State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date For week ending 06/03/01 Issue NH-CW2201 Volume 21, Number 5 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) June 4, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary For the week ending June 3, 2001, there were 4.6 days available for field work across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 1% very poor, 11% poor, 40% fair, 42% good, 6% excellent. Major farm activities included: planting row crops and vegetables, plowing, transplanting, laying plastic, cutting haylage, and spraying for weeds, insects, and fungus. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- Percentage Moisture Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Very Short 3 6 0 Short 12 34 2 Adequate 64 53 74 Surplus 21 7 24 Subsoil Very Short 0 5 0 Short 27 32 2 Adequate 64 57 74 Surplus 9 6 24 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report The ground received plenty of much needed moisture last week, so farmers' concerns shifted from the lack of rain to the cooler than normal temperatures. Low temperatures continued to inhibit crop growth. Weather permitting, potato planting should be completed this next week. Oat and barley crops were mostly planted. The planting of both silage and sweet corn was ahead of last year and the five-year average. Tobacco transplanting was right in line with the five-year average. In spite of slow hay growth, some farmers chopped haylage this past week when the weather allowed. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Growers continued to spray fruit crops for weeds and insects between showers. Once again, frost wreaked havoc with the fruit tree crops in some parts of New England. Harvest, particularly in southern New England, is expected to be below average. Bees were being their busy selves, actively pollinating fruit crops. Strawberry and highbush blueberry crops reached petal fall stage, with wild blueberries not far behind. In Massachusetts, black-headed fireworm and cranberry weevil infestations have been detected in cranberries. VEGETABLES: Farmers planted broccoli, sweet corn, onions, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, peas, peppers and other vegetables. Cole crops were in good condition. Asparagus and rhubarb harvesting continued. Some farmers are still hesitant to plant certain vegetables until weather becomes more favorable. Fungicide applications were made this past week. Most roadside stands noticed a slight decrease in business over the weekend due to the rainy weather. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------------------- --Percent Planted-- 2001 % 2001 Crop 2001 2000 5yr-Avg Emerged Condition --------------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 95 80 85 20 Good Mass 95 99 99 65 Good Rhode Isl 100 100 95 85 Good Oats, ME 99 95 85 65 Excel/Good Barley, ME 99 99 90 75 Excel/Good Silage Corn 90 50 70 60 Good Sweet Corn 75 65 65 50 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 90 75 90 -- Good Broadleaf 35 35 35 -- Good Dry Hay -Percent Harvested- First Cut 10 10 20 -- Fair/Good ------------------------------------------------------ FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND -------------------------------------------------------- Fruit Fruit 2001 Crop Stage* Set Size Condition -------------------------------------------------------- Apples PF Avg Avg Good Peaches PF B.Avg/Avg B.Avg/Avg Fair Pears PF B.Avg/Avg B.Avg/Avg Poor Strawberries PF Avg Avg Good/Excel Cranberries,MA Bud -- -- Good Blueberries Highbush PF Avg/B.Avg Avg Good/Fair Wild,ME FB/PF A.Avg Avg Good -------------------------------------------------------- * PF = Petal Fall, FB = Full Bloom Weather Summary For the Week ending Sunday, June 3, 2001 --------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI -- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 30 80 54 -4 0.81 4.81 NH 22 78 52 -8 0.11 4.45 VT 24 74 52 -7 0.83 3.67 MA 32 75 57 -5 0.93 