Georgia Field Reports: Crops Look Mostly Good Despite Weather Problems

Crop Progress and Condition for the Week Ending July 2, 2017.

County Comments

Steven Patrick, Habersham County
The much-needed rainfall is beginning to cause problems for vegetable and hay producers. Finding several dry days open to get a second cutting put up at the proper growth stage is proving difficult. Quality of this second cutting will be considerably lower than normal. Vegetable producers need to be on the lookout for disease issues.

Raymond Joyce, Laurens County
Rains continued to fall, and growers dodged showers to do some fieldwork. The corn crop is looking good. Cotton is squaring. Soybeans are looking good. Haying continues as rain allows. Aphids were found in some cotton fields. Sugarcane aphids were found in forage sorghum. Land plaster was applied to peanut fields.

Andrew Sawyer, Thomas County
Tobacco was largely affected by winds three weekends back. It is a very good crop, but in many places, it is blown over. Producers are standing it up now at a large cost. Even the stood-up crop is bent where the flowers started growing toward the sky. This is now hurting the topping. Not all of the crop is able to be topped. Even tobacco that was not blown over has flowers tilted from the wind.

Seth McAllister, Terrell County
The rain has significantly reduced irrigation costs. Hog damage continues to worsen in corn. Peanuts are doing great. Cotton stands are improving, but some have large skips that will ultimately limit yield potential. Soybeans are growing fast and are thriving from timely rains.

General Comments

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Georgia, there were 4.9 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Sunday, July 2, 2017. Precipitation estimates for the state ranged from 0.3 inches of rain to 5.4 inches. Average high temperatures ranged from the low 70s to the low 90s. Average low temperatures ranged from the mid 50s to the mid 70s.