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 9, 2007 Volume 07 No. 06 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.5 Soil moisture supplies: 5% very short, 19% short, 47% adequate and 29% surplus Field Crops Report Most of the state received rain and very cold temperatures late in the week which brought concern to some producers who had crops already planted and emerged. Corn planted and emerged continued to make good progress, but the condition declined due to the cold weather. Rice producers continued planting and 26 percent of the crop had already emerged. Sugarcane crop condition also declined due to the almost freezing temperatures. Sorghum planting made good progress, increasing to 39 percent. Soybean producers continued to prepare their fields for planting. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Citrus growers were finishing up fertilizer applications. Vegetable producers were planting and irrigating field crops, with crop conditions on the rise. Crawfish catches continued to increase, but ponds were in need of more water. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Cooler weather provided some relief to livestock. Calving continued as well as some feeding. Cattlemen were cutting hay and fertilizing pastures throughout the week. Cattlemen were also busy culling cows and marketing calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2007 Week 2006 5 YR AVG Corn Planted 92 87 88 82 Emerged 76 59 56 50 Hay First Cutting 2 1 3 1 Rice Planted 51 36 52 52 Emerged 26 0 28 28 Sorghum Planted 39 26 23 14 Wheat Headed 71 55 77 47 Land Preparation Spring plowing 78 68 73 67 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 2 6 21 71 0 Sugarcane 10 21 50 19 0 Wheat 0 5 29 59 7 Livestock 0 7 40 52 1 Vegetables 1 14 34 41 10 Pasture 1 15 44 32 8 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 04/02/07 TO 04/08/07 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City(87) 36 59 61 0.00 0.60 10.78 14.90 Minden 84 36 58 61 0.00 1.33 12.04 16.29 Mooringsport 83 37 58 MM 0.03 4.63 15.33 13.75 Extreme/Average 87 36 59 62 0.01 2.19 12.72 15.22 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 83 34 56 62 0.13 1.30 10.76 17.60 Homer/Hill Farm 86 35 59 60 0.00 1.71 12.95 16.57 ULM-Monroe 87 34 59 62 0.48 1.52 9.12 18.45 Winnfield MM MM MM 62 M.MM M.MM 6.37 17.60 Extreme/Average 87 34 58 62 0.20 1.51 10.94 17.52 3. Northeast Lake Providence 86 37 59 61 0.06 0.57 9.47 18.99 LSU-St Joseph 85 38 61 63 0.54 2.18 13.30 19.05 LSU-Winnsboro 84 37 59 62 0.19 2.94 12.13 18.27 Tallulah 83 36 59 62 0.09 1.43 9.91 18.92 Extreme/Average 86 36 60 62 0.22 1.78 11.20 18.73 4. West-Central Leesville 84 32 61 63 0.41 4.05 11.36 16.83 LSU-Rosepine 83 33 61 63 0.51 4.54 14.72 16.69 Natchitoches 83 33 60 62 0.01 1.70 9.08 16.65 Extreme/Average 84 32 60 63 0.31 3.43 11.72 16.60 5. Central Alexandria 84 37 62 64 1.15 2.81 14.66 18.10 Brusly 83 37 62 64 0.62 2.04 12.63 18.43 Bunkie 83 34 60 64 1.13 3.80 13.52 18.59 LSU-Alexandria 84 36 60 63 0.49 2.11 11.88 17.36 Extreme/Average 84 34 61 64 0.85 2.69 12.68 18.03 6. East-Central Bogalusa 86 34 63 64 0.41 2.54 10.87 19.92 LSU-Baton Rouge 84 38 62 64 0.54 2.51 11.66 17.27 LSU-Clinton 81 (29) 60 63 1.23 2.45 11.40 19.00 LSU-Hammond 84 37 63 63 0.58 2.26 10.01 19.39 Slidell 82 38 63 65 0.92 2.70 11.46 18.70 Extreme/Average 86 29 62 65 0.74 2.49 11.00 19.14 7. Southwest De Ridder 83 35 62 64 1.92 5.87 16.21 17.35 Jennings 80 36 61 64 0.89 3.08 13.97 15.47 LSU-Crowley 82 36 63 65 0.68 2.63 13.60 15.91 Extreme/Average 83 35 62 65 1.30 4.25 14.91 15.52 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 85 38 63 65 0.36 2.99 10.61 17.08 LSU-Jeanerette 83 37 63 65 0.33 2.30 11.56 15.10 Morgan City 83 37 65 65 0.42 3.16 10.29 16.02 Extreme/Average 85 37 64 66 0.37 2.82 10.82 15.99 9. Southeast Galliano 81 41 64 66 0.10 1.62 9.02 17.20 Houma 83 39 65 66 0.43 2.31 10.81 16.18 NO Audubon Park 84 41 65 67 0.17 1.37 7.39 16.82 Reserve 85 40 64 65 0.31 2.08 11.35 18.91 Extreme/Average 85 39 64 66 0.25 1.85 9.64 17.52 State State Averages 87 29 61 64 0.55 2.60 11.90 17.20 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through April 8, 2007