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: August 20, 2007 Volume 07 No. 25 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6 Soil moisture supplies: 16% very short, 35% short, 37% adequate and 12% surplus Field Crops Report Very hot and dry conditions were once again experienced throughout the state last week. Dry weather aided the corn harvest, although some harvesting was hindered by a lack of trucks and storage space. Soybean conditions were generally good, although most fields could use some rain. Some soybean producers were spraying for stinkbugs and applying fungicides to prevent Asian Soybean Rust. Sorghum harvest reached 54%, well ahead of the 5-year average of 36%. The rice harvest was 55% complete, only slightly behind the 5-year average. Sugarcane producers were busy planting. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Vegetable producers were working fall crops. Citrus producers were scouting trees for insects. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report Cattlemen were busy cutting hay. The hot, dry weather caused a decline in pasture conditions. Livestock conditions were generally good despite the extremely hot temperatures. PERCENT OF PROGRESS CROP STAGE Current Week Last Week 2006 5 YR AVG Corn Mature 100 99 100 99 Harvested 45 20 67 46 Cotton Bolls Opening 29 9 54 29 Hay Second Cutting 89 83 84 81 Peaches Harvested 100 99 100 99 Rice Headed 99 98 99 98 Ripe 79 64 87 82 Harvested 55 35 56 57 Sorghum Turning Color 94 87 97 94 Mature 86 73 76 74 Harvested 54 32 47 36 Soybeans Setting Pods 99 98 96 94 Turning Color 46 38 63 41 Dropping Leaves 23 15 46 23 Sugarcane Planted 20 8 13 19 Sweet Potatoes Harvested 1 0 3 3 CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES ITEM VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 1 5 12 49 33 Cotton 3 10 29 56 2 Rice 0 3 41 49 7 Sorghum 0 8 23 53 16 Soybeans 1 6 25 61 7 Sugarcane 0 1 32 43 24 Livestock 0 8 37 47 8 Vegetables 8 26 41 23 2 Pasture 4 8 39 44 5 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 08/13/07 TO 08/19/07 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVG NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City102 72 86 82 0.00 1.45 35.75 33.59 Minden 103 72 86 82 0.00 0.09 39.13 36.03 Mooringsport 101 73 86 MM 0.30 4.25 39.32 29.65 Extreme/Average 103 72 86 82 0.10 1.93 38.07 34.25 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 104 70 87 82 0.01 0.10 31.07 36.64 Homer/Hill Farm 102 72 86 81 0.54 0.85 34.57 36.07 ULM-Monroe 103 72 87 82 0.00 2.28 27.97 38.19 Colmubia Lock 102 73 87 MM 0.22 0.27 28.41 39.81 Extreme/Average 104 70 87 82 0.19 0.88 30.51 37.26 3. Northeast Lake Providence 100 73 86 82 0.00 0.93 29.68 39.45 LSU-St Joseph 103 (68) 86 82 0.00 6.13 35.59 38.06 LSU-Winnsboro 102 71 87 82 0.00 0.97 36.75 37.63 Tallulah 101 70 86 81 0.00 2.74 26.70 39.29 Extreme/Average 103 68 86 82 0.00 2.69 34.01 38.56 4. West-Central Leesville 102 69 84 81 1.91 3.53 32.12 36.97 LSU-Rosepine 100 70 84 81 0.34 2.33 36.95 37.81 Natchitoches 101 70 84 83 0.20 2.30 29.37 35.84 Extreme/Average 102 69 84 82 0.82 2.72 32.81 36.43 5. Central Alexandria 104 75 87 83 0.64 3.62 33.44 38.79 Brusly 102 72 85 81 0.69 4.06 37.34 42.25 Bunkie (107) 74 86 82 0.63 1.39 35.80 40.04 LSU-Alexandria 103 70 86 82 0.82 2.91 34.84 37.24 Extreme/Average 107 70 86 82 0.70 2.64 35.32 39.23 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 101 73 86 MM 0.29 1.09 23.14 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 103 73 86 81 1.86 4.61 38.27 41.15 LSU-Clinton 101 71 84 81 0.00 1.11 30.10 42.12 LSU-Hammond 104 74 87 82 0.82 6.08 34.84 43.30 Slidell 99 74 86 82 0.01 1.88 32.42 42.39 Extreme/Average 104 71 86 82 0.60 2.95 32.17 43.43 7. Southwest De Ridder 101 72 86 82 1.10 3.73 43.20 39.03 Jennings 101 75 86 82 1.65 7.05 39.51 38.11 LSU-Crowley 101 75 86 82 1.90 5.34 40.82 39.12 Extreme/Average 101 72 86 82 1.55 5.37 41.18 39.13 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 100 73 85 82 0.00 3.70 36.57 40.77 LSU-Jeanerette 99 74 85 81 0.29 2.56 38.61 40.94 Morgan City 101 73 86 81 0.95 4.49 29.81 42.46 Extreme/Average 101 73 85 82 0.41 3.58 35.00 41.49 9. Southeast Galliano 98 76 85 82 0.40 6.77 32.69 44.07 Houma 99 74 85 82 2.84 7.12 37.39 42.76 Terrytown 3S 105 78 89 MM 0.00 4.16 41.52 MM.MM Reserve 103 76 87 82 0.35 3.98 48.29 44.11 Extreme/Average 105 74 86 83 0.90 5.51 39.97 42.74 State State Averages 107 68 86 82 0.66 3.26 35.76 39.32 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through August 19, 2007