2.78 RI 40 75 59 -3 0.74 1.79 CT 34 75 58 -5 0.97 2.43 -------------------------------------- Weather Information Table AIR CUM SINCE MAR 1 TEMPERATURE GROWING DEGREE DAYS ----------- BASE-50F BASE-60F STATION LO HI AVG DFN TOT DFN TOT DFN ------- -- -- -- -- --- ---- --- ---- MAINE Albion 35 74 55 -7 230 -6 39 +8 Allagash 30 80 55 -1 188 +90 24 +24 Augusta_ME 41 71 55 -6 287 +77 64 +40 Bangor 41 72 57 -3 269 +103 48 +35 Barnard 38 72 54 -3 219 +90 31 +22 Bath 36 72 54 -6 184 +24 33 +22 Bethel 38 71 51 -8 232 +53 37 +19 Brassua_Dam 36 71 52 -3 165 +85 9 +9 Brunswick_ME 39 69 54 -5 216 +56 42 +31 Caribou 40 75 55 -2 252 +127 46 +36 Corinna 38 73 55 -4 263 +95 43 +29 Danforth 33 73 54 -5 198 +65 22 +13 Dover-Foxcroft 36 70 53 -4 201 +72 21 +12 Durham 36 74 53 -9 209 -9 42 +19 East_Hiram 31 73 51 -9 205 +27 41 +24 Eustis 36 68 50 -5 129 +42 6 +6 Frenchville 39 75 54 -2 232 +134 42 +42 Gray 38 71 54 -5 275 +121 67 +60 Greenville_ME 40 69 53 -4 198 +58 22 +10 Guilford 34 70 51 -7 200 +71 30 +21 Hollis 35 73 52 -6 224 +75 49 +42 Houlton 35 74 55 -2 223 +95 35 +24 Kennebunkport 38 70 53 -9 189 -63 54 +25 Livermore_Falls 35 76 54 -4 244 +114 52 +43 Moosehead 35 70 52 -3 167 +87 14 +14 New_Sharon 41 76 56 -2 289 +159 66 +57 Patten 37 69 52 -5 170 +42 16 +5 Portage 41 79 55 -2 268 +143 67 +57 Portland_ME 36 70 54 -5 232 +78 50 +43 Rangeley 34 71 50 -5 132 +50 4 +4 Sebec_Lake 39 74 54 -3 208 +68 29 +17 Vanceboro 39 71 55 -3 198 +80 22 +18 Waterville 41 73 56 -6 246 +10 38 +7 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 38 71 54 -7 288 +56 68 +34 Benton 31 70 50 -9 230 +32 35 +11 Berlin_AG 35 72 51 -7 241 +65 35 +15 Bethlehem 31 71 50 -10 218 +22 28 +4 Concord 34 72 54 -7 315 +83 78 +44 Diamond_Pond 30 67 46 -9 159 +78 23 +23 First_Conn_Lake 30 68 47 -8 112 +31 1 +1 Greenville 34 78 53 -7 239 +25 51 +23 Keene_AP 34 72 55 -8 328 +21 69 +8 Lakeport 39 74 54 -6 307 +107 60 +34 Marlow 30 75 51 -10 205 -59 29 -16 Mt_Washington 22 54 38 -2 2 +2 0 +0 North_Conway 36 75 54 -6 316 +112 78 +51 Otter_Brook_Lk 35 74 54 -9 281 -26 48 -13 Plymouth 33 73 51 -8 226 +64 36 +20 Rochester 37 75 55 -7 311 +45 91 +46 Weare 37 70 53 -9 253 -11 58 +13 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 28 71 51 -7 166 -32 16 -9 Bethel 32 74 52 -6 250 +73 39 +19 Burlington_VT 37 70 56 -6 401 +121 111 +57 East_Haven 38 72 51 -6 196 +70 19 +7 Island_Pond 32 70 51 -5 212 +84 27 +15 Montpelier 32 69 51 -8 241 +48 39 +15 Morrisville_AG 31 70 51 -8 171 -7 19 -2 Mount_Mansfield 24 55 42 -10 93 +51 4 +4 Northfield 32 72 51 -6 234 +80 30 +14 Pownal 35 70 54 -5 292 +88 56 +27 Rochester 34 74 51 -7 221 +44 23 +3 Rutland_AG 33 72 54 -9 277 -43 41 -30 Sunderland 32 71 53 -9 225 -76 24 -34 Sutton 33 68 50 -7 215 +89 33 +21 Townshend_Lake 36 72 53 -9 247 -12 41 -5 Union_Vill_Dam 31 74 52 -11 244 -26 29 -20 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 39 70 54 -6 311 +120 74 +54 Boston 43 72 59 -5 429 +92 127 +77 Greenfield 34 73 55 -9 332 -8 81 +17 New_Bedford 41 72 60 -4 369 +33 84 +36 Otis_AFB 45 70 60 +0 321 +121 75 +58 Plymouth 37 73 59 -3 334 +113 74 +51 Walpole 40 75 58 -4 416 +148 121 +83 West_Medway 38 75 58 -4 412 +144 117 +79 Westover 34 70 58 -7 443 +11 127 +30 Worcester 42 69 56 -5 363 +128 101 +73 Worthington 32 70 52 -7 255 +55 59 +34 RHODE ISLAND Providence 44 72 59 -3 449 +149 126 +84 Woonsocket 40 75 58 -5 423 +159 128 +97 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 34 72 56 -9 333 -75 85 -8 Bridgeport 44 72 60 -4 448 +96 104 +33 Hartford_AP 38 73 59 -7 461 +60 134 +44 Norfolk 37 73 55 -4 311 +116 77 +55 Norwich 41 75 60 -4 447 +94 114 +46 Thomaston_Dam 34 75 57 -4 371 +87 94 +48 Willimantic 38 74 60 -2 471 +186 135 +90 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION NCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 1.84 +1.00 3 2.74 -0.62 7 Allagash 1.70 +1.00 5 2.38 -0.45 9 Augusta_ME 2.52 +1.68 4 2.94 -0.46 9 Bangor 0.81 +0.01 3 1.64 -1.61 8 Barnard 1.37 +0.53 3 2.17 -1.09 9 Bath 3.40 +2.56 3 3.55 +0.22 6 