Georgia pecan, tobacco farmers eye unexpectedly good crops

Georgia’s tobacco and pecan crop are on pace for a surprisingly good year. Not surprisingly, though, above-normal temperatures have smothered the state and taken a toll on some row crops, like peanut and cotton.

Pecan trees are alternate-bearing, meaning they produce a full crop every other year. Most trees in Georgia are on the same cycle, and this was supposed to be an “off” year for pecan production. But it isn’t looking like it, said Lenny Wells, a pecan specialist with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

“I’m really surprised. This is the best off year in a long time,” he said.

Last year, Georgia farmers harvested 90 million pounds of pecans, a good crop for an “on” year. This off year, they’ll likely produce between 75 million and 80 million pounds, double what has been produced in other off years. The reason why isn’t clear, Wells said. Favorable spring and summer weather mixed with intense management by farmers to control diseases and insects kept trees stress-free. The colder-than-normal winter may have helped, too.

Harvest on Georgia’s 140,000 acres of pecan orchards, mostly in southwest Georgia, will start later this fall.

Changes in the way farmers market tobacco coupled with disease outbreaks have drastically reduced Georgia tobacco production in recent years. A decade ago, the state had 1,000 tobacco farmers. Less than a quarter of them remain today. But the crop turned a corner this year, said Fred Wetherington, a tobacco farmer in Lowndes County near the Florida line. Weather was good, and disease damage was minimal.

“We got the best looking crop we’ve had in 15 years or so,” Wetherington said.

Farmers planted between 10,000 and 11,000 acres this spring. Harvest is half complete.

Spring and early summer weather treated newly planted peanut and cotton plants well. But above-normal temperatures, some reaching over 100 degrees in some place, have since rocked the crops.
Last year, Georgia farmers harvested an average of 900 pounds of cotton per acre, a new state record. Records likely won’t be broken this year, said Phillip Roberts, a cotton entomologist with UGA Extension. Some areas are in mild drought. This coupled with the heat will hamper yield potential.

“The cotton crop as a whole is variable across the state, which is typical for Georgia. But we’re probably looking at more of an average crop this year compared to last,” Roberts said. “But we still have a long way to go with this crop.”

Farmers planted an estimated 1.24 million acres in Georgia this year, 25 percent more than last year, according to a recent report by the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. Average yields are expected to be around 850 pounds per acre, but this could be optimistic, Roberts said. Harvest will start later this fall.

The extreme heat in July and early August hurt peanut plants’ ability to set peanut pods, which grow under ground, said John Beasley, a peanut agronomist with UGA Extension. But relatively cooler temperatures in the lower 90s are helping the crop recover.

Peanut farmers last year also set an average yield record for the state at 3,530 pounds per acre. It will be tough now, Beasley said, for any yield records to be broken this year, but the potential for a good crop is still there. The average yield is now expected to be 3,300 pounds per acre, or 7 percent less than last year.

Farmers planted an estimated 550,000 acres of peanuts in late spring. Harvest will start later next month.

By Brad Haire
University of Georgia 

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Soggy spring weather wallops Georgia wheat

After rough spring weather, the heat is on. And some crops are doing better than others in Georgia fields, where farmers are finishing up a disappointing wheat harvest and hoping the rain hasn’t stopped for the year, say University of Georgia crop experts.

Going into harvest a month ago, Georgia’s winter wheat crop was in good shape, said Dewey Lee, UGA Cooperative Extension small grains expert. But heavy springtime rain delayed harvest. Now, the quality of the 240,000 acres of wheat to be harvested is poor due to sprouting in the field, something farmers don’t want to happen.

“Soft red winter wheat is notorious for sprouting under rainy conditions,” he said. “Once soft wheat dries in the field to a harvestable condition, if the crop experiences prolonged rainy conditions, the seed will sprout. … This crop was pretty much disastrous. We had the opportunity to obtain good yields (50 bushels per acre) but have fallen below that.”

Right now, farmers are getting $3.50 to $4 per bushel for damaged, poor-quality wheat and $4 to $5 for good-quality wheat, said Nathan Smith, a UGA Extension farm economist. Farmers need at least $4 per bushel to break even this year.

“It’s a challenge to grow wheat in Georgia and get consistent returns each year,” Smith said. “This was just one of those years where neither prices nor the yields were there.”

Georgia is expected to produce 11.5 million bushels of wheat this year, according to the Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service. This is half of last year’s total production.

Other Georgia crops face problems, too.

Georgia’s 350,000 acres of corn is at a stage where it needs at least a third of an inch of water each day, Lee said. Most Georgia soil holds an inch of water for only four days. After that time, it is dry.

Right now, corn planted in irrigated fields is in good condition. But every day without rainfall now hurts plants not able to get irrigation, he said.

“We had healthy plants going into this hot weather. But the heat is having a negative impact,” Lee said. “For farmers lucky enough to get afternoon thunderstorms, it’ll be a yield saver this time of year.”

During normal spring, Georgia farmers start planting peanuts in late April and finish in 40 days. This year, due to crazy springtime weather, it took 75 days to complete planting for the state’s expected 500,000 acres, said John Beasley, UGA Extension peanut expert.

“The word I have for this planting season is ‘discombobulated,’” said Beasley. “And it was as discombobulated as I have ever seen.”

Now that planting is over and most plants are coming up, the crop is looking OK, he said, considering. But 50 percent of the crop was planted in June. Typically, only 10 percent is planted in this month.

This means peanut harvest will push into mid October. Normal nighttime temperatures then will be in the lower 60s, a range peanuts can tolerate. If temperatures drop any lower, maturity and yields will be hurt.

