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: May 21, 2007 Volume 07 No. 12 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.2 Soil moisture supplies: 2% very short, 24% short, 67% adequate and 7% surplus Field Crops Report Rainfall was received in some areas of the state, while other areas remained dry. Corn conditions were generally good, but some producers had to irrigate due to dry conditions. Rice producers were top dressing and spraying herbicides. Wheat producers were harvesting wheat with average yields reported. Soybean conditions were good and planting was progressing ahead of the 5 year average. Sugarcane farmers were fertilizing and laying by their crop. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Vegetable producers were selling tomatoes, corn, beans, cucumbers and potatoes. Crawfish producers were still reporting good catches, but many producers were draining their ponds. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Hay producers continued the first cutting. Producers were reporting good yields of ryegrass hay. Pasture conditions were generally good, although some pasture was in need of rainfall. Cattlemen were fertilizing pastures. Cool conditions and the recent rainfall helped livestock growing conditions. PERCENT OF PROGRESS CROP STAGE Current Week Last Week 2006 5 YR AVG Corn Silked 20 0 3 2 Cotton Planted 89 76 91 89 Emerged 69 52 81 77 Hay First Cutting 39 33 49 40 Rice Planted 98 92 97 97 Emerged 90 85 94 93 Sorghum Planted 97 94 94 85 Emerged 93 86 81 75 Soybeans Planted 80 70 79 58 Emerged 68 55 65 48 Sweet Potatoes Planted 11 5 13 15 Wheat Turning Color 96 91 100 93 Harvested 16 0 37 20 Land Preparation -Spring plowing 98 97 97 99 CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES ITEM VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 0 2 23 58 17 Cotton 0 1 28 70 1 Rice 0 5 48 42 5 Sorghum 0 1 13 56 30 Soybeans 0 2 26 66 6 Sugarcane 0 5 34 44 17 Wheat 0 1 21 68 10 Livestock 0 3 24 66 7 Vegetables 1 9 29 56 5 Pasture 0 4 27 64 5 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 05/14/07 TO 05/20/07 AIR PRECIPITATION 4 INCH SOIL TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO TEMPERATURE MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM MAX MIN AVE 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 90 53 70 73 1.59 4.52 16.72 21.36 Minden 90 51 69 72 0.86 4.06 18.34 23.58 Mooringsport 89 53 69 MM 0.55 3.04 19.84 18.77 Extreme/Average 90 51 70 73 1.00 3.87 18.30 21.81 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 90 45 68 73 0.27 3.38 16.86 24.56 Homer/Hill Farm 90 50 70 71 0.66 6.03 21.97 23.60 ULM-Monroe 91 46 68 73 0.13 2.05 13.90 26.17 Winnfield MM MM MM 72 M.MM M.MM 6.37 25.21 Extreme/Average 91 45 69 73 0.35 3.82 17.58 24.79 3. Northeast Lake Providence 89 54 70 72 0.45 3.93 16.10 27.38 LSU-St Joseph 92 (44) 69 74 0.05 2.21 16.26 26.63 LSU-Winnsboro 90 46 69 73 1.18 5.08 18.81 25.83 Tallulah 89 50 69 73 0.30 2.54 13.52 26.76 Extreme/Average 92 44 69 73 0.50 3.74 17.06 26.55 4. West-Central Leesville 91 45 68 73 0.11 3.83 16.82 23.62 LSU-Rosepine 89 46 68 73 0.34 3.02 19.23 23.36 Natchitoches 90 44 68 74 0.69 4.73 16.27 23.71 Extreme/Average 91 44 68 73 0.38 3.43 18.03 23.51 5. Central Alexandria 93 55 72 75 0.91 3.72 19.63 25.08 Brusly 91 51 71 74 0.38 7.27 21.35 25.56 Bunkie 91 51 71 75 1.11 2.46 17.40 26.68 LSU-Alexandria 93 53 72 74 0.76 3.57 17.03 24.13 Extreme/Average 93 51 72 75 0.79 4.26 18.59 25.32 6. East-Central Bogalusa 91 50 72 74 1.61 4.69 16.57 27.38 LSU-Baton Rouge 91 53 72 75 1.93 6.97 20.22 24.49 LSU-Clinton 87 52 70 73 0.09 3.69 16.47 26.93 LSU-Hammond 91 54 73 74 2.13 6.33 18.07 26.38 Slidell 90 53 72 75 0.70 4.12 17.49 25.96 Extreme/Average 91 50 72 74 1.29 5.28 18.59 26.90 7. Southwest De Ridder 91 53 72 74 0.00 3.24 20.32 23.69 Jennings 90 54 73 75 0.02 3.06 18.91 21.92 LSU-Crowley 93 54 73 76 0.16 3.54 19.29 22.83 Extreme/Average 93 53 72 75 0.06 3.28 19.51 22.18 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 91 55 73 75 1.69 5.30 17.86 23.66 LSU-Jeanerette 90 52 74 75 0.34 3.12 17.23 21.73 Morgan City 89 61 75 75 0.57 2.61 14.52 22.52 Extreme/Average 91 52 74 76 0.87 3.68 16.54 22.68 9. Southeast Galliano 90 58 74 75 1.87 4.56 14.50 24.06 Houma 92 55 74 76 0.41 2.58 15.08 22.81 NO Audubon Park (94) 61 76 77 0.52 6.68 15.15 23.64 Reserve 92 58 74 75 0.74 6.54 22.03 25.81 Extreme/Average 94 55 75 76 0.93 4.61 14.91 24.18 State State Averages 94 44 71 74 0.65 4.02 17.79 24.27 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through May 20, 2007