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: April 6, 2009 Volume 09 No. 05 Days suitable for fieldwork: 2.7 Soil moisture supplies: 2% very short, 1% short, 49% adequate and 48% surplus Field Crops Report Spring planting was delayed by heavy rainfall. Producers spent much of the week in the shop repairing equipment. Corn producers were busy evaluating fields to determine where replanting was needed. Rice planting continued. There were some reports of lodging in wheat fields due to the storms. Sugarcane producers applied herbicides. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Producers were busy harvesting strawberries, and planting tomatoes. Crawfish producers reported good catches, however, crawfish size was small. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen fertilized pastures and began cutting hay. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2009 Week 2008 5 YR AVG Corn Planted 82 76 93 84 Emerged 52 27 47 49 Rice Planted 41 26 49 45 Sorghum Planted 3 2 14 18 Winter Wheat Headed 64 33 48 51 Land Preparation Spring plowing 73 73 71 64 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 3 14 34 43 6 Wheat 1 3 31 59 6 Livestock 2 6 36 50 6 Vegetables 4 9 40 46 1 Pasture 2 9 38 46 5 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 03/30/09 TO 04/05/09 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 79 36 58 60 0.80 7.14 10.93 14.45 Minden 81 (34) 56 60 1.26 8.37 13.24 15.78 Mooringsport 79 40 57 MM 0.72 6.63 10.50 13.34 Extreme/Average 81 34 57 61 0.93 7.38 11.56 14.77 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 79 35 58 61 0.59 7.70 12.05 17.12 Homer/Hill Farm 79 36 58 59 1.22 7.72 12.09 16.06 ULM-Monroe 79 39 60 61 0.58 6.90 11.07 17.91 Colmubia Lock 79 38 58 MM 0.79 8.23 12.09 18.23 Extreme/Average 79 35 58 61 0.80 7.64 11.83 17.01 3. Northeast Lake Providence 78 39 59 60 0.54 6.74 11.69 18.36 LSU-St Joseph 80 42 62 62 0.32 7.41 14.26 18.50 LSU-Winnsboro 79 41 60 61 0.48 6.99 11.91 17.70 Tallulah 79 39 61 61 0.55 10.23 16.18 18.35 Extreme/Average 80 39 60 62 0.47 7.84 13.51 18.16 4. West-Central Leesville 79 39 60 62 0.76 9.12 11.76 16.38 LSU-Rosepine 77 38 59 62 0.35 9.12 12.39 16.27 Natchitoches 78 42 59 62 1.03 10.32 14.18 16.20 Extreme/Average 79 38 59 62 0.71 9.52 12.78 16.15 5. Central Alexandria 78 41 60 63 0.00 8.51 12.21 17.59 Brusly 81 44 62 63 0.48 8.86 13.95 17.86 Bunkie 78 44 61 63 0.15 8.28 14.94 18.04 LSU-Alexandria 78 42 61 63 0.27 7.20 12.56 16.91 Extreme/Average 81 41 61 64 0.23 8.21 13.42 17.52 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 80 43 62 MM 0.43 9.93 16.56 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 80 45 63 64 0.42 8.49 14.10 16.76 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 62 0.00 6.83 12.71 18.43 LSU-Hammond 80 43 63 63 0.16 5.82 9.95 18.79 Slidell 80 44 63 64 1.05 8.89 12.84 18.22 Extreme/Average 80 43 63 64 0.52 8.28 13.36 18.57 7. Southwest De Ridder 78 44 61 63 0.33 7.24 12.83 16.93 Jennings 79 47 64 64 0.61 8.20 12.54 15.08 LSU-Crowley 77 46 62 65 0.60 8.59 13.04 15.49 Extreme/Average 79 44 62 65 0.51 8.01 12.80 15.13 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 81 46 63 65 0.64 6.52 12.25 16.54 LSU-Jeanerette 81 47 65 64 0.33 9.67 13.54 14.64 Morgan City 79 48 65 65 0.16 5.59 9.97 15.60 Extreme/Average 81 46 64 65 0.38 7.26 11.92 15.51 9. Southeast Galliano 81 49 64 65 0.05 2.42 6.56 16.75 Houma 81 48 65 66 0.14 5.61 8.59 15.73 Terrytown 3S (83) 51 67 MM 0.10 9.22 15.89 MM.MM Reserve 80 49 64 65 0.31 6.20 10.39 18.37 Extreme/Average 83 48 65 66 0.15 5.86 10.36 17.04 State State Averages 83 34 61 63 0.49 7.75 12.43 16.71 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through April 05, 2009