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: October 18, 2009 Volume 09 No. 33 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.0 Soil moisture supplies: 1% short, 43% adequate and 56% surplus Field Crops Report Rain delayed most agriculture activities across the state. Rice harvest neared completion. The ratoon crop continued to grow. Rainfall has continued to hamper the soybean harvest with only 63 percent complete compared to the 5 year average of 81 percent. Sugarcane harvest continued but was hampered by muddy fields. Sugarcane mills have started grinding Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Vegetable producers harvested greenhouse tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant. Strawberry producers continued to plant. Citrus producers continued to harvest satsumas. Scab disease was reported in the pecan crop. There were reports of flooded crawfish ponds Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report The wet weather delayed planting of winter forages and harvest of hay. Cattlemen continued to market calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2009 Week 2008 5 YR AVG Corn Harvested 100 100 100 100 Cotton Bolls Opening 100 92 100 99 Harvested 23 17 66 66 Hay Second Cutting 97 97 98 99 Pecans Harvested 10 3 5 9 Rice Harvested 96 94 98 99 Sorghum Harvested 98 98 100 100 Soybeans Turning Color 99 97 99 99 Dropping Leaves 92 86 95 95 Harvested 63 57 79 81 Sweet Potatoes Harvested 24 22 37 49 Sugarcane Planted 97 95 87 96 Harvested 4 1 4 7 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Cotton 4 19 42 34 1 Sugarcane 3 11 36 36 14 Livestock 1 5 44 45 5 Vegetables 2 25 45 27 1 Pasture 1 9 46 38 6 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/12/09 TO 10/19/09 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR. TO MAX MIN AVG NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 92 52 68 68 2.19 5.28 43.10 39.19 Minden 91 51 67 68 3.88 11.80 49.90 42.20 Mooringsport 91 51 66 MM 3.09 8.61 50.07 35.62 Extreme/Average 92 51 67 68 3.05 8.56 47.69 40.21 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 91 53 67 68 4.45 12.87 44.19 42.63 Homer/Hill Farm 90 51 65 67 2.63 15.62 50.71 42.66 ULM-Monroe 91 54 67 68 6.43 16.14 47.00 44.18 Columbia Lock 91 54 67 MM 4.29 7.01 42.09 45.64 Extreme/Average 91 51 66 68 4.45 11.32 46.40 43.57 3. Northeast Lake Providence 90 55 67 68 2.90 7.64 44.42 44.92 LSU-St Joseph 90 57 71 69 1.34 6.33 39.15 43.42 LSU-Winnsboro 91 57 71 68 2.08 9.57 44.57 42.89 Tallulah 90 56 70 68 2.10 7.80 48.70 44.81 Extreme/Average 91 55 70 69 2.11 7.72 46.56 43.97 4. West-Central Leesville 92 56 73 69 1.71 5.23 36.20 43.94 LSU-Rosepine 90 57 73 70 1.98 5.27 35.82 45.13 Natchitoches 94 59 74 69 2.49 6.67 40.85 41.62 Extreme/Average 94 56 73 68 2.06 5.25 36.01 42.85 5. Central Alexandria 92 56 73 71 1.61 3.51 36.71 46.06 Brusly 92 62 78 70 3.44 7.73 38.99 50.34 Bunkie 92 58 75 70 3.98 8.06 43.37 47.21 LSU-Alexandria 93 57 74 69 1.99 4.35 39.10 44.78 Extreme/Average 93 56 75 70 2.76 5.91 40.49 46.65 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW MM MM MM MM M.MM M.MM 36.04 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge 91 63 79 70 2.70 5.12 37.42 49.14 Amite 92 64 78 70 1.66 6.69 39.84 53.01 LSU-Hammond 93 64 79 70 1.96 6.32 34.06 51.54 Slidell 90 66 79 71 3.36 6.57 43.08 50.86 Extreme/Average 93 63 79 70 2.42 6.18 38.60 51.50 7. Southwest De Ridder 92 (40) 73 70 1.50 4.57 41.12 46.77 Jennings 91 60 78 71 3.25 7.11 42.11 47.49 LSU-Crowley 91 60 78 72 3.51 6.73 45.56 47.42 Extreme/Average 92 40 76 71 2.75 6.14 42.93 48.26 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 91 64 78 71 4.87 8.60 49.16 49.92 LSU-Jeanerette 91 64 79 71 4.37 13.35 57.75 50.59 Morgan City 90 68 78 72 3.10 8.35 40.25 53.25 Extreme/Average 91 64 79 72 4.11 10.10 49.05 51.02 9. Southeast Galliano 90 69 81 72 3.39 6.59 47.20 54.57 Houma 91 68 79 72 1.09 5.06 34.11 52.92 Terrytown 3S (97) 69 82 MM 1.25 4.42 50.55 MM.MM Reserve MM MM MM 71 M.MM M.MM 10.08 53.25 Extreme/Average 97 68 81 73 1.91 5.51 48.88 52.69 State State Averages 97 40 74 70 2.83 7.23 43.85 47.02 M = Missing( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through October 18, 2009 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.