la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date March 20, 2005 LA-CW1205 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.2 Soil moisture supplies: 51% adequate and 49% surplus Field Crops Report Louisiana producers were once again limited on field activities due to the continuing wet conditions across the state. Rice producers made little progress with aerial planting. Much dryer conditions are needed for planting rice. Corn planting has begun, but is behind last year's average of 31 percent. Sugarcane producers were applying fertilizers, beginning to cultivate row middles and plowing old stubble. Some wheat fields continued to show rust symptoms. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Some vegetable producers were able to plow early in the week, but they are still behind schedule. Strawberry producers continued harvesting and selling their crop. Crawfish harvesting continued, with reports of better catches compared to previous years. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Spring pastures continued to green up and ryegrass was growing well. Cattlemen were fertilizing pastures as weather permitted. Spring calving was in full swing, while most producers have stopped supplemental feeding. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Corn Planted 22 0 31 23 Land Preparation Spring Plowing 19 13 28 37 Rice Planted 3 0 11 9 Wheat Headed 1 0 3 9 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Sugarcane 0 18 57 25 0 Wheat 0 21 38 41 0 Livestock 1 12 49 35 3 Vegetables 2 29 52 17 0 Pasture 4 28 51 16 1 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 03/14/05 TO 03/20/05 AIR PRECIPITATION 4 INCH SOIL TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO TEMPERATURE MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM MAX MIN AVE 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 85 35 53 57 0.11 1.57 8.98 12.08 Minden 82 (30) 52 56 0.04 1.54 8.12 13.16 Mooringsport 82 35 53 MM 0.01 2.20 8.37 11.22 Extreme/Average 85 30 53 58 0.05 1.77 8.49 12.38 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun MM MM MM 58 0.61 2.38 9.99 14.28 LTI-Ruston MM MM MM 57 M.MM 1.95 12.72 13.90 ULM-Monroe 81 35 51 57 1.40 3.79 10.34 14.81 Winnfield (87) 34 52 58 1.33 3.38 10.51 13.99 Extreme/Average 87 34 51 58 1.11 2.88 10.25 14.19 3. Northeast Lake Providence 79 39 52 56 0.64 3.56 11.30 15.00 LSU-St Joseph 80 35 53 59 1.59 4.26 12.15 15.30 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 81 36 53 57 1.24 4.29 12.40 14.60 Tallulah 79 39 52 58 0.76 3.72 11.77 15.10 Extreme/Average 81 35 52 58 1.06 4.09 12.11 14.96 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 84 31 54 60 1.26 3.90 9.85 13.87 LSU-Rosepine 82 33 54 59 1.32 4.17 13.61 13.71 MM MM MM Natchitoches 85 38 53 58 0.98 4.18 10.62 13.60 Extreme/Average 85 31 54 59 1.19 4.08 10.62 13.61 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 82 40 55 60 1.73 4.86 13.97 14.69 Brusly 81 35 56 61 0.82 3.26 10.84 15.08 Bunkie 78 39 54 60 1.62 4.48 13.07 15.00 LSU-Alexandria 80 34 52 59 0.79 2.92 13.29 14.30 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 82 34 54 60 1.24 3.88 12.79 14.70 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 82 33 54 60 1.46 3.17 10.23 16.11 LSU-Baton Rouge 80 35 56 61 1.84 3.91 9.64 14.13 LSU-Clinton 78 31 52 59 1.02 2.65 12.15 15.47 LSU-Hammond 81 33 54 60 1.38 3.24 10.28 15.61 MM MM MM Slidell 78 32 56 61 2.68 5.29 14.04 15.37 Extreme/Average 82 31 55 61 1.68 3.65 10.58 15.48 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 81 36 55 60 0.85 4.73 10.69 14.40 Jennings 75 41 54 61 1.62 5.23 14.91 12.85 LSU-Crowley 73 40 54 61 1.07 4.28 12.70 13.23 Extreme/Average 81 36 54 62 1.24 5.23 14.91 12.88 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 78 37 56 61 1.39 4.23 11.50 13.72 LSU-Jeanerette 77 38 55 61 1.66 5.42 13.69 12.30 Morgan City 75 42 56 61 1.13 6.39 15.10 13.27 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 78 37 55 62 1.39 5.35 13.43 13.04 MM MM MM 9. Southeast Galliano 76 36 59 63 4.22 8.86 17.25 14.06 Houma 78 40 57 63 3.43 11.33 22.72 13.23 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park 79 39 60 64 2.32 7.66 17.24 13.58 Reserve 78 42 58 62 2.68 7.57 18.07 15.45 Extreme/Average 79 36 58 63 3.16 8.86 18.82 14.26 MM MM MM State State Averages 87 30 54 60 1.41 4.54 12.79 14.00 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through March 20, 2005