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: May 11, 2008 Volume 08 No. 10 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.1 Soil moisture supplies: 6% very short, 22% short, 68% adequate and 4% surplus Field Crops Report Soybean planting continued. Windy conditions slowed applications of herbicides to rice fields. Some farmers replanted due to heavy rains and seepage from Mississippi River into fields. The cane crop continued to make good growth, and showed few problems with rust. A few farmers continued planting of grain sorghum. Some cotton acreage was planted behind wheat. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Fruit trees were reported to be loaded with fruit. Citrus producers sprayed for insects. Vegetable producers harvested greenhouse tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers and sold their crops. Strawberry producers cleaned up their fields. Warm weather encouraged some farmers to delay rice planting and continue stocking with crawfish. Crawfish prices remained favorable, and producers did not have to pump much because rainfall has been sufficient. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Producers planted summer forages, cut ryegrass hay, and fertilized pastures. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Cotton Planted 78 68 67 73 Emerged 67 49 44 54 Hay First Cutting 33 28 30 29 Rice Planted 96 91 91 93 Emerged 90 82 83 85 Sorghum Planted 91 84 93 81 Emerged 75 67 84 68 Soybeans Planted 64 56 67 55 Emerged 52 42 51 43 Winter Wheat Turning Color 93 77 82 72 Harvested 5 0 0 2 Land Preparation Spring plowing 97 92 97 96 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 0 2 24 55 19 Cotton 0 4 32 58 6 Rice 0 3 14 75 8 Sorghum 0 1 27 60 12 Soybeans 0 1 32 60 7 Sugarcane 1 4 26 44 25 Wheat 0 4 18 56 22 Livestock 0 4 34 57 5 Vegetables 0 8 41 46 5 Pasture 1 10 41 45 3 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 05/05/08 TO 05/11/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 93 55 72 70 0.17 1.51 14.98 20.08 Minden 92 49 70 69 0.08 0.99 15.96 22.22 Mooringsport 92 53 70 MM 0.68 2.93 17.06 17.86 Extreme/Average 93 49 71 70 0.31 1.81 16.00 20.53 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 92 52 70 70 0.63 3.33 14.47 23.12 Homer/Hill Farm 90 53 70 69 0.47 1.16 14.08 22.32 ULM-Monroe 92 53 71 70 0.29 1.51 12.87 24.65 Colmubia Lock 91 (49) 68 MM 0.41 2.27 15.12 25.41 Extreme/Average 92 49 70 70 0.45 2.07 13.81 23.35 3. Northeast Lake Providence 91 53 70 70 0.21 2.22 18.02 25.86 LSU-St Joseph 90 55 73 72 0.00 2.11 18.29 25.19 LSU-Winnsboro (94) 53 72 71 0.06 2.53 18.41 24.47 Tallulah 90 53 70 70 0.39 3.14 20.62 25.20 Extreme/Average 94 53 71 71 0.17 2.29 18.24 25.11 4. West-Central Leesville 93 53 72 71 0.18 1.50 16.27 22.16 LSU-Rosepine 92 57 73 71 0.09 2.15 16.89 21.86 Natchitoches 90 54 71 71 0.42 1.02 20.55 22.14 Extreme/Average 93 53 72 71 0.23 1.83 16.58 22.01 5. Central Alexandria 91 57 73 72 0.00 2.16 20.11 23.70 Brusly 87 55 73 72 M.MM 1.95 19.73 24.44 Bunkie 89 56 73 72 0.01 2.75 19.03 25.08 LSU-Alexandria 92 57 74 72 0.00 3.44 19.98 22.69 Extreme/Average 92 55 73 72 0.00 2.78 19.71 23.88 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 89 55 74 MM 0.00 5.59 20.25 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 85 65 75 72 0.00 2.77 19.19 23.16 LSU-Clinton 86 55 73 71 0.00 2.51 21.02 25.54 LSU-Hammond 89 55 74 72 0.00 2.95 20.60 25.26 Slidell 87 57 74 72 0.01 3.16 19.95 24.40 Extreme/Average 89 55 74 72 0.00 3.46 20.27 25.46 7. Southwest De Ridder 91 56 74 72 0.22 3.90 22.10 22.27 Jennings 87 58 75 73 0.21 3.38 21.17 20.43 LSU-Crowley 87 58 75 73 0.05 2.60 18.93 21.31 Extreme/Average 91 56 74 73 0.16 2.99 20.05 20.69 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 86 60 74 73 0.00 2.25 14.75 22.54 LSU-Jeanerette 87 58 75 73 0.00 1.30 13.94 20.42 Morgan City 86 60 75 73 0.00 3.91 13.98 21.10 Extreme/Average 87 58 75 74 0.00 1.78 14.35 21.40 9. Southeast Galliano 85 60 75 73 0.00 3.18 20.60 22.54 Houma 87 59 75 74 0.00 2.04 12.62 21.42 Terrytown 3S 88 61 76 MM 0.00 5.81 26.19 MM.MM Reserve 87 60 74 73 0.00 3.20 18.57 24.51 State State Averages 94 49 73 72 0.14 2.50 17.49 22.86 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through May 11, 2008