The Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia		 Research Report
Number 670
January, 2001
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2000 Soybean, Sorghum Grain and Silage,
Grain Millet, Summer Annual Forages, and
Sunflower Peformance Tests

J. LaDon Day, Anton E. Coy and Paul A. Rose, Editors

The Season

For the third consecutive year, Georgia farmers' fields were extremely dry with above normal temperatures at the beginning of the spring planting season. Growing conditions did not improve during 2000 as low rainfall and very high temperatures occurred across the state. Georgia producers struggled to get acceptable stands in dry soils and the planting season lagged behind the normal pace except where irrigation was used.

The severe drought that Georgia experienced during 1998 and 1999 continued throughout the 2000 growing season. Rainfall at the six Georgia and the Quincy, Florida, test sites is listed in the table below. Total seasonal rainfall amounts were below normal for the third consecutive year. The least amount of rainfall occurred across the Piedmont region and middle of the state with one site receiving only about half (58%) of long-term average.

For the year 2000, the irrigated crops were generally good but more than normal irrigation was needed. Most areas experienced water shortages and long periods of very high temperatures at critical crop development stages.

Georgia farmers continue to reduce planted acres of some row crops. Soybean acres continued a 4-year decline, down 9%, and were the lowest acreage planted since 1964. Grain sorghum (up 20%) and forage crop acrea increased as producers search for drought-tolerant crops.

Overall, the 2000 growing season was extremely difficult for farmers. The harvest season began earlier than normal due to early frost and a very dry October and November. Soybean production increased 20% due to a 25% increase in average yield over 1999, while forage production declined 12% from 1999.

 

2000 Rainfall1
Month Athens2 Calhoun3 Griffin Midville Plains Tifton Quincy, FL4
  ------------------------------------------------------- Inches -------------------------------------------------------
March 3.12 3.58 3.17 4.83 5.72 4.72 2.35
April 1.77 5.04 1.31 0.85 1.24 1.32 3.12
May 1.29 1.07 1.51 1.18 0.31 0.03 1.78
June 2.46 2.53 2.31 3.30 5.32 2.99 3.67
July 2.48 5.08 3.12 2.45 3.49 3.76 4.40
August 3.26 4.11 5.61 2.23 4.01 2.04 3.22
September 4.13 3.54 2.89 5.85 4.52 8.38 2.46
October 0.18 0.22 0.65 0.57 0.45 1.11 1.12
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Total 18.69 25.17 20.57 21.26 25.06 24.35 22.12
Normal (8 mo) 32.26 35.00 33.26 31.17 31.99 32.72 -
1. Georgia data provided in part by Dr. G. Hoogenboom, Georgia Station, Griffin, GA
2. Plant Sciences Farm.
3. Floyd County Location.
4. University of Florida North Florida Research and Education Center, Quincy, FL.
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J. LaDon Day is program coordinator of the state variety testing program and Paul A. Rose is an agricultural research coordinator II in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Georgia Station, Griffin, GA 30223-1797. Anton E. Coy is senior agricultural specialist in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, GA 31793-0748.
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