LA-WEATHER United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, Louisiana Field Office Crop Weather Cooperating with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture Louisiana Field Office · 5825 Florida Blvd · Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 922-1362 · (225) 922-0744 FAX www.nass.usda.gov/la Released: March 16, 2009 Volume 09 No. 02 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.7 Soil moisture supplies: 7% very short, 16% short, 58% adequate and 19% surplus Field Crops Report Rain fell across most of the state last week which improved planting conditions. Producers continued to plant corn and rice. Soybean producers prepared fields for planting. Sugarcane producers continued destroying old stubble and applying herbicides. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Producers continued spraying and harvesting strawberries. Vegetable producers prepared for planting of summer crops. Citrus producers completed fertilization. Crawfish trapping was underway, and producers reported that crawfish size was increasing. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Calving continued last week. Pastures and hay fields improved due to rainfall. Cattlemen continued fertilizing and spraying pastures. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2009 Week 2008 5 YR AVG Land Preparation Spring plowing 45 43 18 21 Corn Planted 10 0 3 16 Rice Planted 4 0 2 2 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 5 18 52 23 2 Wheat 0 2 30 66 2 Livestock 5 13 45 36 1 Vegetables 3 17 38 40 2 Pasture 8 21 43 27 1 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 03/09/09 TO 03/15/09 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 84 37 55 55 3.32 3.48 7.11 11.38 Minden 83 36 56 55 4.00 4.37 8.92 12.36 Mooringsport 81 (35) 53 MM 3.26 3.64 7.13 10.57 Extreme/Average 84 35 55 56 3.53 3.83 7.72 11.64 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 84 37 54 56 4.04 4.22 8.39 13.33 Homer/Hill Farm 83 35 53 54 3.78 4.21 8.15 12.49 ULM-Monroe 84 38 55 56 3.84 4.12 8.01 13.81 Colmubia Lock 83 38 57 MM 3.48 3.97 7.34 14.11 Extreme/Average 84 35 55 57 3.79 4.13 7.97 13.29 3. Northeast Lake Providence 84 38 56 55 3.37 3.80 8.32 13.97 LSU-St Joseph 83 43 59 57 3.37 3.55 10.22 14.25 LSU-Winnsboro 83 40 58 56 3.00 3.43 7.81 13.65 Tallulah 83 40 57 56 4.28 4.74 10.23 14.05 Extreme/Average 84 38 58 57 3.51 3.88 9.15 13.94 4. West-Central Leesville 84 39 58 58 4.52 4.61 7.16 13.02 LSU-Rosepine 83 38 59 58 4.36 4.40 7.63 12.81 Natchitoches (85) 40 60 57 5.17 5.44 9.03 12.71 Extreme/Average 85 38 59 58 4.68 4.82 7.94 12.76 5. Central Alexandria 83 41 59 59 3.25 3.70 6.95 13.74 Brusly 83 50 65 59 2.07 2.14 7.16 14.28 Bunkie 83 43 62 59 2.00 2.23 8.66 14.05 LSU-Alexandria 84 41 59 58 2.73 2.91 8.09 13.40 Extreme/Average 84 41 61 59 2.51 2.75 7.72 13.80 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 82 51 67 MM 1.82 2.41 8.45 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 83 51 66 60 2.43 2.56 8.04 13.33 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 58 M.MM 0.28 5.88 14.57 LSU-Hammond 82 54 67 59 1.61 1.79 5.74 14.61 Slidell 82 53 69 60 2.17 2.53 6.12 14.38 Extreme/Average 83 51 67 60 2.01 2.32 7.09 14.48 7. Southwest De Ridder 82 41 60 59 3.09 3.38 8.68 13.52 Jennings 83 45 63 60 2.44 2.80 6.78 12.10 LSU-Crowley 82 46 63 60 2.33 2.62 6.78 12.48 Extreme/Average 83 41 62 61 2.62 2.93 7.41 12.13 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 85 53 69 60 1.67 1.94 7.40 12.87 LSU-Jeanerette 82 51 67 60 1.90 2.25 5.77 11.60 Morgan City 80 55 67 60 0.46 0.88 4.84 12.52 Extreme/Average 85 51 67 61 1.34 1.69 6.00 12.29 9. Southeast Galliano 80 55 69 62 0.58 0.59 4.72 13.15 Houma 82 56 69 62 0.17 0.21 3.15 12.43 Terrytown 3S 83 61 71 MM 1.23 1.41 7.90 MM.MM Reserve 83 56 69 61 1.34 1.56 5.53 14.50 Extreme/Average 83 55 69 62 0.83 0.94 5.33 13.36 State State Averages 85 35 62 59 2.69 2.96 7.36 13.13 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through March 15, 2009