new-eng-crop-weather State NEW ENGLAND WEEKLY CROP WEATHER Week ending date 09/16/01 Issue NH-CW3701 Volume 21, Number 20 (issued weekly on the Internet, May - October) September 17, 2001 - 4 pm Agricultural Summary COOLER TEMPERATURES ARRIVE For the week ending September 16, 2001, there were 6.7 days available for fieldwork across New England. Pasture condition was rated as 20% very poor, 40% poor, 31% fair, 9% good, 0% excellent. Major farm activities included: irrigating; cutting hay and chopping haylage; plowing; spreading manure; desiccating potato vines; and harvesting oats, barley, silage corn, potatoes, tobacco, apples, peaches, pears, Fall raspberries, cranberries, highbush blueberries, sweet corn and other vegetables. SOIL MOISTURE ACROSS NEW ENGLAND --------------------------------------------- -- Percent -- Soil Rating This Week Last Week Last Year --------------------------------------------- Topsoil Moisture Very Short 37 25 0 Short 38 39 12 Adequate 25 36 82 Surplus 0 0 6 Subsoil Moisture Very Short 36 29 0 Short 34 39 8 Adequate 30 32 91 Surplus 0 0 1 --------------------------------------------- Field Crops Report Significant rainfall hit some areas of New England last week, while farmers in other areas continued to look for rain clouds. It is almost past the point for rain to be able to improve crops. Cool nighttime temperatures are signaling the start of Fall; frost hit northern areas near week's end. Lime and vine desiccant were applied to potato fields as harvest progressed. Silage corn harvest is progressing ahead of normal due to the dry conditions. Both second and third cut hay crops were reported in fair to poor condition. Growers completed the harvest of shade tobacco in the Connecticut River Valley last week; broadleaf harvest should be finished soon. Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crops Report FRUIT: Growers continued to harvest apples, pears, peaches, highbush blueberries and Fall raspberries last week. Connecticut pears are in very poor to poor condition, mainly due to early season frosts. Highbush blueberry harvest is complete in both Maine and Rhode Island, and the other States are not far behind. Massachusetts' cranberry growers began the harvest of early black varieties last week, as white berry harvest came to an end. VEGETABLES: Sweet corn, pumpkins, winter squash and other vegetables were harvested last week, and farmers proudly displayed the rewards of their hard work at farmers' markets and farmstands. Growers continued to scout fields for weeds, insects and disease last week, and applications were made where necessary. Only 10 percent of New England's sweet corn crop remains to be harvested. Crop Progress Tables FIELD CROP PROGRESS ACROSS NEW ENGLAND ---------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition ---------------------------------------------------- Potatoes Maine 10 15 10 Good Mass 45 60 65 Good/Fair Rhode Isl 85 55 50 Good/Fair Oats, ME 90 55 65 Good Barley, ME 95 50 70 Good/Fair Silage Corn 35 5 15 Good/Fair Sweet Corn 90 85 90 Good/Fair Tobacco Shade 100 100 100 Good/Fair Broadleaf 99 99 99 Good/Fair Dry Hay Second Cut 95 90 85 Fair/Poor Third Cut 65 55 55 Fair/Poor ----------------------------------------------------- FRUIT CROP DEVELOPMENT ACROSS NEW ENGLAND -------------------------------------------------------- -- Percent Harvested -- Crop 2001 2000 5-yr Avg Condition -------------------------------------------------------- Apples 40 30 30 Good Peaches 95 90 95 Fair Pears 40 35 35 Poor/Fair Cranberries,MA 5 -- <5 Good/Fair Blueberries Highbush 95 99 99 Fair/Good -------------------------------------------------------- Weather Summary For the Week ending Sunday, September 16, 2001 --------------------------------------- AIR TEMPERATURES PRECIPITATION STATE LO HI AVG DFN LO HI ----- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- ME 29 96 60 +3 0.00 0.65 NH 24 96 58 +1 0.08 1.12 VT 28 90 58 +0 0.00 0.88 MA 32 90 63 +1 0.00 1.92 RI 40 89 65 +2 0.12 0.67 CT 36 87 64 +0 0.04 2.04 -------------------------------------- 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 31 90 60 -1 1948 -54 784 +10 Allagash 29 88 56 +3 1431 +132 445 +122 Augusta_ME 42 89 64 +4 2277 +340 1024 +290 Bangor 37 89 61 +3 2158 +390 921 +307 Barnard 36 90 60 +4 1867 +345 698 +246 Bath 35 84 61 +1 1909 +93 752 +98 Bethel 35 92 62 +4 1917 +171 722 +132 Brassua_Dam 36 89 58 +4 1549 +286 490 +180 Brunswick_ME 38 80 62 +2 2047 +231 847 +193 Caribou 34 88 59 +5 1793 +395 654 +276 Corinna 33 90 60 +4 2041 +370 821 +282 Danforth 29 90 57 +1 1683 +61 600 +75 Dover-Foxcroft 34 87 58 +2 1754 +232 608 +156 Durham 35 88 61 -1 1936 -125 782 -47 East_Hiram 33 88 60 +2 1870 +132 724 +140 Eustis 33 87 56 +3 1400 +175 419 +136 Frenchville 37 86 58 +5 1633 +334 557 +234 Gray 44 88 65 +5 2286 +496 1046 +415 Greenville_ME 42 90 61 +5 1815 +282 684 +221 Guilford 30 88 59 +3 1867 +345 739 +287 Hollis 33 90 60 +3 2011 +347 837 +305 Houlton 30 88 57 +3 1741 +280 644 +220 Kennebunkport 36 88 60 -3 1861 -324 716 -200 Livermore_Falls 29 96 61 +5 2035 +542 862 +433 Moosehead 33 87 57 +3 1529 +266 486 +176 New_Sharon 34 94 63 +7 2201 +708 966 +537 Patten 34 86 57 +2 1538 +77 486 +62 Portage 37 89 60 +6 1829 +431 685 +307 Portland_ME 39 85 62 +3 2110 +320 903 +272 Rangeley 32 83 55 +2 1433 +242 414 +150 Sebec_Lake 34 91 59 +3 1815 +282 674 +211 Vanceboro 33 88 58 +2 1767 +213 633 +156 Waterville 39 91 63 +3 2150 +148 917 +143 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 37 84 62 +3 2186 +244 955 +224 Benton 33 87 58 +2 1827 +227 671 +196 Berlin_AG 33 90 58 +2 1855 +246 689 +192 Bethlehem 30 89 57 -1 1704 +106 584 +109 Concord 33 90 61 +2 2253 +311 1015 +284 Diamond_Pond 33 82 54 +1 1296 +219 357 +152 First_Conn_Lake 31 84 55 +2 1208 +131 311 +106 Greenville 33 96 61 +3 1960 +203 787 +209 Keene_AP 36 88 61 +0 2263 +91 999 +104 Lakeport 41 88 64 +6 2395 +581 1120 +479 Marlow 29 84 56 -5 1717 -252 613 -122 Mt_Washington 24 68 42 +1 244 +183 10 +10 North_Conway 34 89 61 +4 2220 +419 974 +344 Otter_Brook_Lk 37 85 60 -2 2066 -106 827 -68 Plymouth 31 90 58 +2 1794 +211 645 +168 Rochester 37 87 62 +2 2252 +171 1019 +185 Weare 37 84 60 +0 1948 -21 755 +20 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 34 85 56 -3 1511 -183 471 -72 Bethel 32 88 58 +1 1995 +386 797 +302 Burlington_VT 38 88 62 +3 2449 +380 1146 +317 East_Haven 28 88 56 +2 1602 +268 529 +192 Island_Pond 31 85 56 +1 1655 +334 570 +245 Montpelier 32 87 58 +1 1870 +243 727 +222 Morrisville_AG 30 89 57 -2 1630 +7 559 +49 Mount_Mansfield 34 73 51 +2 1004 +309 222 +156 Northfield 30 90 57 +2 1855 +374 690 +271 Pownal 37 83 59 +1 1939 +239 720 +176 Rochester 34 89 58 +0 1829 +220 665 +170 Rutland_AG 33 85 59 -3 1961 -185 743 -129 Sunderland 33 84 58 -4 1724 -333 590 -206 Sutton 34 87 57 +3 1712 +378 602 +265 Townshend_Lake 36 86 59 -3 2036 -2 826 +21 Union_Vill_Dam 34 87 58 -3 1965 -89 768 -44 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 41 84 62 +4 2224 +463 961 +367 Boston 48 87 66 +1 2730 +226 1389 +227 Greenfield 40 88 64 +2 2400 +69 1116 +104 New_Bedford 38 82 63 -4 2455 -80 1138 -52 Otis_AFB 43 82 65 +3 2435 +375 1153 +321 Plymouth 36 83 63 +1 2353 +236 1068 +193 Walpole 40 87 64 +3 2560 +428 1233 +365 West_Medway 38 87 64 +3 2534 +402 1207 +339 Westover 37 84 62 -4 2610 -62 1267 -16 Worcester 46 82 63 +3 2336 +347 1048 +287 Worthington 35 85 59 +0 1862 +128 683 +118 RHODE ISLAND Providence 45 85 66 +1 2721 +332 