The Week in Florida Agriculture
August 4-10, 2008
Peanut pegging is 98 percent complete, compared to 89 percent this time last year. Peanut condition is rated 43 percent fair, 43 percent good, and 14 percent excellent. Dry conditions have stressed cotton crops. Hay baling is increasing. Summer cover crops are being incorporated into fields for fall cabbage and broccoli planting. Land preparations for fall vegetables are increasing in the southern peninsula. Seafood: The commercial fishery for golden tilefish in the South Atlantic is closed, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) August 17, 2008, through December 31, 2008. Vegetables: Most vegetable growers are finished with harvesting. However, some producers are marketing avocadoes and okra. Livestock and Pastures: Drought in the southwest reduced the state’s pasture condition. In the Panhandle and northern areas, pasture is in fair to excellent condition. Soil moisture conditions are good, helped by rain at favorable intervals. In the central areas, pasture and cattle conditions are mostly good, but range from poor to excellent. In the southwest, pasture condition is mostly good, but ranged from very poor to excellent. The cattle condition ranges from very poor to excellent. Statewide, the cattle condition is very poor to excellent with most in good condition. Citrus: The heaviest rainfall amounts during the week were received on the east coast. Fort Pierce had over 4 inches for the second week in a row. Ona, located in the southern citrus area, had over 3 inches. Other monitored citrus-producing areas had an inch or less. Daily high temperatures were into the lower 90s early in the week, cooling off slightly by the weekend. Grove activity includes aerial and ground spraying primarily for psyllid control. Other activity includes mowing, irrigating and fertilizing. Where caretakers were spending sufficient time maintaining groves, the crop is progressing well. Orange sizes are as large as baseballs; grapefruit are typically larger. Some color break has been observed inside grapefruit in younger groves. Overall, conditions are good in well-managed groves and the outlook is good for the next season.