Bethel 3.51 +2.63 3 3.88 +0.53 7 Brassua_Dam 1.49 +0.65 5 2.58 -0.58 9 Brunswick_ME 4.81 +3.97 5 4.95 +1.62 9 Caribou 2.14 +1.44 5 2.66 -0.14 11 Corinna 1.69 +0.85 3 2.60 -0.62 7 Danforth 1.49 +0.65 5 2.87 -0.50 10 Dover-Foxcroft 0.92 +0.08 3 2.02 -1.24 9 Durham 3.82 +2.98 4 4.14 +0.86 7 East_Hiram 3.46 +2.60 4 3.77 +0.37 7 Eustis 2.02 +1.25 4 4.89 +1.88 9 Frenchville 1.40 +0.70 6 1.83 -1.00 10 Gray 3.42 +2.65 5 3.72 +0.53 9 Greenville_ME 1.53 +0.69 6 2.14 -1.12 11 Guilford 2.04 +1.20 3 2.82 -0.44 8 Hollis 4.06 +3.22 4 4.60 +1.22 7 Houlton 1.77 +1.00 6 2.67 -0.40 11 Kennebunkport 2.98 +2.11 5 3.53 +0.03 9 Livermore_Falls 2.94 +2.02 4 4.01 +0.56 9 Moosehead 1.52 +0.68 5 2.60 -0.56 10 New_Sharon 3.02 +2.10 5 4.30 +0.85 9 Patten 1.43 +0.66 6 2.44 -0.63 13 Portage 1.24 +0.54 5 1.76 -1.04 10 Portland_ME 3.69 +2.92 6 4.00 +0.81 9 Rangeley 2.49 +1.66 7 3.46 +0.43 12 Sebec_Lake 1.66 +0.82 3 2.29 -0.97 9 Vanceboro 1.48 +0.71 6 2.44 -0.80 12 Waterville 2.64 +1.80 4 3.31 -0.05 8 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 3.66 +2.92 5 4.65 +1.81 12 Benton 2.19 +1.35 6 3.53 +0.35 11 Berlin_AG 1.96 +1.06 5 2.36 -0.94 8 Bethlehem 2.96 +2.11 7 3.76 +0.68 13 Concord 3.63 +2.89 5 4.46 +1.62 9 Diamond_Pond 2.56 +1.56 7 4.16 +0.47 12 First_Conn_Lake 1.66 +0.66 4 3.27 -0.42 7 Greenville 2.71 +1.83 5 4.32 +0.90 13 Keene_AP 0.11 -0.75 2 0.13 -3.30 4 Lakeport 4.09 +3.25 5 4.61 +1.32 10 Marlow 2.83 +1.92 4 3.78 +0.11 13 Mt_Washington 4.45 +2.68 6 5.77 -1.04 11 North_Conway 3.07 +2.16 4 3.57 -0.06 7 Otter_Brook_Lk 3.06 +2.20 5 5.21 +1.78 13 Plymouth 3.66 +2.77 6 4.12 +0.50 12 Rochester 3.33 +2.49 5 3.96 +0.50 10 Weare 3.07 +2.16 5 4.10 +0.43 11 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 2.47 +1.42 5 4.69 +0.55 11 Bethel 1.99 +1.04 5 2.93 -0.96 9 Burlington_VT 1.49 +0.72 4 2.57 -0.30 9 East_Haven 3.04 +2.11 6 3.60 +0.21 9 Island_Pond 2.18 +1.23 7 3.73 +0.26 10 Montpelier 1.11 +0.29 7 1.82 -1.22 12 Morrisville_AG 1.61 +0.71 6 2.67 -0.67 11 Mount_Mansfield 3.67 +2.26 6 5.77 +0.63 12 Northfield 1.58 +0.81 4 2.49 -0.67 7 Pownal 1.87 +0.82 5 3.97 -0.17 12 Rochester 1.70 +0.75 6 2.85 -1.04 11 Rutland_AG 1.68 +0.87 6 2.99 -0.20 13 Sunderland 2.10 +1.26 6 4.00 +0.73 14 Sutton 2.33 +1.40 7 3.60 +0.21 11 Townshend_Lake 2.51 +1.74 5 5.91 +2.72 15 Union_Vill_Dam 2.29 +1.51 7 2.88 -0.35 13 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 2.10 +1.29 6 3.26 +0.06 13 Boston 0.93 +0.22 4 2.03 -0.86 12 Greenfield 2.56 +1.65 6 7.04 +3.50 13 New_Bedford 2.78 +1.94 5 7.05 +3.73 11 Otis_AFB 1.54 +0.76 4 4.39 +1.09 11 Plymouth 2.33 +1.49 4 6.61 +3.10 11 Walpole 1.78 +0.98 5 4.17 +1.06 13 West_Medway 1.54 +0.74 4 4.01 +0.90 12 Westover 2.13 +1.15 5 5.67 +1.92 12 Worcester 1.94 +0.99 6 4.12 +0.23 15 Worthington 2.77 +1.80 4 6.89 +2.78 13 RHODE ISLAND Providence 1.78 +0.97 4 5.53 +2.19 10 Woonsocket 1.79 +0.88 5 6.55 +2.91 12 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 1.24 +0.33 5 5.93 +2.20 13 Bridgeport 1.20 +0.36 4 4.16 +0.65 11 Hartford_AP 1.73 +0.82 4 6.15 +2.42 12 Norfolk 2.43 +1.38 5 6.68 +2.54 16 Norwich 2.05 +1.17 4 6.89 +2.97 11 Thomaston_Dam 1.12 +0.14 5 4.82 +0.84 12 Willimantic 1.73 +0.82 4 4.19 +0.44 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 2001: 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: Showers all week. Temperatures below average. Field corn in the heavier soils is starting to show signs of stress. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Setting of broadleaf tobacco, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and cabbage. Planting of field corn, sweet corn, squash and cucumbers and other direct seeded crops. Chopping first cut grass. Rain from the last two weeks ranges from just enough to too much. Dawn Pindell (FSA), Windham: A terrific week for cropping. Temperatures were a bit low, but moisture is no longer a concern. Farmers continue to be in full swing with fields planted to corn as quickly as they are harrowed. Vegetables being set at a rapid pace. Bedding plants being adopted by happy homeowners. Still a sad story on fruit, but some hope. Short hay this spring. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: Producers still scouting frost damage. Crops are growing slowly due to cool weather earlier in the week. By the weekend, heavy rains and humidity were promoting disease. Native strawberries starting to be seen at stands. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Cool temperatures are slowing the growth of just about everything. Late frosts have damaged crops in some areas. No insect or disease problems are evident yet. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Potatoes: Nearly all growers have completed planting their crops. Final completion delayed due to rainy weather. Herbicides are being applied. Potatoes beginning to emerge. Only one day this past week without showers or rain. When it starts to rain, it doesn't seem to want to stop; however, because the fields have been so dry, all this water is not going to be a problem. Dee Potter (Ext), Northern Aroostook: Most farms have wrapped up planting. Small grains and potatoes have emerged. Forage ground responding well to rain during the week. Erin Chadbourne (Ext), Central Aroostook: Potato planting is beginning to wind down. Broccoli, barley and oat planting is finishing up. Herbicide applications are now being made across the county. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Moisture level is good now. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: Two inches of rain fell over the weekend. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: During the week many farmers worked on finishing their planting. Weekend rains were a very welcome break from spring planting. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: The well needed rain came this past weekend. Need warm weather for crops. Corn is still being planted. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Fertilizer is being applied on blueberry fields. Heavy rains over the weekend was welcome, but kept customers away from farm stands. David Yarborough (Ext), Washington: Wild Blueberries: Excellent pollination, recent showers have alleviated crop stress. Noted a lot of native bee activity. Very little blight symptoms seen because of early dry weather conditions resulted in little infection. Some spanworm and strawberry rootworm have been found and treated with insecticides. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: Planting of all crops has just about been completed. Some spotty showers this week were helpful, but more moisture is needed. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: Corn is mostly planted and up. Producers have started cutting haylage, but the crop is very light. Until this week's rain we were on course for the driest spring on record. We would welcome this weekend's predicted rain. Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: Whoa! That's enough rain for now. Hopefully things will dry out so that plantings can be completed and hay harvest can get underway. The early hot weather in May promoted some mite damage on strawberry plants.Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: Cool weather persists. The area received about 2.5 inches of rain on Saturday. Most sweet corn planted for the first harvest. Silage corn continues to be planted. New grass seedings are being completed. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Last few fields are being planted. Weed control spraying for both sweet and field corn. Fruit growers are at wits end about when to spray. Late frosts may have damaged fruit crops in some areas. Thursday was the only dry day for the week. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: More rain and unseasonably cool weather has stopped growth of all crops. There were two nights when the temperature was near freezing. Vegetable growers continue to plant. Cranberry growers are applying fertilizer. Shellfish growers continue to harvest and plant new seed. Kip Graham (FSA), Worcester: Normal procedures. All fruit set on trees is frost damaged (frost ring). Harvest will probably be 10 to 25 percent of normal and even that will be damaged by frost. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Another nice dose of rain for the industry on Saturday. Thursday night most people ran their sprinklers for frost protection. Black-headed fireworm outbreaks everywhere, whether related to reduced management of beds or not. This insect has become an insect of great concern. Some significant infestations of cranberry weevil, as well. The next stretch of warmer weather will open the first blossoms in the warmest spots on the beds. Everything looks good for the most part. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: After fields dried out, cultivation was top priority. Harvest of rhubarb and asparagus continues. Rate of growth is extremely slow due to cool days and nights. Crops look a bit yellow. More rain, over an inch on Saturday. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Wet weather has returned to the Northeast. Persistent rain has delayed most field activities this week. Most farms are attempting to finish planting forage crops and to begin harvesting haylage. Many of the early season vegetables have benefitted from the rain, but enough is enough. Planted tobacco looks okay at this point, but many of the fields are saturated. Blue mold has already been detected in the Mid-Atlantic states. Paul Fischer (FSA), Essex/Middlesex: Significant rainfall over the weekend increased soil moisture and replenished irrigation ponds. Ted Smiarowski, Jr. (FSA), Hampshire/Hampden: A rainy week. Fields are saturated with water. Planting of crops was delayed because of the soil conditions. Farmers want to harvest hay, but it's too wet. Protective sprays being applied to tree and small fruits. Potatoes look good, but all other crops need heat and sunshine. Gary Guida, Worcester: What a weather week! Trying to get field work done between rain. Many gully washers and severe downpours, with soil erosion happening on sloping fields. Transplanting, planting corn, laying plastic and spraying herbicide were principal farm activities for the rotten week. Farm stand sales good despite lousy weather, with perennials back on top of sales. People in low areas lost garden plants due to frost - the temperature on this farm was 35 degrees. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bruce Clement (Ext), Cheshire: OK, you can shut off the water now! Rainy, cold weather most of the past two weeks has taken care of the drought concerns, and now we need warm sunny weather to get crops back on track. Field activities in between rain included: fruit spraying, some haylage chopping, manure spreading, and finishing up corn planting. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Cold, wet, soaking rains, ending the dry spell, predominated this week's weather. Scattered frosts still threaten warmer season vegetable crops and blossoming fruits. Haylands and pastures putting on good growth. Some haylage activities should be occurring soon. Corn emerging well with recent rains. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn planting progressing as weather permits. First cutting is in progress. Early cut feed is in excellent condition. Rain late in week helped improve soil moisture conditions, but halted haying. Alfalfa seems to have survived the winter well and was in early bud stage by the end of last week. Native grasses have headed out and Orchard grass and Timothy are close behind. