  76  56  +2  2963 +185 1371 +129  
Norfolk          31  71  51  +2  2163 +310  745 +172  
Norwich          33  75  54  -2  2811 +192 1239 +131  
Thomaston_Dam    28  73  53  -1  2760 +497 1192 +346  
Willimantic      31  73  54  +1  2679 +369 1128 +252  
 
                      1-WEEK PRECIP     4-WEEK CUM PRECIP
                      -------------     -----------------
                    TOTAL               TOTAL
STATION            INCHES    DFN DAYS  INCHES    DFN DAYS
-------             -----   ----  ---   -----   ----  ---
MAINE
Albion               0.00  -0.84    0    1.39  -1.71    4
Allagash             0.00  -0.76    0    0.00  -3.20    0
Augusta_State_A      0.01  -0.80    1    1.35  -1.71    7
Bangor_Intl_Arp      0.00  -0.70    0    1.13  -1.91    4
Barnard              0.00  -0.83    0    0.66  -2.86    6
Bath                 0.00  -0.77    0    1.78  -1.10    5
Bethel               0.00  -0.81    0    1.21  -1.91    4
Brassua_Dam          0.00  -0.76    0    0.11  -3.12    2
Brunswick_ME         0.00  -0.77    0    1.53  -1.35    4
Caribou_Municip      0.00  -0.70    0    0.09  -2.89    4
Corinna              0.10  -0.67    1    1.15  -2.08    5
Danforth             0.00  -0.74    0    0.54  -2.61    4
Dover-Foxcroft       0.00  -0.83    0    0.40  -3.12    3
Durham               0.00  -0.78    0    1.73  -1.22    5
East_Hiram           0.00  -0.84    0    1.89  -1.15    6
Eustis               0.04  -0.61    1    0.39  -2.36    5
Frenchville          0.02  -0.74    1    0.26  -2.94    6
Gray                 0.00  -0.79    0    1.84  -1.18    5
Greenville_ME        0.00  -0.83    0    0.40  -3.12    4
Guilford             0.00  -0.83    0    1.00  -2.52    6
Hollis               0.00  -0.83    0    2.20  -0.94    5
Houlton              0.01  -0.69    1    0.16  -2.93    4
Kennebunkport        0.00  -0.80    0    2.59  -0.45    6
Livermore_Falls      0.00  -0.84    0    1.21  -2.05    4
Moosehead            0.00  -0.76    0    0.16  -3.07    3
New_Sharon           0.00  -0.84    0    1.15  -2.11    4
Patten               0.01  -0.69    1    0.18  -2.91    8
Portage              0.00  -0.70    0    0.14  -2.84    4
Portland_ME          0.00  -0.79    0    2.17  -0.85    5
Rangeley             0.00  -0.69    0    0.60  -2.12    5
Sebec_Lake           0.00  -0.83    0    0.65  -2.87    5
Vanceboro            0.00  -0.77    0    0.55  -2.85    4
Waterville           0.04  -0.80    1    2.17  -0.93    6
 
NEW_HAMPSHIRE
Barnstead            0.00  -0.70    0    3.11  +0.49    7
Benton               0.05  -0.65    1    1.23  -1.58    4
Berlin_AG            0.00  -0.77    0    1.31  -1.67    5
Bethlehem            0.05  -0.65    1    1.97  -0.83    6
Concord              0.00  -0.70    0    4.19  +1.57    6
Diamond_Pond         0.06  -0.78    1    0.65  -2.81    5
First_Conn_Lake      0.16  -0.68    1    1.15  -2.31    7
Greenville           0.00  -0.77    0    4.77  +1.88    7
Keene_AP             0.00  -0.70    0    3.31  +0.59    6
Lakeport             0.00  -0.74    0    2.47  -0.31    5
Marlow               0.00  -0.79    0    3.79  +0.69    6
Mount_Washingto      0.00  -1.47    0    2.30  -4.03    5
North_Conway         0.00  -0.86    0    1.37  -1.88    5
Otter_Brook_Lk       0.00  -0.70    0    4.93  +2.21    5
Plymouth             0.00  -0.77    0    0.99  -1.94    5
Rochester            0.00  -0.88    0    3.16  -0.04    5
Weare                0.00  -0.79    0    3.62  +0.52    7
 
