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 27, 2008 Volume 08 No. 34 Days suitable for fieldwork: 6.3 Soil moisture supplies: 8% very short, 33% short, 56% adequate and 3% surplus. Field Crops Report Most of the state experienced warm, dry conditions last week. Some areas received showers late in the week. Excellent weather conditions allowed producers to make good progress harvesting crops. Rice harvesting was completed. Soybean harvest was winding down. Sweet potato harvest continued with reports of later planted potatoes yielding better with little breakdown. Harvesting of sugarcane was getting underway with reports of good sugar recovery and tonnage. Wheat producers continued preparing for planting. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Strawberry producers continued planting. Vegetable producers were harvesting and selling greenhouse tomatoes, greens, fall beans and bell peppers. Citrus producers were busy harvesting satsumas. Crawfish producers continued flooding ponds and monitoring water quality. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Cattlemen were busy planting ryegrass. Second cutting of hay was completed. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Current Last 5 YR CROP STAGE Week Week 2007 AVG Cotton Harvested 93 85 86 90 Hay Second Cutting 100 99 100 100 Pecans Harvested 25 18 42 29 Rice Harvested 100 99 100 99 Soybeans Dropping Leaves 100 99 100 99 Harvested 95 89 95 92 Sweetpotatoes Harvested 66 45 72 75 Sugarcane Planted 99 97 100 100 Harvested 13 8 25 25 Winter Wheat Planted 12 6 9 15 Emerged 1 0 0 4 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 6 19 36 30 9 Livestock 3 10 38 45 4 Vegetables 10 18 41 29 2 Pasture 7 16 46 29 2 LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 10/20/08 TO 10/26/08 AIR PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 79 39 61 63 0.14 1.07 41.68 41.55 Minden 78 38 59 62 0.00 1.72 39.04 44.30 Mooringsport 78 43 61 MM 0.44 2.68 37.96 37.86 Extreme/Average 79 38 MM 63 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 42.53 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun MM MM MM 63 M.MM 0.98 46.15 44.86 Homer/Hill Farm 76 (34) 57 61 0.11 1.76 34.74 44.81 ULM-Monroe 80 41 59 63 0.12 0.83 40.84 46.41 Colmubia Lock 79 45 60 MM 0.15 2.77 45.94 47.82 Extreme/Average 80 34 MM 63 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 45.78 3. Northeast Lake Providence 78 46 60 63 0.88 1.92 53.97 47.32 LSU-St Joseph MM MM MM 64 0.00 0.33 54.96 45.29 LSU-Winnsboro 80 44 61 63 0.05 0.69 52.33 45.02 Tallulah 78 45 60 62 1.26 1.96 47.19 46.78 Extreme/Average 80 44 MM 63 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 46.08 4. West-Central Leesville (81) 36 59 64 0.13 0.94 36.14 45.85 LSU-Rosepine MM MM MM 64 0.00 0.63 36.74 47.24 Natchitoches 80 46 62 64 0.61 4.20 45.73 43.83 Extreme/Average 81 36 MM 63 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 44.96 5. Central Alexandria 79 42 61 65 0.00 0.68 41.83 48.61 Brusly 78 41 61 65 0.19 0.77 52.20 52.47 Bunkie 81 44 62 65 0.65 1.56 53.53 49.37 LSU-Alexandria MM MM MM 64 0.04 0.84 53.80 47.04 Extreme/Average 81 41 MM 65 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 48.91 6. East-Central Franklinton 5SW MM MM MM MM M.MM 0.88 43.87 MM.MM LSU-Baton Rouge MM MM MM 66 0.00 0.45 48.80 50.97 LSU-Clinton MM MM MM 65 M.MM M.MM 39.97 52.05 LSU-Hammond MM MM MM 65 M.MM 1.79 51.42 53.34 Slidell 77 46 64 66 0.15 0.78 53.29 52.36 Extreme/Average 77 46 MM 65 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 53.30 7. Southwest De Ridder 81 42 61 65 0.00 1.33 43.92 48.89 Jennings 80 48 64 67 0.50 2.22 46.97 49.58 LSU-Crowley 80 51 65 67 0.05 0.65 46.17 49.48 Extreme/Average 81 42 MM 67 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 50.40 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 78 45 63 67 0.04 0.13 43.88 51.80 LSU-Jeanerette MM MM MM 66 0.18 0.22 53.53 52.51 Morgan City 81 52 66 68 0.16 0.29 36.32 54.96 Extreme/Average 81 45 MM 67 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 52.94 9. Southeast Galliano 78 53 67 68 0.65 1.87 56.19 56.28 Houma MM MM MM 68 0.00 0.32 52.43 54.30 Terrytown 3S 81 52 68 MM 0.24 0.65 64.36 MM.MM Reserve MM MM MM 66 0.01 0.01 50.38 54.85 Extreme/Average 81 52 MM 68 M.MM M.MM MM.MM 54.23 State State Averages 81 34 MM 65 M.MM M.MM MM.MM MM.MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through October 26, 2008