1360 +283 Woonsocket 40 89 65 +4 2691 +592 1362 +534 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 36 85 61 -3 2200 -364 936 -265 Bridgeport 48 83 66 -1 2835 +260 1450 +211 Hartford_AP 40 86 64 -1 2723 +164 1363 +166 Norfolk 39 82 64 +5 2162 +428 912 +347 Norwich 42 87 65 +1 2686 +292 1317 +258 Thomaston_Dam 37 84 61 -2 2345 +266 1045 +233 Willimantic 40 85 64 +2 2666 +544 1297 +451 1-WEEK PRECIP 4-WEEK CUM PRECIP ------------- ----------------- TOTAL TOTAL STATION INCHES DFN DAYS INCHES DFN DAYS ------- ----- ---- --- ----- ---- --- MAINE Albion 0.01 -0.74 1 2.29 -0.89 7 Allagash 0.26 -0.61 1 2.74 -0.87 7 Augusta_ME 0.01 -0.69 1 1.12 -1.74 7 Bangor 0.02 -0.82 1 2.27 -0.92 8 Barnard 0.03 -0.88 1 2.12 -1.43 12 Bath 0.05 -0.65 2 1.71 -1.18 10 Bethel 0.03 -0.74 3 1.89 -1.48 9 Brassua_Dam 0.26 -0.59 3 4.04 +0.64 13 Brunswick_ME 0.07 -0.63 2 1.40 -1.49 6 Caribou 0.65 -0.19 1 2.70 -0.78 11 Corinna 0.00 -0.84 0 2.62 -0.90 6 Danforth 0.35 -0.49 1 3.79 +0.24 8 Dover-Foxcroft 0.00 -0.91 0 1.34 -2.21 9 Durham 0.13 -0.57 3 1.48 -1.32 7 East_Hiram 0.35 -0.35 3 1.72 -1.38 9 Eustis 0.12 -0.58 2 1.56 -1.44 7 Frenchville 0.16 -0.71 2 3.25 -0.36 11 Gray 0.06 -0.64 2 1.08 -1.68 6 Greenville_ME 0.08 -0.83 1 2.65 -0.90 8 Guilford 0.09 -0.82 1 1.95 -1.60 10 Hollis 0.11 -0.66 3 1.23 -1.71 8 Houlton 0.04 -0.80 1 2.96 -0.61 9 Kennebunkport 0.04 -0.66 1 1.76 -1.06 7 Livermore_Falls 0.01 -0.83 1 1.77 -1.81 7 Moosehead 0.16 -0.69 3 3.82 +0.42 12 New_Sharon 0.00 -0.84 0 3.44 -0.14 7 Patten 0.08 -0.76 1 4.72 +1.15 10 Portage 0.29 -0.55 2 2.35 -1.13 11 Portland_ME 0.05 -0.65 2 1.04 -1.72 8 Rangeley 0.44 -0.28 1 2.26 -1.02 9 Sebec_Lake 0.05 -0.86 1 2.42 -1.13 10 Vanceboro 0.16 -0.75 1 2.92 -0.52 9 Waterville 0.00 -0.75 0 1.44 -1.74 7 NEW HAMPSHIRE Barnstead 0.35 -0.29 3 1.71 -1.06 8 Benton 0.16 -0.59 2 1.67 -1.65 7 Berlin_AG 0.32 -0.45 1 1.46 -2.03 6 Bethlehem 0.80 +0.06 1 2.71 -0.80 7 Concord 0.53 -0.11 3 1.26 -1.51 8 Diamond_Pond 0.20 -0.75 1 3.93 -0.27 10 First_Conn_Lake 0.23 -0.72 2 3.88 -0.32 11 Greenville 0.60 -0.12 3 1.72 -1.52 6 Keene_AP 0.62 -0.08 3 1.55 -1.55 5 Lakeport 0.33 -0.37 2 2.18 -0.84 6 Marlow 0.77 +0.00 3 2.29 -0.93 5 Mt_Washington 0.58 -1.18 2 5.31 -2.06 11 North_Conway 0.11 -0.67 2 1.46 -1.94 7 Otter_Brook_Lk 1.12 +0.42 3 2.72 -0.38 6 Plymouth 0.20 -0.51 2 2.07 -1.05 7 Rochester 0.12 -0.58 2 1.94 -1.05 8 Weare 0.44 -0.33 3 1.99 -1.23 8 VERMONT Ball_Mt_Lake 0.88 -0.03 3 2.16 -1.60 13 Bethel 0.24 -0.66 2 1.97 -1.92 8 Burlington_VT 0.00 -0.78 0 3.24 -0.18 9 East_Haven 0.47 -0.33 1 3.02 -0.68 9 Island_Pond 0.10 -0.70 1 3.18 -0.57 9 Montpelier 0.06 -0.61 1 1.53 -1.55 8 Morrisville_AG 0.12 -0.71 1 2.39 -1.44 9 Mount_Mansfield 0.12 -1.35 1 5.68 -0.71 11 Northfield 0.13 -0.64 2 1.76 -1.46 7 Pownal 0.85 -0.06 2 2.28 -1.48 8 Rochester 0.33 -0.57 2 1.86 -2.03 8 Rutland_AG 0.52 -0.32 2 2.37 -1.24 7 Sunderland 0.57 -0.27 3 2.02 -1.51 6 Sutton 0.14 -0.66 2 3.44 -0.26 10 Townshend_Lake 0.57 -0.20 3 2.21 -1.15 8 Union_Vill_Dam 0.28 -0.49 2 1.02 -2.16 8 MASSACHUSETTS Ashburnham 0.66 -0.04 3 1.65 -1.25 8 Boston 0.51 -0.19 2 1.03 -1.94 7 Greenfield 1.32 +0.52 3 2.24 -1.03 7 New_Bedford 0.08 -0.71 1 1.41 -2.14 7 Otis_AFB 0.15 -0.62 2 2.82 -0.28 7 Plymouth 0.08 -0.90 1 1.94 -1.93 10 Walpole 0.61 -0.25 2 1.82 -1.77 6 West_Medway 0.65 -0.21 2 2.08 -1.51 5 Westover 0.82 -0.02 3 1.36 -2.00 10 Worcester 0.92 +0.01 3 1.46 -2.16 8 Worthington 1.53 +0.69 3 2.08 -1.47 6 RHODE ISLAND Providence 0.20 -0.64 1 2.21 -1.15 7 Woonsocket 0.67 -0.24 3 1.56 -2.08 7 CONNECTICUT Bakersville 2.04 +1.13 3 2.60 -0.96 8 Bridgeport 0.04 -0.71 2 2.84 -0.03 9 Hartford_AP 1.15 +0.24 3 2.83 -0.73 7 Norfolk 1.15 +0.17 3 1.68 -2.39 6 Norwich 0.39 -0.52 3 2.46 -1.18 9 Thomaston_Dam 1.23 +0.29 3 2.52 -1.36 9 Willimantic 0.83 -0.08 4 3.86 +0.26 11 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: There have been heavy showers in nearly every town in the County. Pastures look good. Rain arrived too late to help the field corn crop. It is only about 75% of a normal crop. Ross Eddy (FSA), Hartford/Tolland: Corn silage progressing nicely. Second and third cut hay put up. Broadleaf tobacco about done; however, late harvested crop has a lot of blue mold. Pumpkins and gourds showing up at farm stands. Rain on Friday was very welcomed. Nancy Welsh/Karen Lockman (FSA), New Haven: Dry weather has made it possible to start chopping. Cool days and nights have set in, making it feel like Fall. Apples and pears are available for picking. Fruit is small due to frost in late spring. Some varieties of apples were hurt harder depending on the area. Richard Meinert (Ext), CT Cooperative: Corn silage harvest is progressing quickly with favorable weather. Cool temperatures are slowing the ripening of Fall raspberries. Pumpkins are generally smaller than normal. MAINE - Marvin Hedstrom, Northern Aroostook: Considerable potato harvesting, as well as grain harvesting going on. More potato vines being desiccated; nearly all fields have at least one application. Some more lime being applied. Potato crop yields appear to be somewhat better than previously anticipated; quality is very good. Ground is still quite dry. Lastly, God Bless America during these tragic times. Pam Hickey (Ext), Central Aroostook: Some vine killing of late season varieties. Harvest is underway. Potato crop looks good. Steve London (Ext), Southern Aroostook: Potato and grain crops have been very good quality. Albert Dow (NRCS), Piscataquis: No rain this past week. Silage corn is being harvested early due to the effect of the dry weather. Donna Lamb (Ext), Piscataquis: Frost has hit the low lying fields. Corn silage harvest has begun. Pastures are very dry. Janet King/Jennifer Zweig (FSA), Somerset: Haying and harvesting corn. Need rain. Rick Kersbergen (Ext), Waldo: Dry weather allowed corn harvest to continue all week. Little or no second/third cuttings of hay will leave some producers short. Corn silage is good in some fields and bad in others. Lots of dusty tractors and choppers. Trudy Soucy (FSA), Knox/Lincoln: Winter squash now available at farm stands. Fall work on blueberry fields in progress. Very little scab on apples this year due to dry weather. Michael Tardy (FSA), Androscoggin: NO RAIN! NO RAIN! NO RAIN! Farmers are harvesting silage corn and we hear mixed results. Most have chopped small ears, some have chopped no ears. Quite a few have reported decent tonnage. Farmers just do what they have to do. With recent events in New York and Washington, DC, problems get put in perspective. Parker Rand (FSA), Cumberland/York: It's feeling a lot like Fall and the trees are beginning to turn. Silage corn harvest is in full swing and pumpkins are showing up at all the farm stands. God Bless America! Gary Raymond (FSA), Franklin: First frost has hit. It is good that most crops matured early this year. What we really need now is a wet Fall to replenish the ground water. Laura Rand (FSA), Oxford: All crops are being harvested. Depending on the area, silage corn harvest is reported as average to light in yield. Oats are being reported as light yield. Apple producers are reporting that the apples being harvested are small, but of good quality. Farm stands show a colorful array of pumpkins, squash and asters. Dry weather continues with no rain in the forecast. MASSACHUSETTS - Arthur Williams (FSA), Berkshire: Silage chopping is in full swing, as is the harvesting of forage (first, second and third cuttings of hay), weather permitting. Everything