The Week in Florida Agriculture
July 14-20, 2008
Peanut pegging is 89 percent completed, compared to 69 percent this time last year. Peanut condition is rated 24 percent fair, 47 percent good, and 29 percent excellent. Cotton reported in good condition, however, late-planted cotton is growing slow. Some hay is being harvested. Some growers are harvesting squash, cucumbers, butter beans, okra and southern peas. Weed control applications are being applied to some fields. Seafood: Fishermen report that Florida mahi-mahi are currently in good supply. Vegetables: Growers are marketing okra, watermelon and avocadoes. Watermelon harvesting has slowed. Avocado movement is expected to increase. Drought Update: Rainfall for the week ranged from 0 inches at Marianna to over 4 inches at Putnam Hall and Pierson. Several areas in the southern Peninsula recorded 2 to 3 inches of precipitation. Nearly all locations throughout the central Peninsula received over an inch of rain. In Hendry County, some stockponds were filling from recent rains. Thunderstorms early in the week brought the heaviest rainfall to the eastern citrus region, totaling 3 1/2 half inches to Fort Pierce. Ona and Sebring both recorded 3 inches of rainfall for the week; Immokalee had almost 2 inches. Surface elevation of Lake Okeechobee rebounded to 10.28 feet on July 19, up from 9.27 feet on June 15, and 9.10 feet on July 15, 2007. Citrus: The daily showers have been beneficial to the growth of foliage and new fruit. Harvest is over for the season and processing plants are closed. Growers are focusing on grove maintenance, scheduled management practices, and canker and psyllid control. Next season’s fruit is sizing well across the state. Oranges have been observed at various sizes ranging between golf ball and baseball sizes. Grapefruit tend to be running larger. Trees look good in well-kept groves across the state. Livestock and Pastures: In the Panhandle and northern areas, pastures are in poor to excellent condition and cattle are in fair to excellent condition. Pastures in the central areas are in poor to excellent condition and cattle are poor to excellent. In the southwestern areas, pasture condition is mainly good. In the past two weeks, some pasture has received more rainfall than needed. Statewide, cattle condition is poor to excellent with most in good condition.
