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: July 21, 2008 Volume 08 No. 20 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.3 Soil moisture supplies: 20% very short, 45% short, 34% adequate and 1% surplus. Field Crops Report Hot dry weather depleted soil moisture. Rice producers continued to drain fields in preparation for harvest. Insecticides were applied to rice fields with stinkbug infestations. Soybean producers treated fields with insecticides and fungicides. Dry weather caused slow growth in sugarcane. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers harvested eggplant, okra, watermelon, and tomatoes. Eggplant and tomato fields were sprayed to control insects. Producers prepared strawberry fields. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Livestock suffered from heat stress caused by the high temperatures. Cattlemen continued cutting hay but were in need of more rain. Pasture and hay growth was slowed by the hot, dry weather Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Dough 96 87 92 91 Mature 40 24 36 34 Cotton Squaring 94 88 99 99 Setting Bolls 75 59 78 80 Hay First Cutting 100 99 100 97 Second Cutting 75 59 78 80 Peaches Harvested 89 84 79 82 Rice Headed 64 53 76 73 Sorghum Headed 94 90 95 89 Turning Color 56 31 40 38 Soybeans Blooming 78 71 94 83 Setting Pods 53 48 80 65 Sweet Potatoes Planted 100 99 100 99 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 3 10 40 45 2 Cotton 2 14 38 44 2 Rice 0 4 26 61 9 Sorghum 0 6 43 46 5 Soybeans 2 14 38 42 4 Sugarcane 2 9 26 46 17 Livestock 1 8 40 45 6 Vegetables 4 14 49 30 3 Pasture 5 18 51 23 3 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 07/14/08 TO 07/20/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 98 64 82 83 0.20 1.68 32.65 30.69 Minden 97 66 82 82 0.22 1.33 26.27 33.29 Mooringsport 99 66 83 MM 0.28 1.93 26.84 27.38 Extreme/Average 99 64 82 83 0.23 1.65 28.59 31.34 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 99 (62) 82 83 0.12 1.75 22.65 33.60 Homer/Hill Farm 97 68 82 81 1.33 3.85 24.74 33.25 ULM-Monroe 98 62 81 83 1.15 1.79 18.93 35.42 Colmubia Lock 97 64 82 MM 1.66 2.67 23.88 36.62 Extreme/Average 99 62 82 83 1.07 2.52 22.55 34.28 3. Northeast Lake Providence 95 68 82 82 0.00 1.12 30.53 36.60 LSU-St Joseph 97 63 81 83 0.13 1.69 25.15 34.84 LSU-Winnsboro 97 64 83 82 0.69 1.15 26.39 34.73 Tallulah 96 64 81 82 0.00 1.23 26.92 36.21 Extreme/Average 97 63 82 83 0.23 1.17 27.95 35.53 4. West-Central Leesville (100)63 82 82 0.05 2.45 23.73 33.46 LSU-Rosepine 99 68 84 82 0.00 1.19 22.01 33.80 Natchitoches 97 69 83 83 0.45 0.57 25.12 32.60 Extreme/Average 100 63 83 82 0.17 1.40 23.62 33.05 5. Central Alexandria 99 69 85 83 0.01 2.57 27.58 34.78 Brusly 95 67 81 81 0.01 1.00 29.20 36.52 Bunkie 99 69 84 83 0.00 1.46 26.80 36.65 LSU-Alexandria 100 67 85 82 0.12 2.91 25.38 33.50 Extreme/Average 100 67 84 83 0.04 1.99 27.24 35.29 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 97 63 83 MM 0.03 2.36 27.70 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 95 67 82 82 0.06 2.59 28.38 35.88 LSU-Clinton 93 66 81 81 0.06 4.15 30.94 37.19 LSU-Hammond 96 64 82 82 0.09 2.67 34.57 37.07 Slidell 96 69 83 82 0.64 2.11 33.77 36.55 Extreme/Average 97 63 82 82 0.18 2.43 31.11 38.04 7. Southwest De Ridder 97 71 83 82 0.32 3.96 29.34 34.94 Jennings 96 70 83 82 0.96 2.53 30.36 33.59 LSU-Crowley 96 70 83 82 0.03 3.98 29.92 34.25 Extreme/Average 97 70 83 83 0.44 3.49 29.87 34.22 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 93 70 82 82 0.95 1.77 25.51 35.24 LSU-Jeanerette 94 70 83 82 0.82 5.71 26.48 35.17 Morgan City 93 72 83 82 0.03 2.55 20.90 35.41 Extreme/Average 94 70 82 83 0.60 3.34 26.00 35.48 9. Southeast Galliano 95 73 84 82 1.39 2.47 30.39 37.14 Houma 96 71 83 83 1.90 7.10 24.33 36.09 Terrytown 3S 99 74 86 MM 0.07 2.34 40.04 MM.MM Reserve 96 72 83 82 2.10 4.06 30.81 38.98 Extreme/Average 99 71 84 83 1.37 3.99 31.39 36.70 State State Averages 100 62 83 83 0.50 2.54 27.79 34.99 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through July 20, 2008