The Week in Florida Agriculture
February 1-7, 2010
Hay supplies are rapidly decreasing. Wet soils in the Panhandle and Big Bend areas are hindering field work. Planting is delayed due to surplus rains. Potato crop damage due to standing water is being assessed. Disking and fertilizer application is being delayed due to soggy soil. Localized flooding in vegetable beds reported. Pastures are generally dry. Spring melons are being planted. Sugarcane harvest continues with some reduction in yield due to freeze damage incurred last month. Weather Summary: Many northern and central fields are saturated. Seafood: Red and black grouper, amberjack, triggerfish, red snapper, b-liner snapper, blue crabs and oysters are plentiful. Forestry: Landowners are beginning to plant bare-root tree seedlings. Forestry officials remind landowners who are preparing for dormant season prescribed burning to develop plans and obtain authorizations. Vegetables: Light volumes of vegetables continue to move through the market including snap beans, cabbage, celery, sweet corn, eggplant, endive, escarole, peppers, radishes, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. Livestock and Pastures: Hay feeding is active with a few reports of short supply. Pasture condition across the state is mostly poor to fair. Pasture is greening but covered with frost-burnt grass. Cattle are stressed from the poor pasture condition. Supplemental feeding is active. Statewide, cattle condition is mostly fair to good. Citrus: All packinghouses are open. Varieties being packed include early oranges (Navel and Hamlin), white and colored grapefruit, and tangerines (mostly Sunburst, with a few Honeys). Seventeen processors are open and accepting fruit. Early, midseason, and late oranges and grapefruit comprise the majority of fruit going to the plants. The predominant grove activity is the harvesting of early and mid oranges.
