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: October 20, 2008 Volume 08 No. 33 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.1 Soil moisture supplies: 5% very short, 32% short, 60% adequate and 3% surplus Field Crops Report Scattered showers occurred across the state. Sweet potato harvest continued and the quality improved. Soybean and rice producers worked to complete their harvesting. Rice producers prepared field's for next year's crop. Mills were operating in full swing as sugar cane harvest continued. Wheat producers continued to prepare fields for planting. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Producers planted additional strawberry plants and harvested green beans and tomatoes. Citrus producers harvested satsumas. Crawfish producers flooded ponds. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen continued to harvest hay and plant winter forages. Beef producers continued to market weaned calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Corn Harvested 100 100 100 100 Cotton Harvested 85 70 72 80 Hay Second Cutting 99 98 100 100 Pecans Harvested 18 6 30 19 Rice Harvested 99 98 100 100 Sorghum Harvested 100 100 100 100 Soybeans Turning Color 100 99 100 100 Dropping Leaves 99 96 100 97 Harvested 89 80 92 85 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 45 39 67 66 Sugarcane Planted 97 89 100 100 Harvested 8 4 15 17 Winter Wheat Planted 6 3 0 6 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 6 21 42 25 6 Livestock 1 9 35 51 4 Vegetables 6 17 49 24 4 Pasture 5 12 48 33 2 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/13/08 TO 10/19/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 85 47 69 65 0.77 0.94 41.76 40.50 Minden 86 47 69 65 1.72 1.72 39.04 43.34 Mooringsport 84 49 68 MM 1.85 2.24 37.52 36.85 Extreme/Average 86 47 69 65 1.45 1.63 39.44 41.48 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 87 45 69 65 0.90 1.00 46.34 43.88 Homer/Hill Farm 83 47 68 64 1.32 1.65 34.63 43.83 ULM-Monroe 88 47 70 65 0.65 0.71 42.25 45.41 Colmubia Lock 87 48 69 MM 2.52 2.62 45.79 46.83 Extreme/Average 88 45 69 65 1.35 1.50 42.25 44.79 3. Northeast Lake Providence 86 49 69 65 0.16 1.04 53.09 46.24 LSU-St Joseph 88 45 71 66 0.16 0.33 54.97 44.42 LSU-Winnsboro (89) 45 69 65 0.52 0.64 52.28 44.03 Tallulah 88 46 69 65 0.65 0.70 45.93 45.87 Extreme/Average 89 45 69 66 0.37 0.67 54.03 45.11 4. West-Central Leesville 84 (43) 69 66 0.68 0.81 36.01 44.98 LSU-Rosepine 84 49 70 67 0.39 0.63 36.74 46.30 Natchitoches 86 51 71 66 3.41 3.59 39.85 42.85 Extreme/Average 86 43 70 66 1.49 2.11 36.74 44.02 5. Central Alexandria 86 46 69 68 0.68 0.68 41.83 47.45 Brusly 87 50 71 67 0.03 0.58 52.01 51.51 Bunkie 85 48 71 67 0.21 1.12 52.88 48.38 LSU-Alexandria 86 48 71 67 0.31 0.80 53.76 45.99 Extreme/Average 87 46 70 67 0.40 0.87 53.32 47.89 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW 85 50 70 MM 0.20 0.88 43.87 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 88 50 72 68 0.11 0.66 48.80 50.13 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 67 M.MM M.MM 39.97 51.09 LSU-Hammond 84 46 71 67 0.42 1.80 51.42 52.53 Slidell 84 52 73 68 0.00 0.63 53.14 51.67 Extreme/Average 88 46 72 68 0.18 0.99 49.31 52.49 7. Southwest De Ridder 85 49 70 68 0.60 1.33 43.92 47.94 Jennings 87 51 73 69 0.38 1.72 46.47 48.66 LSU-Crowley 88 51 73 69 0.00 0.61 46.12 48.55 Extreme/Average 88 49 72 69 0.33 1.22 45.50 49.44 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 88 50 72 69 0.04 0.09 43.84 50.97 LSU-Jeanerette 88 49 73 68 0.03 0.04 53.35 51.67 Morgan City 87 51 73 70 0.01 0.13 36.16 54.19 Extreme/Average 88 49 73 69 0.03 0.07 53.35 52.10 9. Southeast Galliano 85 58 75 70 0.75 1.22 55.54 55.51 Houma 87 48 74 70 0.17 0.36 52.43 53.68 Terrytown 3S 86 58 75 MM 0.10 0.41 64.12 MM.MM Reserve 85 54 73 69 0.00 0.00 50.37 54.13 Extreme/Average 87 48 74 70 0.26 0.66 52.43 53.53 State Averages 89 43 71 67 0.61 1.08 47.75 48.15 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through October 19, 2008