la-crop-weather State Louisiana Crop Weather Week Ending Date May 1, 2005 Days suitable for fieldwork: 5.7 Soil moisture supplies: 2% very short, 36% short, 60% adequate, and 2% surplus Field Crops Report Scattered showers were received across the state last week, which brought little relief to crops. More rain and warmer temperatures are needed to improve crop conditions. Cotton producers made good progress with planting last week. Rice planting continued, but producers were troubled with windy conditions as they applied herbicides. Showers improved conditions for planting soybeans, but planting slowed down as fields dried out. Sugarcane producers were fertilizing fields and working fallow land. Some producers were reporting rust on the young sugarcane. Reports of bacterial streak and black chaff were found in some wheat fields. Fruits, Vegetables, and Specialty Crops Report Harvesting of strawberries continued. Vegetable producers continued working crops. Crawfish producers were wrapping up the season and began draining fields to prepare for rice planting. Livestock, Pasture, and Range Report Rain and warmer conditions are needed to help improve pasture growth. Hay cutting continued to be slow last week due to cool, dry conditions. Cattlemen continued working and marketing cattle and calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2005 Week 2004 5 YR AVG Corn Emerged 99 94 100 99 Cotton Planted 54 31 55 49 Emerged 20 6 31 20 Hay First Cutting 7 4 9 19 Rice Planted 80 71 87 88 Emerged 64 51 79 75 Sorghum Planted 58 47 61 50 Emerged 42 34 42 32 Soybeans Planted 37 21 42 32 Emerged 19 6 32 16 Wheat Headed 97 92 99 97 Turning Color 14 7 26 39 Land Preparation Spring Plowing 94 85 93 92 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 0 3 32 62 3 Rice 0 3 49 44 4 Sugarcane 5 13 37 31 14 Wheat 0 11 36 46 7 Livestock 0 6 31 55 8 Vegetables 0 13 43 38 6 Pasture 2 11 40 43 4 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 04/25/05 TO 05/01/05 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(88) 46 65 68 0.36 4.80 15.59 18.42 Minden 81 45 64 67 0.39 5.43 15.97 20.31 Mooringsport 87 46 64 MM 0.22 3.54 13.54 16.65 Extreme/Average 88 45 64 68 0.29 4.17 14.57 18.77 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 85 42 62 67 1.50 4.34 16.68 21.23 LTI-Ruston 87 45 63 66 0.80 3.78 19.36 20.61 ULM-Monroe 85 46 65 68 1.91 4.88 16.51 22.59 Winnfield 87 42 63 67 0.82 2.97 16.52 21.79 Extreme/Average 87 42 63 68 1.16 3.66 16.60 21.38 3. Northeast Lake Providence 86 46 63 67 2.03 5.31 18.12 23.67 LSU-St Joseph 87 44 63 69 1.29 2.43 17.07 23.18 MM MM MM LSU-Winnsboro 87 44 65 68 1.85 4.99 18.88 22.56 Tallulah 86 42 63 67 2.46 5.48 19.26 23.09 Extreme/Average 87 42 63 68 1.93 4.41 18.15 23.05 MM MM MM 4. West-Central Leesville 86 (37) 63 68 0.13 1.44 13.44 20.23 LSU-Rosepine 85 43 65 68 0.02 1.55 16.19 19.95 MM MM MM Natchitoches 87 41 63 68 0.53 2.80 15.58 20.12 Extreme/Average 87 37 63 68 0.13 1.44 MM.MM 20.07 MM MM MM 5. Central Alexandria 84 45 63 69 0.08 1.31 16.60 21.83 Brusly 85 47 65 69 1.56 2.62 14.65 22.76 Bunkie 84 46 66 69 0.00 3.34 18.31 22.88 LSU-Alexandria 87 44 65 69 0.06 1.58 16.30 20.80 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 87 44 65 70 0.43 2.21 16.47 21.90 MM MM MM 6. East-Central Bogalusa 86 45 66 69 3.25 7.31 21.24 23.96 LSU-Baton Rouge 85 48 65 70 1.57 3.10 13.31 21.34 LSU-Clinton 82 45 63 68 0.60 3.17 18.17 23.53 LSU-Hammond 84 47 65 69 1.65 4.51 15.94 23.58 MM MM MM Slidell 84 48 67 70 2.26 8.06 23.88 22.33 Extreme/Average 86 45 65 70 1.61 3.81 14.63 23.42 MM MM MM 7. Southwest De Ridder 84 46 64 69 0.00 2.39 15.13 20.48 Jennings 82 48 66 70 0.61 1.11 16.48 18.56 MM MM MM LSU-Crowley 83 50 67 71 0.68 1.25 14.65 19.34 MM MM MM Extreme/Average 84 46 65 71 0.31 1.75 16.48 18.80 MM MM MM 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 84 49 67 70 0.95 1.89 13.53 20.97 LSU-Jeanerette 82 48 66 70 1.09 1.69 15.69 18.74 Morgan City 82 53 67 70 1.46 2.21 17.45 19.28 Extreme/Average 84 48 66 71 1.28 1.95 16.57 19.65 9. Southeast Galliano 83 52 69 71 0.78 5.90 23.26 20.57 Houma 84 49 68 71 0.51 2.08 25.81 19.60 MM MM MM NO Audubon Park 80 55 66 72 1.31 6.12 23.79 20.61 Reserve 84 53 69 70 0.00 2.38 20.51 22.75 Extreme/Average 84 49 67 71 0.91 4.10 24.80 21.10 MM MM MM State State Averages 88 37 65 69 0.85 3.01 17.43 21.03 MM MM MM M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through May 1, 2005