VERMONT
Ball_Mt_Lake         0.01  -0.81    1    4.09  +0.70   10
Bethel               0.00  -0.84    0    1.24  -2.14    4
Burlington_Intl      0.06  -0.57    1    0.77  -2.01    4
East_Haven           0.00  -0.74    0    0.95  -2.00    5
Island_Pond          0.07  -0.63    2    0.46  -2.40    7
Montpelier           0.00  -0.63    0    0.92  -1.60    6
Morrisville_AG       0.02  -0.69    1    0.49  -2.51    7
Mount_Mansfield      0.32  -0.87    2    1.04  -4.15    7
Northfield           0.10  -0.60    1    1.07  -1.78    3
Pownal               0.00  -0.82    0    5.33  +1.94    8
Rochester            0.10  -0.74    1    1.25  -2.13    3
Rutland_AG           0.04  -0.63    1    1.71  -1.27    5
Sunderland           0.01  -0.65    1    3.59  +0.66    7
Sutton               0.06  -0.68    1    0.57  -2.38    4
Townshend_Lake       0.00  -0.70    0    4.51  +1.63    7
Union_Vill_Dam       0.00  -0.70    0    1.92  -1.08    5
 
MASSACHUSETTS
Ashburnham           0.00  -0.70    0    5.84  +3.12    9
Boston/Logan_In      0.00  -0.70    0    5.63  +2.83    7
Greenfield           0.01  -0.76    1    5.53  +2.45    9
New_Bedford          0.01  -0.74    1    5.70  +2.73   11
Otis_AFB             0.00  -0.84    0    6.22  +2.96    8
Plymouth             0.02  -0.85    2    5.90  +2.23   12
Walpole              0.00  -0.84    0    5.87  +2.51    9
West_Medway          0.00  -0.84    0    7.65  +4.29    5
Chicopee/Westov      0.00  -0.77    0    4.03  +0.85    6
Worcester            0.00  -0.98    0    5.44  +1.61    8
Worthington          0.00  -0.78    0    7.00  +3.71    8
 
RHODE_ISLAND
Providence           0.00  -0.77    0    6.31  +3.18   11
Woonsocket           0.00  -0.88    0    5.36  +1.90   10
 
CONNECTICUT
Bakersville          0.00  -0.79    0    6.70  +3.33    8
Bridgeport/Siko      0.00  -0.65    0    5.87  +3.11    9
Hartford/Bradle      0.00  -0.79    0    6.11  +2.74    9
Norfolk              0.00  -0.84    0    6.94  +3.30    7
Norwich              0.00  -0.88    0    7.83  +4.28    8
Thomaston_Dam        0.00  -0.85    0    5.24  +1.66    8
Willimantic          0.00  -0.91    0    5.36  +1.70   10
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: The
first heavy frost of the season ended vegetable production
this week. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Killing
frost on Wednesday everywhere but right along the CT
river, put an end to the growing season. Still harvesting
cabbage and sweet corn in small amounts. Many dairy
farmers on the home stretch for corn silage harvest. Grain
corn drying down nicely.  Pumpkins moving well, but many
left in fields with disease problems. Boxing up butternut
squash for market. Orchards saw heavy sales over the
holiday weekend. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: Major frost
hit most parts of the county, stopped growing of vine
crops and vegetables. Pumpkins good to excellent where
sprayed to avoid stuff blown in on tropical storms. Apples
good, great weekend for pick your own, big events in
Orchards over Columbus Day weekend. End of year tallies in
blueberries, peaches, grapes, raspberries not good for
some producers. Field corn harvest continues. Colors
changing as Fall mornings remind us to get out the wool
sweaters. Karen Vozarik (FSA), New Haven: First frost
received this week. Temperatures during days and nights
have turned cooler. Producers getting silage in while
weather is dry. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative:
Finishing up corn silage harvest and pumpkin hay rides
seem to be the major activities left this crop season. 

MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes and
small grains: Harvest just about finished. What a great
fall for harvesting, no time lost due to rain. Growers
busy picking rocks, and fall tillage. Spreading lime and
getting some soil samples. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central
Aroostook: Harvesting of potatoes is nearly completed 98
percent. The farmers had a very good Fall for getting the
crop harvested. All grains are harvested. Albert Dow
(NRCS), Piscataquis: Warm sunny weather allowed for a lot
of harvesting of potatoes, silage corn and vegetables.
Temperature dropped to 24 degrees one morning. Rick
Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Hard frost brought many crops to
their knees. Corn is well frosted. Many pastures showing
lots of rust fungus. Nice weather has helped get a lot of
corn harvested and in the silo. Trudy Soucy (FSA),
Knox/Lincoln: Great weather to finish up harvest of many
crops. We had a hard frost Tuesday October 5th  which ended
the growing season. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin:
Silage corn growers are getting in the last of the
harvest. What great weather they have had. We've seen some
hay down ready to bale. Everyone is trying to get that
last cut. Apple producers are busy picking or shepherding
the "pick your own" folks through the orchards. Market
garden owners are showing off the pumpkins and winter
squash. They have the corn stalks ready for those people
who want to decorate for the Fall season. We're almost to
the finish line for another harvest season. Sandy Truslow
(FSA), Cumberland/York: The first widespread frost hit the
area on Oct 6th. The weather has been sunny and dry. Great
for harvesting silage corn and pumpkins. Good yields on
silage corn have been reported. Gary Raymond (FSA),
Franklin: Corn silage harvest was above normal thanks to a
fine finish on the weather front. Grain corn & soybeans
left to go. Make sure that the firewood is done. I have a
hornets nest about 30 feet off the ground in a pine tree
beside my house and you know what that means! Laura Rand
(FSA), Oxford: Weather was great this week. Silage corn is
being harvested with a vengeance, reports are being
received of great tonnage! Squash, pumpkins, and potatoes
are still being harvested. Farm stands are beautiful this
time of year with colorful arrays of pumpkins, corn
stalks, and mums. 

MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Farmers
are playing in mud in the fields, sometimes with other
tractors pulling chopper and/or wagons. Some very good
yields. Other crops continue doing good. Paul Russell
(FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Cranberry growers are in
the middle of an excellent harvest many growers harvesting
their best crop in years. Harvest will be more than 50%
complete this week as we continue to have excellent
weather. First frost hit on Monday which finished many
vegetable crops, and growers are completing harvest of
winter squash and pumpkins. Excellent third cutting of
hay, however heavy dew has made it difficult to make.
Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Cranberry
harvest continues with good reports still coming from the
handlers. Quality and color are excellent; size is average
to above average. Jay Otto (FSA), Bristol: Great week for
field work. Corn chopping in full swing. Very good yields
across the county with a few exceptions of some corn blown
over from past storms. Weekend weather was great for farm
stands. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Clear and dry weather
has helped the fall harvest move at a rapid pace. Potato
growers have reported that harvest conditions are near
perfect and the crop has sized well. Dairy farmers are
busy trying to finish with silage and harvest one more cut
of hay. Vegetable farmers are in the home stretch with
their harvest except for late fall crops. All farms are
busy putting the finishing touches on their fall tillage
work. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: A
beautiful fall week with many sunny and warm days.
Harvesting an excellent crop of potatoes, apples, and corn
silage. Farmers are applying a cover crop to their
harvested fields, picking up irrigation pipe, and removing
plastic mulch off their harvested fields. Farm stands and
u-pick apples had an excellent weekend. Gary Guida,
Worcester: Just a beautiful weekend for fall sales!
Killing frost ended growing season and it was a good one!
Mums all sold, pumpkins just about gone. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE - Tina Savage (Ext), Carroll: The frost is
definitely on the pumpkins, foliage at full peak and just
past peak. Two to three frosts last week depending on
location. Field corn waiting for maturity frosted. The
last fair is over, all we have to do now is wait for snow!
Carl Majewski (Ext), Cheshire: Plenty of sun all week, but
a couple cool days and a couple nights of killing frosts.
Another week of corn chopping, and now most area producers
are either done or will finish up this week. Some places
spreading rye on chopped fields. A few farms looking to
take a fourth cutting on grass and alfalfa for haylage.
Farm stands have closed for the year. Great weather for
apple picking. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Field corn harvest
now going at full speed, with what looks like a good crop
coming in thanks to a warm September. Hard freeze, down
into the low teens to twenties throughout the county, puts
an end to the vegetable season with even high tunnels
tomatoes killed. A little late hay still being cut, tedded
as the week remains dry. Mums, pumpkins, winter squash,
late greens still available for leaf peepers enjoying
great Fall colors this year. Farmers markets and stands
ending their season. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn silage
harvest continues. Finishing up third cut and some fourth
cut continuing. Soil moisture is good and not causing
problems with access to wetter fields. Steve Schmidt
(FSA), Grafton: Corn harvest is nearly complete. In
general, the corn looks very good this year. The prolonged
period without frost allowed the corn to mature well and
the ears dried down. We had our first frost which finished
the corn growth for this year. Some final cut haylage is
going in. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough:
Pick-your-own apple operations had nice weekend. Apple
harvest is in full swing with most growers concentrating
on strip picking McIntosh, Macoun, and Cortland.
Harvesting late maturing varieties like Red Delicious,
Empire, etc. Pear harvest almost completed. Vegetables:
Killing frost occurred Tuesday night - Wednesday morning
brought to end the warm season vegetable season.
Harvesting cool season crops like cabbage, kale, Brussel
sprouts, lettuce, and finishing up winter squash and
pumpkins. Farmers kept busy working on harvested fields by
pulling plastic mulch & tomato stakes, disking fields,
cleaning up fields, and planting cover crops. Field Crops:
Field corn harvest in full swing and the end is in sight.
Cover crops were being planted in harvested fields. Pam
Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Frost has hit what remaining
silage or grain corn is standing. The cold temperatures
have slowed down the growth of hay fields. What good
forage is left is being cut and baled daily. Has been a
good fall for outside field maintenance work. Geoffrey
Njue (Ext), Strafford: Excellent weather for apple
harvesting especially for pick your own operations. Apple
harvesting going on well. About 60-80% harvested. Fall
raspberries were also being harvested. Last week for sweet
corn, field tomatoes and some other vegetables. However
cool season vegetables like chard, kales, broccoli and
lettuce continue to be harvested. Mum season is winding up
and pumpkin sales continued strongly through the week.
Farmers busy harvesting corn for silage. Some hay farmers
making the 3rd cut while others could only manage a 2nd
cut. It has been a great year for pastures but difficult
for making hay. 

RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Chopping
field corn and applying cover crops. Silage bunkers
getting full. Still harvesting summer vegetables,
tomatoes, lettuce, lots of cole crops around. Pumpkins
being harvested along with winter squashes. 

VERMONT - John St. Onge/Kim Peterson (FSA), Lamoille: Dry
spell continued through last week providing great
conditions for harvesting. From reports we're getting the
corn silage crop appears to have yields higher than
expected considering the cool, wet summer. Harvested corn
fields are seeing a lot of manure being spread. Soybean
harvest should start this week. Dave Blodgett (NRCS),
Orleans: Dry weather provided a great week for chopping
corn. Many of the large corn growers have finished
harvesting. So far landowners are happy with the yield and
quality of their corn crop. September weather made a big
difference. Aside from corn harvesting, many farmers are
emptying their manure pits to get ready for the long
winter. Perley Sparrow (FSA), Windham: Corn harvest is
about completed in the county with reports that yields
were excellent. There is some third cutting left to go for
haylage. Manure spreading on hay fields and corn ground.
Most all fall veggie crops are harvested and shipped to
market. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Harvesting corn
silage, third crop alfalfa haylage and soybeans. Spreading
liquid manure, lime and fertilizer on hay and corn fields.
Excellent crops being harvested. Corn kernels mature with
high plant moisture, noticeable silage leachate effluent.
Nice fall weather with great foliage color. Dennis
Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Trying to finish up corn
chopping. People say the crop looks good, but it is not
quite as mature as they would like; bear damage in places.
Haying just about done. Killing frosts during the week.
Another dry week. Lots of manure going out onto fields.
Heather Darby (Ext), Franklin: Killing frost last week.
Corn silage harvest continues. Yields reported as being
average to above average. Manure is being spread on
harvested fields. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Still seeding
winter rye on late fields. Picked last of sweet corn on
October 4th. Pumpkins and squash all picked and stored,
ready for fall sales. Still digging last of the potatoes;
a real big crop. First frost October 5th. Two tenths inch
rain for the week. Fall markets in full swing with large
amounts of fall produce and decorations. 

Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service
Agency(FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services
(NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals.

-- Contact Information

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Statistician: Dianne Johnson
Stat Assistant: Lynne Arsenault
Deputy Director: Joe Samson

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

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