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 23, 2009 Volume 09 No. 03 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.9 Soil moisture supplies: 3% very short, 10% short, 70% adequate and 17% surplus Field Crops Report Producers continued to plant corn and rice. Soybean producers prepared fields for planting. Sugarcane producers sprayed herbicides. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers planted beans, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Strawberry producers continued to harvest strawberries. Citrus producers sprayed for disease and insects. Crawfish producers increased harvesting activities and crawfish were larger. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen continued to be busy with calving. Winter pastures showed good growth. Cattlemen sprayed pastures and hay fields for weed control. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2009 Week 2008 5 YR AVG Corn Planted 58 10 37 42 Rice Planted 11 4 4 8 Winter Wheat Headed 15 0 0 9 Land Preparation Spring plowing 63 45 28 33 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 3 14 38 38 7 Wheat 0 2 31 64 3 Livestock 2 8 41 45 4 Vegetables 1 7 47 44 1 Pasture 2 15 44 36 3 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 03/16/09 TO 03/22/09 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City MM MM MM 57 0.01 3.34 7.12 12.36 Minden 79 41 57 57 0.00 4.00 8.87 13.48 Mooringsport 77 45 59 MM 0.01 3.27 7.14 11.48 Extreme/Average 79 41 58 58 0.01 3.64 8.01 12.67 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 78 39 56 58 0.21 4.27 8.60 14.66 Homer/Hill Farm 79 37 55 56 0.01 3.86 8.16 13.68 ULM-Monroe 77 40 56 58 0.00 3.94 8.01 15.21 Colmubia Lock 78 43 57 MM 0.08 3.78 7.42 15.44 Extreme/Average 79 37 56 58 0.08 3.96 8.05 14.55 3. Northeast Lake Providence 78 43 58 57 0.03 3.48 8.35 15.42 LSU-St Joseph 80 46 60 59 0.33 3.71 10.55 15.72 LSU-Winnsboro MM MM MM 58 0.10 3.35 7.91 14.98 Tallulah 79 46 60 58 0.05 4.58 10.28 15.52 Extreme/Average 80 43 59 59 0.14 3.92 9.73 15.38 4. West-Central Leesville 80 39 59 60 0.18 4.72 7.34 14.20 LSU-Rosepine 78 (30) 50 60 0.60 4.96 8.23 14.05 Natchitoches 84 49 61 59 0.11 5.29 9.14 13.94 Extreme/Average (84) 30 60 59 0.15 5.01 8.24 13.95 5. Central Alexandria 80 47 61 60 0.69 3.99 7.64 15.07 Brusly 79 48 62 61 2.01 4.08 9.17 15.40 Bunkie 79 48 61 61 0.93 2.93 9.59 15.38 LSU-Alexandria 79 47 59 60 0.41 3.14 8.50 14.64 Extreme/Average 80 47 62 61 1.21 3.67 8.80 15.06 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 77 47 62 MM 1.00 2.88 9.45 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 79 49 63 61 1.80 4.28 9.84 14.45 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 60 M.MM 0.00 5.88 15.83 LSU-Hammond 78 48 62 61 2.10 3.71 7.84 16.01 Slidell MM MM MM 61 0.26 2.43 6.38 15.75 Extreme/Average 79 47 62 61 1.63 3.62 9.04 15.88 7. Southwest De Ridder 80 46 62 61 0.52 3.61 9.20 14.74 Jennings 79 49 63 61 1.56 4.00 8.34 13.15 LSU-Crowley 79 50 64 62 1.81 4.16 8.59 13.53 Extreme/Average 80 46 63 62 1.30 3.92 8.71 13.17 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 79 49 64 62 0.68 2.40 8.08 14.06 LSU-Jeanerette 79 51 64 62 1.56 3.46 7.33 12.58 Morgan City 78 52 64 62 0.22 0.71 5.06 13.57 Extreme/Average 79 49 64 63 0.82 2.19 6.82 13.34 9. Southeast Galliano 76 50 65 63 0.89 1.47 5.61 14.42 Houma 78 52 65 63 0.44 0.65 3.59 13.55 Terrytown 3S 79 54 66 MM 0.53 1.94 8.43 MM.MM Reserve 78 52 64 62 0.64 1.98 6.17 15.83 Extreme/Average 79 50 66 63 0.49 1.30 6.01 14.62 State State Averages 84 30 61 61 0.73 3.46 8.20 14.35 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through March 22, 2009