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 29, 2008 Volume 08 No. 30 Days suitable for fieldwork: 4.8 Soil moisture supplies: 2% short, 70% adequate and 28% surplus. Field Crops Report Soybean producers continued to harvest soybeans. Some farmers did not harvest their entire corn crop because of hurricane damage. Sugarcane producers planted sugarcane and prepared equipment for sugarcane harvest. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Citrus producers pruned out dead branches from trees and continued with the post hurricane cleanup. Strawberry producers planted new plants. Vegetable producers sprayed bell pepper plants for disease and fertilized fall crops. Crawfish producers prepared ponds for flooding. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report In order to maximize grazing, cattlemen moved cattle around, reducing the amount of hay being fed. Cattlemen also harvested hay and planted winter forages. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Harvested 99 94 99 100 Cotton Bolls Opening 98 92 95 95 Harvested 28 10 13 31 Hay Second Cutting 94 93 99 99 Rice Harvested 86 81 98 97 Sorghum Harvested 95 90 97 99 Soybeans Turning Color 93 81 97 93 Dropping Leaves 83 72 90 82 Harvested 56 42 61 63 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 24 18 31 34 Sugarcane Planted 56 42 94 94 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Cotton 34 35 22 9 0 Soybeans 16 25 38 21 1 Sugarcane 12 28 38 21 1 Livestock 1 8 33 52 6 Vegetables 12 18 48 21 1 Pasture 4 11 35 46 4 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 09/22/08 TO 09/28/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 87 53 73 73 0.00 3.82 40.83 37.61 Minden 86 53 72 73 0.00 5.79 37.32 40.72 Mooringsport 86 56 73 MM 0.00 3.72 35.28 34.06 Extreme/Average 87 53 73 73 0.00 4.44 37.81 38.62 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 88 55 73 73 0.02 12.84 45.36 41.08 Homer/Hill Farm 85 (48) 69 72 0.00 5.12 32.98 41.09 ULM-Monroe 89 57 75 73 0.00 12.32 41.54 42.62 Colmubia Lock 87 56 73 MM 0.00 11.65 43.17 44.19 Extreme/Average 89 48 72 73 0.01 10.48 40.76 42.01 3. Northeast Lake Providence 87 58 74 73 0.00 13.21 52.05 43.36 LSU-St Joseph (90) 53 74 74 0.00 13.70 54.64 42.22 LSU-Winnsboro 88 53 72 73 0.00 18.80 51.69 41.52 Tallulah 87 52 72 73 0.00 9.01 45.23 43.49 Extreme/Average 90 52 73 74 0.00 13.68 50.64 42.59 4. West-Central Leesville 88 50 71 73 0.00 6.83 35.18 42.48 LSU-Rosepine 87 56 73 74 0.00 5.74 36.11 43.54 Natchitoches 87 58 74 74 0.00 4.06 36.26 40.14 Extreme/Average 88 50 73 74 0.00 6.29 35.65 41.34 5. Central Alexandria 89 59 75 76 0.00 10.16 41.15 44.33 Brusly 87 54 73 74 0.00 12.76 51.43 48.75 Bunkie 90 58 74 75 0.21 17.07 51.96 45.64 LSU-Alexandria 89 57 75 74 0.00 22.44 52.96 43.17 Extreme/Average 90 54 74 75 0.05 17.42 52.12 45.02 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 86 55 73 MM 0.75 8.89 43.44 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 88 54 74 75 0.21 10.99 48.95 47.76 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 74 M.MM MM.MM 41.37 48.36 LSU-Hammond 87 52 72 75 0.01 4.90 49.63 50.18 Slidell 85 55 72 76 0.00 8.12 52.51 49.61 Extreme/Average 88 52 73 75 0.24 8.23 48.63 50.10 7. Southwest De Ridder 88 57 75 75 0.00 5.10 42.59 45.14 Jennings 89 57 75 76 0.00 7.55 44.75 45.70 LSU-Crowley 90 58 76 76 0.01 9.32 45.52 45.81 Extreme/Average 90 57 75 76 0.00 7.32 44.29 46.49 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 88 54 74 76 0.00 8.46 43.75 48.30 LSU-Jeanerette 89 58 75 75 0.00 12.78 50.77 48.92 Morgan City 88 63 76 76 0.00 3.02 36.03 51.64 Extreme/Average 89 54 75 76 0.00 12.78 50.77 49.37 9. Southeast Galliano 85 59 75 76 0.00 3.95 49.77 52.97 Houma 90 56 75 77 0.04 13.02 51.44 51.46 Terrytown 3S 88 60 76 MM 0.00 5.94 63.71 MM.MM Reserve 87 58 75 76 0.00 7.28 50.37 51.78 Extreme/Average 90 56 75 77 0.01 13.02 51.44 51.20 State State Averages 90 48 74 75 0.04 10.81 46.28 45.46 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through September 28, 2008