A1A South

FSU-WESTERN:

Several days of warm, dry weather favored winter grain maturation and early harvest activities in Ukraine and southern Russia, while showers and thunderstorms benefited immature winter grains and spring sown crops across northern Russia.

FSU-NEW LANDS:

A cooling trend was accompanied by late-week showers, improving growing conditions for spring grains.

EUROPE:

Dry, increasingly hot conditions across southern Europe contrasted with showery weather in central and northern growing areas.

AUSTRALIA:

Dry weather followed last week’s beneficial rainfall in New South Wales, allowing winter grain planting but providing no additional drought relief.

EAST ASIA: 

Showers benefited emerging to vegetative summer crops throughout China, although flooding continued in the south.

SOUTHEAST ASIA:

The southwest monsoon and Typhoon Fengshen dominated the weather across the region.

SOUTH ASIA:

Locally heavy monsoon showers across northern India exacerbated flooding.

ARGENTINA:

Fieldwork advanced in southern wheat areas but drought limited planting opportunities farther north.

BRAZIL:

Beneficial rain covered the southern wheat belt.

CANADA:

Mild, showery weather benefited vegetative Prairie spring crops.

MEXICO:

Scattered showers covered the southern plateau corn belt, but pockets of dryness lingered in
central growing areas.

FLORIDA:
Topsoil moisture 15% very short, 15% short, 65% adequate,5% surplus. Subsoil moisture 26% very short, 30% short, 43% adequate,1 % surplus. Peanuts 44% pegged, 24% 2007, 42% 5-yr avg. Soil moisture short, Panhandle, central Peninsula; adequate, southern Peninsula, Big Bend area. Improvements in field crops with recent rainfall; areas with less rainfall crops remained stressed. Washington County early planted crops developing well. All peanut, cotton crops emerged; soil moisture good enough to practice adequate weed control, Washington County. Irrigated corn described as good, ears developing, Jefferson County. Pecan, cotton fair to good, Jefferson County. Crops aided by rain, need more to get back to normal, Brevard County.Summer harvest of many vegetables ended, especially central, southern regions. Washington County, Panhandle midharvest for watermelons. Some seedless varieties showed signs of hollow heart. Okra, tomatoes, watermelon, avocadoes moved through market. Tropical weather an asset to citrus fruit growth, tree foliage. Oranges large as golf ball, grapefruit about two to three times as large. Trees in well kept groves in good condition for next season’s crop. Production practices herbiciding, spraying, mowing, brush removal. Some growers combined efforts to use aerial applications for Psyllid control. Valencia harvest active in southern areas where majority of remaining fruit is located. A few processing plants plan to run Valencia oranges into second week of July. Grapefruit utilization relatively over, small amounts of red varieties continued to be processed. Honey tangerine harvest done for season. Pasture Feed 5% very poor, 20% poor, 40% fair, 33% good, 2% excellent. Cattle Condition 20% poor, 45% fair, 35% good. Pasture condition improved in most of State. More rain needed for normal forage growth. Panhandle, north pasture condition very poor to excellent, most fair. Grass recovering from drought conditions, but very short; recovery slow due to overgrazed conditions. Hay production reduced by drought. North most cattle condition fair to good. Central pasture condition poor to excellent; cattle condition poor to good. Southwest conditon ranged very poor to excellent, most fair to good. Cattle condition poor to excellent. Statewide cattle condition poor to goodDays suitable for fieldwork 6.3.

GEORGIA:
Topsoil moisture 33% very short, 38% short, 28% adequate, 1% surplus. Corn 7% very poor, 17% poor, 36% fair, 32% good, 8% excellent. Soybeans 6% very poor, 19% poor, 45% fair, 28% good, 2% excellent; 94% planted, 87% 2007, 93% avg.; 86% emerged, 76% 2007, 85% avg.; 6% blooming, 3% 2007, 10% avg. Sorghum 3% very poor, 10% poor, 57% fair, 29% good, 1% excellent; 79% planted, 85% 2007, 87% avg. Apples 0% very poor, 4% poor, 12% fair, 27% good, 57% excellent. Hay 14% very poor, 30% poor, 36% fair, 19% good, 1% excellent. Peaches 0% very poor, 12% poor, 71% fair, 16% good, 1% excellent; 56% harvested, 55% 2007, 47% avg. Pecans 0% very poor, 7% poor, 45% fair, 43% good, 5% excellent. Tobacco 0% very poor, 9% poor, 27% fair, 53% good, 11% excellent. Watermelons 0% very poor, 4% poor, 34% fair, 58% good, 4% excellent; 52% harvested, 49% 2007, 44% avg. Corn 90% silked, 84% 2007, 84% avg.; 45% dough, 39% 2007, 43% avg.; 10% dent, 6% 2007, 9% avg. Winter wheat 98% harvested, 99% 2007, 95% avg. Peanuts 68% blooming, 39% 2007, 62% avg. Tobacco 1% harvested, 3% 2007, 4% avg.

Corn: Three percent of the corn acreage was at or beyond the silking stage, up only 1 percentage point from the previous week. This was 8 points behind last year and 6 points behind the 5-year average. Development was 1 to 31 points behind normal in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Ohio. Major developmental delays continued in Missouri, where already saturated fields received additional rainfall during the week. In Tennessee, silking lagged the 5-year average pace by 31 points. Condition of the Nation’s corn crop was rated 61 percent good to excellent, an improvement of 2 percentage points from the previous week. Condition ratings improved across much of the Corn Belt as fields continued to dry out.