is really too good. What will come? Another inch of rain really didn't do much good. Trucks in corn fields aren't getting stuck in wet ground. Sweet corn is holding on 'til a frost. Paul Russell (FSA), Southeast Massachusetts: Cranberry growers are starting to harvest early black varieties and are finding some fruitworm damage. In general, the crop is good. Vegetable growers are winding down harvest with good to excellent yields reported. Shellfish are growing at a good pace - prices are going down since there are more legal sizes available for harvest, and demand is dropping off now that we're past the holiday. Frank Caruso (Ext), Plymouth: Cranberries: Completion of white berry harvest with cultivar 'Howes' being picked. First dry picking of 'Early Black' berries. Color is excellent in the berries on the top. The past three nights should have moved the color along in the berries in the canopy, too. Very dry; irrigation being done on a regular basis. Many growers will not start harvesting until October 1. Some beds with significant amounts of fruit rot. David Rose (FSA), Bristol: Another week of harvesting all crops. We need rain. Grounds are very dry. The weather has also cooled off quite a lot with nights in the forties. Corn chopping in full swing. Beautiful weekend for pick your own operations and corn mazes. John Devine (FSA), Franklin: Harvesting continues in Franklin County with excellent weather all week. Cool and dry conditions have prompted everyone to start thinking about Fall. Most farm activities seem secondary compared with the losses that occurred on September 11th. God Bless America. Gary Guida, Worcester: Yet another great weekend for farm sales! Pumpkins, mums, and fall decorating items doing well . Still harvesting summer crops, all Fall crops harvested. Very light frost here on Saturday night, but areas farther to the northwest received a killing frost. Harvesting season is just about over. Pumpkins have great color and size, but yields are down. NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bruce Clement (Ext), Cheshire: Some rain and cooler temperatures have brought about a slow improvement in grass growth. Some nighttime temps in the 30's, but no frosts reported. Silage corn harvest progressing rapidly, some farms are already done. Apple, pear, Fall raspberry, pumpkin, winter squash and a full array of other vegetables still being harvested. Steve Turaj (Ext), Coos: Scattered frost on a couple of nights, fairly widespread. Decidedly cooler temperatures throughout the week. Again just a little bit of rain, weather remains dry. Wells in need of recharge. Corn silage harvest has begun. Corn is at dent stage on some fields, looks pretty good. Grass/clover being cut for hay where it's worth doing. Red clover in full bloom up north yielding some nice crops. Still plenty of late season vegetables on the market. Been a good sweet corn year, later varieties making it to harvest. Powdery mildew now pretty common on some vine crops. Tom Buob (Ext), Grafton: Corn harvest continues. Dryness continues to limit growth. No significant rainfall this week. George Hamilton (Ext), Hillsborough: Fruit: McIntosh and Gala apple harvest continues, along with the start of early Cortland harvest. Warm temperatures have delayed the coloring of red-colored apple varieties. Peach, pear, plum and Fall raspberry harvest continued. Vegetables: Harvesting wide array of vegetables. Farmers kept busy irrigating crops not harvested and starting to clean up harvested fields. Cold temperatures reported, but no killing frost as of yet. Field Crops: Farmers continuing corn silage harvest. Hay cutting continued. Farmers continued making new forage seedings. David Seavey (Ext), Merrimack: Hay harvest continues with low yields. Hay quality not the best. Apple harvest in full swing. Silage corn being harvested. Dry weather persisted with some relief at end of week. Winter squash are being harvested. First frost reported September 15th. Borers are damaging squash in certain locations. Pam Marvin (FSA), Sullivan: Silage corn harvesting and apple picking are in full swing. The rains this past week have greened up the fields. Pumpkin crop looks to have survived the drought - many varieties and sizes out there. Vegetable fields being plowed under and prepared for the winter months. RHODE ISLAND - Marilu Soileau (FSA), All Counties: Much needed rain fell Friday. It gave producers the opportunity to grade products and set up displays for retail sales over the weekend. Farmers' markets on Saturday were busy, although roadside farm stand sales were off. Pick your own operations report business was slow, as well. Silage corn harvest is underway now. Hay is very poor quality! Saw some gorgeous pumpkins with thick shells, deep rich color and sturdy green stems. They were exceptionally beautiful. All that's needed now are customers! VERMONT - John St. Onge (FSA), Lamoille: Many areas saw the first frost of the season over the weekend. Corn silage harvest also started last week. Seems to be great variability in corn yields on farms this year. Weather has been cooperating for third cut grass. Overall conditions still dry. Bill Snow (Ext), Orange: Started harvesting field corn in most locations. Most don't start until after the Tunbridge Fair. Should be in full swing this week. Slight frosts Saturday and Sunday mornings. Trees starting to turn color. Difficult week for all. Dave Blodgett (NRCS), Orleans: No rain during the last week has made soil moisture in short supply. Light frost in some areas on Saturday. Most landowners are starting to harvest corn silage. Corn yields are good in most places. Lynette Hamilton (FSA), Windham: We had a little more rain on Thursday night; only laid the dust down. Corn cutting is in full swing. Production will be off about 25% from last year. The apple producers are reporting an average crop, but with good color. Jeff Carter (Ext), Addison: Harvesting corn silage, dry stalks, good ears. Finishing third cut alfalfa. Pastures starting to regrow, still very dry. Richard Noel (FSA), Grand Isle/Franklin: Plenty of corn and third cut hay chopped this week, farmers taking advantage of the good weather. Some hay is even being baled! But it's getting awfully dry for this time of year. A lot of fieldwork being done of all sorts; chopping, spreading manure and plowing, to name just a few. And for some of us, putting wood in the cellar is fieldwork! Dennis Kauppila (Ext), Caledonia: Another dry week. Farmers beginning to chop corn for silage. People taking a last cut of hay. Some frost on two nights during the week. Soil is powdery dry. Saw a big load of Canadian hay heading towards a farm. More long-time residents who never have been out of water are now out of water. Sherwin Williams, Rutland: Potato harvest is in high gear with a very good crop. Still picking good quality of late sweet corn. Squash and cucumbers still hanging on, but slowing down. Starting to harvest winter squash. Picking our few fruit trees; color not too good. A quarter-inch of rain fell - every bit helps a lot, but a whole lot more is needed. All harvested fields have been seeded, with winter rye germination good. Field turning a nice green. 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 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 Stat Assistant: Wayne Colpitt 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 ***********************