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Rain on and off for most of the week. On Monday, a hail storm occurred in the county. Some damage occurred in localized areas. Some concern on Thursday night about possibility of frost had growers covering frost-sensitive crops like tomatoes and setting up irrigation in strawberry fields for frost control. No reports of frost occurred. Fruits: Orchardists deciding whether or not to apply thinning sprays to apple orchards because of the early freeze and frost. Strawberry bloom is almost complete. Fruit growers applying sprays for pest control. Field Crops: Planting and weed-spraying corn fields. Some farmers are starting to make haylage, difficult to do because of wet weather. Vegetables: Plowing, disking, fertilizing fields and planting vegetables. Laying down plastic and drip irrigation. Regular plantings of sweet corn germinated. Harvesting asparagus and rhubarb. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Cutting of haylage delayed due to wet conditions and poor growth. Corn planting delayed due to late application of manure. Very little dry hay cut. Blueberries are being fertilized. New hayland and pasture seedings being made. Orchardists are spraying during this infection period. Emerged corn not growing due to lack of heat. Extreme drought and too much moisture has caused herbicides to be ineffective on some soils. Winter injury had reduced potential yield of cultivated blueberries. Some frost injury to warm season crops. Weekend rain has affected sales at roadside stands and garden centers. Nada Haddad (Ext), Rockingham: Midweek was marked by frost and hail in some areas. We had a good soaking rain on Saturday. Plant growth is slow due to cool weather. Making successive plantings of vegetables. Monitoring pests in fruit tree orchards and applying protective fungicides and insecticides. Strawberries and blueberries are in bloom. RHODE ISLAND - Karen Menezes (Ext), Newport: Spraying potatoes with fungicides. Some planting of field corn. Summer vegetables being planted. Holding off on some of the more tender vegetables. Wet weather has taken some time away from continued planting. Additional fungicides being applied. Lettuce and cole crops doing well. Could use some sun. Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Cooler than average temperatures for late May. An isolated hail storm accompanied a downpour late Tuesday afternoon in Providence County. One of our apple growers was hit hard. We are waiting for reports from other operators in that vicinity. It rained off and on throughout the week. The pastures and hayfields are finally responding to the recent rains. Apple scab will become a problem if the damp, rainy weather continues. VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Off again, on again showers made for stop and go fieldwork. Corn planting is winding down and a few farmers started on first cut grass by putting up some haylage. Grass has really started growing. Need warmer temperatures after seeing snowflakes last week. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: No worry about drought now. Picked up 3.4 inches of rain on the weekend after 2.0 the week before. Another unusual year. Now we need several days of sun to dry out things to get back to harvesting haylage. Yields will be short and probably quality is going the other way. Maybe there will be an outstanding second crop if they can get the first cut off soon. Corn is slow in responding from lack of heat and sun, but is better than last year at this time. Larry Hamel (NRCS), Orleans: Plenty of rain this weekend in Orleans County. Farmers have started cutting hay, mostly for haylage. Many have been waiting to get started for a week now. The hay crop does look very good. Orchard grass crops need to be harvested now, and farmers are now worried about quality. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: On the 30th of May, strawberries were watered because of frost (31 degrees) and they were in full bloom. Blueberries are in heavy bud stage. Apple set looks good. Vegetable growers say plants are doing better after the rain. Poor germination during the dry spell. We saw one farmer cutting haylage on the 31st of May. