LA-WEATHER United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, Louisiana Field Office Crop Weather Cooperating with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry and the Louisiana State University Ag Center Louisiana Field Office · 5825 Florida Blvd · Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 922-1362 · (225) 922-0744 FAX www.nass.usda.gov/la Released: April 14, 2008 Volume 08 No. 06 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.5 Soil moisture supplies: 1% very short, 14% short, 71% adequate and 14% surplus Field Crops Report Moisture from previous week’s rainfall was starting to dry out fields permitting field activities to resume. Although rice planting remained active, strong winds kept producers from making much progress in planting. Cane field work progressed well with cultivation and spraying in full swing. Soybean and sorghum planting were underway. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers were harvesting their crops. Citrus producers scouted for insects. Crawfish producers continued harvesting. Some ponds were drained because of low prices. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Some fertilizer was applied to pastures. Cattlemen remained busy as calving season continued. Some farmers made a first cutting of hay. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Planted 98 94 95 95 Emerged 85 53 84 71 Cotton Planted 1 0 0 4 Hay First Cutting 4 1 5 3 Rice Planted 63 51 58 63 Emerged 35 23 36 42 Sorghum Planted 42 16 45 29 Soybeans Planted 6 0 0 2 Winter Wheat Headed 91 52 85 72 Land Preparation Spring plowing 75 71 82 77 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 0 1 15 68 16 Sugarcane 1 5 38 48 8 Wheat 1 3 15 64 17 Livestock 1 6 39 49 5 Vegetables 1 11 48 35 5 Pasture 2 11 38 45 4 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 04/07/08 TO 04/13/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 84 47 68 62 0.11 2.27 13.17 15.80 Minden 84 41 66 62 0.20 2.42 14.68 17.31 Mooringsport 82 48 66 MM 0.18 2.63 13.91 14.53 Extreme/Average 84 41 67 63 0.16 2.44 13.92 16.12 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 86 42 67 63 0.06 2.54 10.97 18.56 Homer/Hill Farm 84 44 66 61 0.33 2.51 12.84 17.59 ULM-Monroe (88) 49 69 63 0.02 2.48 11.04 19.53 Colmubia Lock 86 47 67 MM 0.10 2.73 12.75 20.03 Extreme/Average 88 42 67 63 0.13 2.57 11.90 18.53 3. Northeast Lake Providence 87 44 66 62 0.11 2.68 16.24 20.25 LSU-St Joseph 87 48 70 64 0.02 2.59 15.60 20.13 LSU-Winnsboro 88 42 69 63 0.18 2.80 15.83 19.41 Tallulah 87 47 68 63 0.10 4.04 17.49 20.00 Extreme/Average 88 42 68 64 0.10 3.03 16.29 19.87 4. West-Central Leesville 84 (37) 67 64 0.06 1.59 14.51 17.67 LSU-Rosepine 83 43 69 64 0.04 1.32 14.74 17.51 Natchitoches 85 47 69 63 0.13 7.54 19.23 17.50 Extreme/Average 85 37 68 64 0.08 3.48 16.16 17.46 5. Central Alexandria 86 47 69 65 0.03 1.52 17.32 19.09 Brusly 88 43 71 65 0.00 1.85 17.43 19.61 Bunkie 86 48 70 65 0.00 1.06 16.28 19.67 LSU-Alexandria 87 47 70 64 0.09 1.51 16.23 18.24 Extreme/Average 88 43 70 65 0.03 1.49 16.82 19.03 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 86 42 70 MM 0.20 1.90 14.66 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 88 45 71 65 0.55 2.42 16.42 18.35 LSU-Clinton 85 43 68 64 1.29 2.97 18.60 20.20 LSU-Hammond 87 42 70 64 0.08 2.08 18.24 20.55 Slidell 84 44 70 65 0.65 6.94 20.58 19.61 Extreme/Average 88 42 70 65 0.55 3.26 17.70 20.28 7. Southwest De Ridder 84 45 70 65 0.07 0.82 18.20 18.15 Jennings 85 48 71 65 0.04 1.44 17.61 16.22 LSU-Crowley 87 48 72 66 0.01 1.53 16.36 16.75 Extreme/Average 87 45 71 66 0.04 1.26 17.39 16.31 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 86 47 71 66 0.09 1.42 12.50 18.16 LSU-Jeanerette 85 47 71 66 0.08 2.53 12.60 16.06 Morgan City 83 53 72 66 0.12 0.63 10.07 16.83 Extreme/Average 86 47 71 67 0.10 1.53 11.72 16.95 9. Southeast Galliano 83 49 71 67 0.00 0.65 17.42 18.04 Houma 85 48 72 67 1.15 1.82 10.58 17.04 Terrytown 3S 85 54 72 MM 0.39 5.33 20.38 MM.MM Reserve 84 51 71 66 0.12 1.97 15.37 19.94 Extreme/Average 85 48 71 67 0.42 2.44 15.94 18.48 State State Averages 88 37 69 65 0.17 2.28 15.57 18.17 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through April 13, 2008