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 11, 2008 Volume 08 No. 23 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.5 Soil moisture supplies: 22% very short, 29% short, 39% adequate and 10% surplus. Field Crops Report Moisture levels in the state were mixed; some areas of the state were too dry while other areas were wet. Rice harvest continued despite showers, with good yields reported in most cases. Soybeans needed more rain in order to fill pods. Producers scouting soybean fields detected light insect pressure. Sugarcane producers began planting but were delayed slightly due to showers in some areas. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers continued to harvest summer crops. Crawfish producers planted forage. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report The hot weather placed stress on both livestock and pastures. Pastures in some areas of the state needed rain desperately. Some livestock producers have started to feed hay. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Mature 98 93 95 92 Harvested 34 12 14 17 Cotton Squaring 100 98 100 100 Setting Bolls 92 88 100 100 Bolls Opening 16 4 6 9 Hay Second Cutting 81 79 79 74 Peaches Harvested 99 98 97 98 Rice Headed 94 87 96 94 Ripe 57 37 60 60 Harvested 24 14 31 35 Sorghum Headed 99 98 100 99 Turning Color 95 88 84 85 Harvested 28 8 24 15 Soybeans Blooming 97 93 100 97 Setting Pods 87 80 97 88 Turning Color 22 0 31 30 Dropping Leaves 17 0 11 12 Sugarcane Planted 5 0 6 6 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 3 8 37 48 4 Cotton 5 15 35 44 1 Rice 0 3 20 66 11 Sorghum 2 6 36 53 3 Soybeans 3 13 35 45 4 Sugarcane 3 12 34 40 11 Livestock 4 15 40 38 3 Vegetables 16 23 39 21 1 Pasture 11 28 35 23 3 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 08/04/08 TO 08/10/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City103 72 86 83 0.15 1.06 33.51 32.86 Minden 103 70 86 82 0.55 1.27 27.32 35.39 Mooringsport (105) 74 86 MM 0.41 0.69 27.25 28.97 Extreme/Average 105 70 86 83 0.37 1.01 29.36 33.53 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 100 65 85 83 0.00 0.68 23.21 35.84 Homer/Hill Farm 103 68 85 82 0.13 2.28 25.69 35.42 ULM-Monroe 101 66 85 83 0.08 1.98 19.50 37.47 Colmubia Lock 98 66 83 MM 0.05 3.04 25.26 38.93 Extreme/Average 103 65 84 83 0.07 2.00 23.42 36.53 3. Northeast Lake Providence 96 66 82 82 0.14 0.73 31.26 38.73 LSU-St Joseph 97 (63) 82 83 0.08 1.28 26.30 37.25 LSU-Winnsboro 99 67 84 82 0.24 1.90 27.60 36.83 Tallulah 93 66 81 82 1.28 2.65 29.54 38.50 Extreme/Average 99 63 82 83 0.44 1.30 28.39 37.77 4. West-Central Leesville 99 67 82 82 0.31 1.33 25.01 36.09 LSU-Rosepine 96 71 83 82 0.86 5.02 27.05 36.84 Natchitoches 99 75 85 84 0.21 2.80 27.47 34.90 Extreme/Average 99 67 83 82 0.46 3.05 26.03 35.55 5. Central Alexandria 102 71 84 84 0.00 0.70 28.27 37.66 Brusly 92 68 81 82 1.09 4.60 33.79 40.72 Bunkie 97 70 82 83 1.05 2.45 29.25 39.08 LSU-Alexandria 99 71 83 82 0.92 2.88 28.14 36.28 Extreme/Average 102 68 83 83 0.77 2.66 29.86 38.19 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 97 64 82 MM 0.11 2.12 29.79 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge MM MM MM 82 0.15 4.55 32.94 39.63 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 81 M.M 0.06 30.94 40.76 LSU-Hammond 96 66 81 82 0.30 4.11 38.59 41.57 Slidell 92 69 82 82 0.75 5.21 38.34 40.91 Extreme/Average 97 64 81 82 0.39 3.81 35.57 41.99 7. Southwest De Ridder 95 69 82 83 0.90 3.68 32.70 37.99 Jennings 94 72 83 82 1.92 5.36 34.76 36.95 LSU-Crowley 94 72 82 82 0.59 2.39 32.27 37.84 Extreme/Average 95 69 82 83 1.26 3.88 33.52 37.85 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 95 70 82 82 2.61 5.52 30.08 39.33 LSU-Jeanerette 93 71 82 82 2.34 4.13 29.79 39.34 Morgan City 93 71 80 82 4.24 6.23 27.10 40.56 Extreme/Average 95 70 82 83 3.06 5.29 28.99 39.89 9. Southeast Galliano 94 72 82 82 2.92 9.96 38.96 42.25 Houma 96 70 81 83 5.34 9.52 31.95 41.08 Terrytown 3S 96 73 83 MM 0.41 8.88 48.85 MM.MM Reserve 95 70 83 82 1.64 4.78 33.49 42.77 Extreme/Average 96 70 82 83 2.58 8.29 38.31 41.14 State State Averages 105 63 83 83 1.02 3.56 30.75 38.19 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through August 10, 2008 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through August 10, 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.