The University of Georgia and other parties have put an abundance of time, money and resources into the UGA Weather Network. Here you can find all sorts of great weather information and the optimal time to plant your crops.
There are several tools that are helpful for farmers. Fruit growers can track chill hours, and you can also measure growing degree days which can be helpful for crop maturity. This time of year I use it to monitor soil temperatures. We have some dates that we can use for determining planting on certain crops. What it all comes down to is the optimal soil temperatures for germination and emergence.
In cool soils, seed is slower to germinate and plants are slower to emerge. This can lead to an increased incidence of seedling diseases and stunted plants. There are tons of weather stations around that you can use to determine what the soil temperatures are doing on any particular day in your area.
Soil temperature at the 2 and 4 inch depths will fluctuate throughout the day but what we are looking for is an average of 65 degrees at the 2 and 4 inch depths for crops like cotton and peanuts with a favorable forecast. To view the soil temperatures you can go to the website, pick your location and go to the current conditions tab on the left. From there you get a drop down and you can click on 7 day summary.
As always, if you have any questions please give me a call or contact your local County Agent.