According to a weekly crop report from GASS, 70 percent of Georgia’s tobacco crop is in fair to good condition. The remaining 30 percent is in poor to very poor condition.

Most of the state’s soybean and cotton plants are in good to fair condition for this time of year.

By Brad Haire
University of Georgia

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H.E.A.T. Provides $1.02 Million to Help Georgians Pay Heating Bills

The Heating Energy Assistance Team (H.E.A.T.), Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that provides energy assistance statewide to low-income Georgians, announced today that it has provided $1,020,649 to the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) to assist qualified families who are unable to pay their heating bills.

“Georgia’s low-income families live on extremely tight budgets; they often are forced to choose between buying food or medicine or heating their homes,” said H.E.A.T. Board Chairman Chris Strippelhoff. “This donation will help reach the Georgia households in most need of emergency energy assistance this winter.”

One Georgian’s story

Until January 2008, Woodstock resident Patrick Hlavaty was a full-time musician, playing and teaching piano and guitar. But a sudden diabetic seizure caused him to fall, leaving him unable to walk normally and no longer able to use his left hand to play musical instruments. He was forced to retire without enough resources to make ends meet.

At the time of the seizure, “Mr. Pat,” as he likes to be called, was the sole bread winner for his family. His wife was not able to work after having hip replacement surgery. Their only income was a small teacher’s pension and a limited amount of Social Security.

“I’ve been an independent person all my life,” Hlavaty said. “I’ve always worked. But that one day forced me to depend on other people and organizations. It bothered the heck out of me.”

Concerned about mounting energy bills, Hlavaty applied for energy assistance and received much-needed help to pay his heating bills. “I want to thank all contributors to H.E.A.T.,” he says, “because without caring people like them, anyone in my situation would not know where to turn.” Hopeful that surgery will help correct his condition, Hlavaty looks forward to playing music again in the future. “I want to be back at work and be self-sufficient again,” he says.

Qualified families can get energy assistance

H.E.A.T. funds are distributed by DHR through local community action agencies. Qualified families apply for assistance at the agency that serves their county. Households must meet established guidelines that include income eligibility. During the past 25 years, H.E.A.T. has distributed nearly $17 million to approximately 82,000 families.

The recent H.E.A.T. donation will be an important addition to federal funds available for energy assistance. “We appreciate this donation so much, “said Mark Washington, assistant DHR commissioner, Division of Family and Children Services, “because we never have enough funds available to help the tremendous number of families in need. H.E.A.T. is an important part of addressing this problem.”

Private citizens and natural gas companies made the financial contributions to H.E.A.T. that resulted in the $1.02 million distribution. Georgia Natural Gas, SCANA Energy, AGL Resources, Gas South, MXenergy, Stream Energy, Infinite Energy, and Blossman Gas all participated. In addition, some of the funds were provided to H.E.A.T. by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

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Celebrating 25 Years of Energy Assistance to Georgia Families

/PRNewswire/ -- Heating Energy Assistance Team, Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization that is Georgia's oldest statewide fuel fund, recently celebrated 25 years of providing energy assistance to Georgians statewide, thanks to H.E.A.T.'s partnership with community-minded organizations like AGL Resources, Georgia Natural Gas, SCANA Energy, Gas South, the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, and many more.

During the past 25 years, H.E.A.T. has raised nearly $17 million in energy assistance for more than 82,000 families. "It's a mighty good thing that a program like H.E.A.T. does such good work," H.E.A.T. recipient Evelyn Gregory told celebration attendees. "I've been able to get help with my heating bills at the beginning of the heating season, and I'm so grateful of that." Gregory, a widow of 10 years, lives on a fixed income and often has to choose between buying groceries and staying warm during the winter. Thousands of Georgians face that choice every year.

H.E.A.T., originally established by Atlanta Gas Light Company in 1983, has helped address the energy needs of low-income Georgians by joining forces with concerned citizens, businesses and state government. When the Georgia General Assembly deregulated the state's natural gas industry, H.E.A.T. became a separate 501 (c) (3) nonprofit tax-exempt entity in May 2000.

Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Chuck Eaton, keynote speaker at the celebration, praised H.E.A.T. and said that the best way the commission could help Georgians is by keeping the cost of heating down. "Electricity demand is growing by 1,000 megawatts a year in Georgia," he said. "Coal, nuclear and natural gas can be used to manufacture electricity, but there are pro's and con's to each of those. In 2007, 33 percent of natural gas use was for electric generation, so that caused upward pressure on prices. We have to be diversified and keep all options on the table - not just natural gas, but also coal, nuclear, biomass, solar and wind. There's no easy answer, but it's a mistake to oversimplify this problem."

During the celebration Joan Martin, wife of U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin, spoke on his behalf, emphasizing that her husband was actively involved with H.E.A.T. beginning in January 1983. In his prepared remarks, he said, "The partnership between the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the community action agencies, the federal government, the PSC and H.E.A.T. is the envy of the nation. Federal, state, nonprofit, private individuals and business working together to assist the elderly, disabled and poor stay warm. It is simply a miracle."

H.E.A.T. staff and the board of directors, consisting of volunteer business and consumer leaders from around the state, work diligently to raise funds throughout the year. "Thousands of families cope with poverty, unemployment and high energy costs every winter," says H.E.A.T. Board Chairman Chris Strippelhoff. "With the generosity of Georgia citizens and the energy industry, H.E.A.T. has helped so many families in need - but there remains much to be done."

For more information about H.E.A.T. or to donate online, go to www.heatga.org .

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