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Wet soil - rain late in week, thunderstorms. First cut hay fair to good with 10% started to harvest. Dandelions gone by, orchard grass fully headed, alfalfa in bud stage. Some manure spread on harvested hay land. Newly seeded alfalfa/grass hay land is two inches tall nurse crop plus regrowth grasses. Corn silage crop is over 95% planted with 80% emerged and looking good to excellent. Weed control good. Pasture regrowth is fair to good, deferred pasture is still light in apparent yield. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: It's either feast or famine, cloudy skies and rain - 5/30: 0.60 in., 5/31: 0.36 in., 6/2: 0.10 in., 6/3: 0.40 in. Making it hard to make hay! June grass headed out, time to cut. Corn looks good, could use some sunshine. Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: It is more like early May than late May. Scattered light frost one night, plus a good rain. Over an inch of rain this week. Some corn damaged by the frost; corn should recover. Haying has started, but now difficult due to wilt. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: All mid-season corn planted. Green beans and early potatoes are up and in good shape. Small garden vegetables beginning to look much better because of rain. Asparagus cutting way down because of cold damp days. First radishes on market. Rhubarb growing nicely with the rain. An inch-and-a-half of much needed rain a real blessing for all growing things. First crop of hay heading out and short. Reporters are from: Extension Service (Ext), Farm Service Agency(FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), or other knowledgeable individuals. May 2001 Crop Weather Summary: Dry weather conditions prevailed during the month of May, providing farmers with plenty of opportunity to get crops in the ground, but insufficient moisture for crop growth. As of mid-May, planting progress for most crops was ahead of last year and normal. Hot and dry conditions early in the month were followed by unseasonably cool, dry conditions, and growers were forced to irrigate and protect from frost at many locations. Hardest hit by near-drought conditions were the southernmost states, where crop condition ratings hovered between fair and good for most of the month. Even though rains appeared in most areas of the six-state region by May 27, the northern states and most parts of southern New England still held a below- average status for precipitation for the month. First cut hay crop yields were expected to be lower than usual, with lack of moisture stunting crop growth. Rain at the end of the month was expected to improve first crop growth in northern areas, and provide much needed moisture for second crop growth in all states. Although the extended dry weather provided good pollinating conditions for most fruit tree crops this spring, a severe frost hit the second week in May when many trees from southern NH and south were in full bloom. Tree fruit crops, particularly in the southern New England states, suffered heavy losses. Potato planting progress was at or ahead of the five-year average by the end of May in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The potato crop was rated in good condition by month's end in all states. Growers were active planting field corn and setting out shade tobacco during the month, and progress had passed the halfway mark by the end of May in the region. Broadleaf growers were just starting to set out seedlings at the end of the month. Cranberry plants were nearing the early bloom stage by month's end, and had weathered the near-drought conditions well. Maine's wild blueberry crop development was on schedule with normal, and rated in good condition as of late May. Contact Information To receive this report every Monday evening, send an e-mail message to listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type subscribe usda-new-eng-crop-weather Statisticians: Emily McAllister, Robin Helrich Deputy: David Luckenbach 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 ***********************