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: September 14, 2008 Volume 08 No. 28 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.8 Soil moisture supplies: 2% short, 45% adequate and 52% surplus. Field Crops Report As Louisiana tried to recover from Hurricane Gustav parts of the state received additional rainfall from fast-moving Hurricane Ike. Farmers tried to salvage their unharvested corn and soybean crops and began harvesting cotton. Standing water was a problem in some fields. Sugarcane was lodged with shredded or broken tops in some areas of the state. There were reports of lodging problems in rice. Producers continued to assess crop damage from the hurricanes, but the full extent of the damage will not be known for several weeks. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Extensive rainfall and winds from Hurricane Gustav damaged most of the vegetables. Sweet potato harvest was getting underway. More potatoes were reported rotting due to wet weather and water standing in fields. Poor quality water in fields was affecting crawfish quality. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen continued to assess damage from Hurricane Gustav. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Harvested 87 73 95 98 Cotton Bolls Opening 84 65 84 83 Harvested 5 0 1 11 Hay Second Cutting 91 89 98 97 Rice Ripe 97 91 98 99 Harvested 73 48 88 90 Sorghum Harvested 86 74 92 93 Soybeans Turning Color 68 61 89 81 Dropping Leaves 57 52 76 67 Harvested 26 19 35 44 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 15 14 16 19 Sugarcane Planted 38 36 74 79 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Cotton 24 30 39 7 0 Soybeans 20 32 38 10 0 Sugarcane 10 28 43 19 0 Livestock 2 10 38 45 5 Vegetables 26 17 42 14 1 Pasture 6 12 46 33 3 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 09/08/08 TO 09/14/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 94 65 80 77 1.75 5.47 40.82 36.08 Minden 93 62 79 77 2.29 8.29 37.32 38.90 Mooringsport 93 65 79 1.38 6.84 35.67 32.39 Extreme/Average 94 62 79 78 1.81 6.87 37.94 36.94 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 94 64 80 78 4.61 15.26 45.33 39.44 Homer/Hill Farm 92 59 78 76 0.90 6.64 32.98 39.13 ULM-Monroe 95 69 82 78 1.99 14.70 41.51 40.92 Colmubia Lock 92 64 80 0.73 13.29 41.74 42.65 Extreme/Average 95 59 80 77 2.06 12.47 40.39 40.21 3. Northeast Lake Providence 92 65 80 77 0.09 14.88 50.40 41.88 LSU-St Joseph 92 69 82 78 1.05 17.13 52.28 40.78 LSU-Winnsboro 92 69 82 78 1.13 13.30 44.38 40.11 Tallulah 91 69 81 77 4.14 15.70 49.95 41.95 Extreme/Average 92 65 81 78 1.60 15.25 50.88 41.12 4. West-Central Leesville 92 66 79 78 2.15 8.66 35.17 40.52 LSU-Rosepine 90 68 80 78 0.00 5.81 34.12 41.48 Natchitoches 94 67 81 79 4.06 6.39 36.11 38.67 Extreme/Average 94 66 80 78 3.11 8.66 35.17 39.55 5. Central Alexandria 93 66 80 80 3.39 18.62 48.91 42.46 Brusly 95 70 83 78 0.94 15.97 50.83 46.78 Bunkie 93 72 82 78 1.69 18.90 50.64 43.67 LSU-Alexandria 93 72 82 78 3.10 22.67 51.81 41.06 Extreme/Average 95 66 82 79 2.28 19.04 50.55 42.99 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 91 71 81 0.52 8.47 41.05 LSU-Baton Rouge 93 69 82 79 1.70 14.44 48.31 45.81 LSU-Clinton 78 32.77 46.36 LSU-Hammond 92 71 82 79 0.27 6.52 48.76 48.26 Slidell 92 73 82 79 0.13 9.85 51.69 47.40 Extreme/Average 93 69 82 79 0.66 9.82 47.45 48.01 7. Southwest De Ridder 91 69 81 79 2.00 8.37 42.82 42.96 Jennings 93 71 82 79 1.22 7.40 43.77 43.00 LSU-Crowley 93 72 83 79 0.16 7.64 42.54 43.58 Extreme/Average 93 69 82 79 1.61 7.89 43.30 43.99 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 79 1.15 8.25 40.87 45.83 LSU-Jeanerette 93 71 83 79 2.10 16.49 50.03 46.44 Morgan City 92 68 81 79 1.70 4.92 34.71 48.87 Extreme/Average 93 68 82 80 1.90 16.49 50.03 46.88 9. Southeast Galliano 80 0.73 4.64 46.68 50.22 Houma 80 11.82 45.69 48.75 Terrytown 3S 92 71 83 1.61 7.46 60.46 Reserve 92 71 82 79 1.36 11.61 49.55 49.25 Extreme/Average 92 71 82 80 1.49 11.61 49.55 48.51 State Averages 95 59 81 79 1.82 12.19 45.40 43.36 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through September 14, 2008