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: August 4, 2008 Volume 08 No. 22 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.0 Soil moisture supplies: 25% very short, 36% short, 34% adequate and 5 surplus. Field Crops Report Some areas of the state received spotty showers. Rice harvested continued but was slow due to showers. Wind has knocked rice down in some fields. Soybeans needed more rain in order to fill pods. Producers scouting soybean fields detected light insect pressure. Sugarcane producers began planting sugarcane and spraying fields for borers. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers continued to harvest eggplant, okra and cucumbers. Fields were prepared and planted with tomatoes and bell peppers. Crawfish producers planted forage. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Livestock and pastures benefited from showers in some areas. Cattlemen continued cutting hay but were in need of more rain. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Dough 100 99 100 100 Mature 93 76 78 79 Harvested 12 2 0 6 Cotton Squaring 98 97 100 100 Setting Bolls 88 84 98 98 Bolls Opening 4 0 0 1 Hay Second Cutting 79 66 67 64 Peaches Harvested 98 95 92 95 Rice Headed 87 79 88 88 Ripe 37 17 41 42 Harvested 14 4 16 19 Sorghum Headed 98 97 99 98 Turning Color 88 72 72 74 Harvested 8 0 4 5 Soybeans Blooming 93 90 100 94 Setting Pods 80 73 94 82 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 2 7 38 52 1 Cotton 4 16 34 49 1 Rice 0 3 20 72 5 Sorghum 2 7 42 48 1 Soybeans 4 13 35 44 4 Sugarcane 3 9 24 44 20 Livestock 3 9 38 45 5 Vegetables 8 26 45 20 1 Pasture 7 27 36 25 5 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 07/21/08 TO 07/27/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-BossierCity(105) 72 89 83 0.43 0.91 33.36 32.16 Minden 105 72 88 82 0.10 1.01 26.77 34.79 Mooringsport 104 75 90 MM 0.00 0.28 26.84 28.41 Extreme/Average 105 72 89 83 0.18 0.73 28.99 32.86 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 105 70 88 83 0.51 0.69 23.21 35.14 Homer/Hill Farm 104 70 87 82 0.00 4.05 25.56 34.79 ULM-Monroe 105 72 88 83 0.62 1.90 19.42 36.84 Colmubia Lock 102 70 87 MM 0.68 3.30 25.21 38.16 Extreme/Average 105 70 87 83 0.45 2.49 23.35 35.83 3. Northeast Lake Providence 101 70 87 83 0.44 0.72 31.12 38.08 LSU-St Joseph 102 70 86 83 0.97 1.16 26.18 36.48 LSU-Winnsboro 104 70 87 83 0.31 1.66 27.36 36.13 Tallulah 99 (68) 85 82 1.20 1.60 28.39 37.80 Extreme/Average 104 68 87 83 0.57 1.18 28.22 37.07 4. West-Central Leesville 104 69 87 82 0.75 1.61 24.70 35.28 LSU-Rosepine 101 69 85 82 2.98 4.31 26.06 35.92 Natchitoches 102 73 88 84 1.14 2.59 27.26 34.11 Extreme/Average 104 69 87 83 1.62 2.96 25.38 34.78 5. Central Alexandria 103 70 88 84 0.65 1.20 28.27 36.68 Brusly 95 71 83 82 2.54 3.51 32.70 39.32 Bunkie 102 70 87 83 1.02 1.35 28.09 38.25 LSU-Alexandria 104 70 87 82 1.31 1.91 27.07 35.40 Extreme/Average 104 70 86 83 1.38 1.99 29.03 37.28 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 97 71 83 MM 1.01 2.26 29.68 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 98 72 84 82 1.92 4.51 32.79 38.34 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 81 M.MM 0.19 30.94 39.57 LSU-Hammond 99 72 83 82 2.63 4.97 38.29 40.03 Slidell 95 72 82 82 1.87 4.65 37.59 39.55 Extreme/Average 99 71 83 82 1.86 4.10 34.59 40.72 7. Southwest De Ridder 101 68 86 83 1.75 3.88 31.80 37.06 Jennings 97 70 84 82 1.49 3.79 32.77 35.92 LSU-Crowley 98 71 85 83 1.25 2.78 31.56 36.71 Extreme/Average 101 68 85 83 1.50 3.48 32.17 36.69 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 96 72 83 83 1.21 3.45 27.47 38.04 LSU-Jeanerette 97 74 84 82 0.54 3.01 27.40 37.94 Morgan City 94 69 82 82 0.74 2.83 22.86 38.88 Extreme/Average 97 69 83 83 0.83 3.10 25.91 38.49 9. Southeast Galliano 93 74 82 82 4.21 7.09 36.04 40.62 Houma 97 73 82 83 1.33 5.70 26.61 39.53 Terrytown 3S 99 73 85 MM 5.84 7.78 47.55 MM.MM Reserve 97 75 83 82 0.79 3.41 31.85 41.58 Extreme/Average 99 73 83 83 3.04 6.00 35.51 39.74 State State Averages 105 68 85 83 1.35 3.00 29.62 37.18 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through August 3, 2008 The Louisiana Crop-Weather Summary is published weekly beginning the second week of March and ending the first week of December by USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service's Louisiana Field Office. Subscription is free to respondents and cooperators, $12.00 annually to all others. For free automatic e-mail subscription to this publication, go to our homepage at http://www.nass.usda.gov/la and click on "Subscribe to LA reports" on the right hand side of the page. Choose the reports you want to receive, and complete the form.