Soybeans: Ninety-five percent of the crop had been planted, 4 points behind last year and 3 points behind the 5-year average. Planting was complete or nearly so in all States except Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Planting progress was within 11 points of normal in all States except Missouri, where progress was 22 points behind the 5-year average. Soybean emergence, at 90 percent nationally, was 7 and 6 points behind last year and the 5-year average, respectively. Emergence delays followed planting delays, which resulted from excessive moisture throughout the Nation’s mid-section. Eight percent of the soybean crop emerged during the week, as temperatures remained within 4 degrees F of average and fields began to dry out. Emergence was complete in Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Ohio. Nationally, 4 percent of the soybeans were blooming by week’s end, 11 points behind last year and 7 points behind the 5-year average. Development to the blooming stage was behind normal in all soybean-producing States except Louisiana, Michigan, and North Carolina. Overall, 58 percent of the crop was rated good to excellent, a 1 point increase from last week.

Winter Wheat: Producers had harvested 36 percent of the crop, the same as last year but 12 points behind the 5-year average. Due to excessively wet fields, harvest progress trailed the 5-year average in Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri by 36, 33, and 37 points, respectively. Elsewhere, the crop was mostly within 8 points of normal. Exceptions included Indiana, where the crop was 16 points behind, and California and North Carolina, where favorable conditions allowed harvest to progress more than 10 points ahead of the 5-year average.

Cotton: Acreage at or beyond the squaring stage, at 47 percent nationally, was 1 point behind last year and 3 points behind the average. Other than in Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas, the crop lagged the 5-year average pace. The most significant lag was in Tennessee, where soil moisture was rated 49 percent short to very short. One-tenth of the Nation’s cotton acreage was setting bolls, 2 points behind last year and normal. The condition of the crop was rated 45 percent good to excellent, 2 points lower than a week earlier.

Sorghum: Ninety-two percent of the acreage was planted, 3 points behind last year and 2 points behind normal. Planting was complete in the Delta and nearing completion in Nebraska and South Dakota. Planting progress lagged the 5-year average pace in most States, with the most significant delays in Missouri, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Development to the heading stage was evident on 22 percent of the acreage, 1 point behind last year but 1 point ahead of normal. Heading progress in Arkansas was 17 points behind the 5-year average, while heading was 28 points ahead of normal in Louisiana. In Texas, 51 percent of the acreage was heading, 1 point ahead of the normal pace. Nationwide, 49 percent of the crop was rated good to excellent.

Rice: Five percent of the acreage had reached the heading stage, 1 point behind last year and 2 points behind the 5-year average. Nearly one-third of the Louisiana acreage was heading, close to the normal pace. Sixteen percent of the crop was heading in Texas, 13 points behind the 5-year average. Rice condition ratings declined during the week, but were still 66 percent good to excellent.

Small Grains: Twenty-eight percent of the spring wheat acreage was at or beyond the heading stage, 25 points behind last year and 19 points behind the 5-year average. Development of the crop was significantly delayed in most States. In Minnesota and South Dakota, development to the heading stage was more than 32 points behind normal. Overall, the crop was rated 74 percent good to excellent, 2 points better than the previous week. Barley acreage heading had reached 29 percent, 29 points behind last year and 14 points behind the 5-year average. All States trailed both last year and the average. In Minnesota, heading progress was 58 points behind last year’s pace and 36 points behind the 5-year average. Nationwide, 71 percent of the crop was rated good to excellent, 3 points below the previous week. Sixty-two percent of the oat acreage was at or beyond the heading stage, 21 points behind last year and 15 points behind the 5-year average. When compared with last year, all States, except Texas, were behind. Significant delays were apparent in Minnesota, where heading progress trailed last year’s pace by 51 points. There were also delays of 42 and 43 points,
respectively, in South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Other Crops: Peanut development to the pegging stage, at 27 percent, was 11 points ahead of last year and 2 points ahead of the 5-year average. Development in Georgia was 24 points ahead of the 5-year average. Overall, 49 percent of the peanut acreage was rated in good to excellent condition. Sunflower planting was 95 percent complete, 2 points behind last year and the 5-year average. Planting was complete in Kansas. South Dakota producers made the most progress, planting 13 percent of their acreage during the last week.

ST. PETERSBURG — Florida’s most powerful bachelor is getting hitched.

Gov. Charlie Crist, single for nearly three decades, on Thursday morning became engaged to his girlfriend of nine months, Carole Rome.

“She’s special in every way. She’s brilliant, beautiful and sweet. I’m very, very lucky,” Crist told the St. Petersburg Times in an exclusive interview.

Crist said he picked out the sapphire and diamond ring on Wednesday at the Gold and Diamond Center in St. Petersburg’s Northeast Shopping Center.

No date has been set for the wedding, but Crist, 51, said it would be in St. Petersburg, where he is a member of First United Methodist Church. There probably also will be a reception in Tallahassee.

Speculation has been rampant for months about Crist and Rome’s future, as the two have been steady companions. Two weeks ago Crist tamped down a rumor that the engagement already had happened, saying “Not yet. … Stay tuned.”

“We’ve talked about it quite awhile,” said Crist, who proposed to Rome, 38, on Thursday morning in his Bayfront Tower condominium in St. Petersburg.

Source: Read the rest at TampaBay.com.

Congratulations and good luck.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Someone knocked a Jacksonville man unconscious and carved the words “Wife Beater” into his stomach, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

A police report states the 22-year-old naval officer was attacked after he left a Southside nightclub.

The man told police he went out to Bourbon Street Station to get a drink, but said that he decided to leave the club after he saw one his wife’s friends.

The last thing he said he remembered was walking to his car while checking his cell phone. When the man woke up in a haze, he lifted his bloody shirt and found the phrase carved into his stomach.

Read the rest at News4Jax.com.

Hunh. Seems strange that nobody walked out and saw the perp. It would take a little while to do that with a box cutter or razor blade.